Black Canyon of the Gunnison & Mario's

On the way home from Ouray we stopped at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  We hadn't taken the time to stop by for years and it is always a feast for the eyes.

 My favorite view of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison from Tomichi Point.

We stopped for lunch at Mario's Pizza in Gunnison.  Mario's was highly recommended and has been making delicious pizzas for over 40 years.

Our pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and sausage.

True Grit

On the way back to Ouray, we decided to stop in Ridgeway and eat at the True Grit Cafe.  

The original  True Grit movie with John Wayne was filmed in Ouray County, in the towns of Ouray and Ridgeway.  This restaurant was built to honor Ridgeway's movie making history.  True Grit as well as several other movies such as How the West Was Won were filmed here.  

I didn't notice at the time that the open umbrella on the balcony was blocking the name of the cafe. 

This brick wall is actually from the True Grit move set.

The cafe is decorated with John Wayne movie posters and memorabilia.

My salad, with Blue Cheese Viniagrette Dressing. 

My Spaghetti dinner. 

My husband's Chicken Tender Plate.

Lizard Head Pass, Alta Lakes and Telluride

After Ophir Pass, we headed up Lizard Head Pass on the Highway to see the rock known by that name.

 This is the rock at the top of Lizard Head Pass.  I don't see the lizard head.
It looks like a dolphin's head to me.

Then we drove up the four-wheel drive trail to Alta Lakes.
 It had begun to rain, which made for a great photo shoot.

Then we headed to Telluride where we could see this large herd of Elk from the highway.

Main Street of Telluride.

View of Ingram & Bridal Veil Falls.

Closer view of Ingram & Bridal Veil Falls.

Close up of Bridal Veil Falls and Power Plant.




to be continued...

Ophir Pass

Ophir Pass is another favorite pass of ours near Ouray.  It is an easy pass to traverse but has beautiful vistas.  The top is rocky, and this year there was still a lot of snow at the top.

The Ghost Town of Ironton

The Four-wheeling Guidebook we had with us said the turntable on the Corkscrew Gulch Trail was south of the old town of Ironton.  On our way to the turn off for Ophir Pass, we saw a sign that pointed to site of Ironton, so we turned back.  It was on of those quiet sunny mornings that is perfect for photography.  As I approached the old buildings, I could almost envision the previous lives that trod on those paths and worked in the buildings...

to be continued...

Dinner in Silverton

We decided to eat dinner in Silverton before we headed back to Ouray.   We stopped at a quaint BBQ place called Thee Pits Again.  I'm a little confused.  The place we ate at only said BBQ on the building...

But the van said Thee Pits Again and had Guy Fieri's autograph on it and

they were also playing a continuous live feed video of Guy Fieri's cooking show.

I had a BBQ brisket sandwich with baked beans & potato salad.  The brisket was great!!

And my husband had the pulled chicken sandwich with coleslaw.  (We like to try several sides - the potato salad was very good, but rather peppery; the baked beans were flavored mainly with green pepper - so they weren't my favorite; and I thought the coleslaw was a little bland).

My husband didn't like the pulled chicken very much.

to be continued...

Corkscrew Gulch & Animas Forks

After stopping along the trail for a delicious peanut buter & jelly sandwich (I'm not being sarcastic - why do things always taste better outside?), we headed up Corkscrew Gulch.  My husband said there was an old railroad turntable along the trail, but we couldn't find it.  (Unfortunately, we didn't have internet access at our hotel the night before we went & we hadn't thought to look for directions to it before we left home).  Actually, seeing pictures of the old turntable is disappointing.  So many people tend to vandalize these old historic sites - it's really heartbreaking.

Here are some pictures of Corkscrew Gulch...

and here are pictures of the ghost town Animas Forks...

to be continued...