Ouray, CO area - Labor Day Weekend 2023

deadbeat son

deadbeat son

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I took advantage of the long weekend over Labor Day to take my 10yo daughter to Ouray. It was her first time in Ouray, and although it wasn't my first time there, it was my first time off road in the area. We left from the Boulder area as soon as school was out Friday and were on the road by 3pm. Traffic was brutal all the way to Fairplay, and what should have been a 6 hour drive became 8. Because we arrived at the hotel around 11pm, she had no idea what the town or surrounding area looked like. Needless to say, when she woke up in the morning she was in awe of our surroundings!

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After breakfast, we headed out to Ophir Pass and headed to Telluride for lunch. On our way to the start of the route, we saw a pair of moose along 550.

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I tend to get into driving mode and don't stop frequently to take photos. So I don't have a lot from Ophir, but I do have one of the sign marking the pass and one of the town of Ophir as you begin to descend.

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Once we got down into Telluride, we shopped a little downtown and had lunch. Then we hit Imogene Pass to get back to Ouray in time for free cookies at the hotel. I did get some obligatory standard issue shots on this route.

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Black Bear in the background:
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On our way down the pass, we stopped by Yankee Boy Basin and checked out some of the waterfalls en route.

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When we got back to Ouray, we relaxed, the kiddo enjoyed some hotel cookies, and then we hit the hot springs after dinner.
 
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For day two, we decided to take a bit quicker route so that we could hit the hot springs earlier in the day. During our trip to the springs on day one, we learned that the water slides close at 6pm. With that nugget of information, we decided to take Mineral Creek to Animas Forks. I didn't get any good photos on Mineral Creek, but shelf roads like this are typical terrain, but with some off camber rocks thrown in here and there.

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Eventually, we got to Animas Forks.

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We walked around the town and explored the old structures. Hard to believe they had 27' of snow there one winter. I wish I would have taken some photos of the historical signs; the old pictures of the residents skiing the area were incredible.

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From Animas Forks, we took CR2 to Silverton and ate lunch in the park. On the drive back into Silverton, we bookended the off road portion of the trip with another moose sighting, this time a bull.

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From Silverton, we headed back to Ouray and the hot springs.

Monday morning we packed up and headed back home, but stopped in Salida for lunch and so my daughter could play in the Arkansas River.

Overall it was a great trip, but unfortunately I didn't bring my photographer!
 
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Hey, what's the deal with the moose? My wife and I go to Ouray/Silverton for a week or two every year, for the last couple of decades, and have never seen a moose. Great catch. :) (I sure wish there was a plural for moose other than moose. Who's brilliant idea was that?)

It's a fantastic area.
 
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OldBuzzard said:
Hey, what's the deal with the moose? My wife and I go to Ouray/Silverton for a week or two every year, for the last couple of decades, and have never seen a moose. Great catch. :) (I sure wish there was a plural for moose other than moose. Who's brilliant idea was that?)

It's a fantastic area.
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It was kind of odd to see them as soon as we ventured out and then again as we were wrapping up. How about meese? I've seen them in a few random locations, but the sightings on this trip were a bit of a standout for me. Probably because we stopped and watched them for a bit instead of keeping driving.
 
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OldBuzzard said:
Hey, what's the deal with the moose? My wife and I go to Ouray/Silverton for a week or two every year, for the last couple of decades, and have never seen a moose. Great catch. :) (I sure wish there was a plural for moose other than moose. Who's brilliant idea was that?)

It's a fantastic area.
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It seems like the population has been growing. I didn't see any up there between 2009-2019, then I've seen at least one every year since.

This year has been the first year I haven't been to the area since 2016 and it makes me itch.
 
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OldBuzzard said:
Hey, what's the deal with the moose? My wife and I go to Ouray/Silverton for a week or two every year, for the last couple of decades, and have never seen a moose. Great catch. :) (I sure wish there was a plural for moose other than moose. Who's brilliant idea was that?)

It's a fantastic area.
Click to expand...

meese
 
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tworley said:
A breathtaking region of Colorado. If you ever get a chance to run trails there in early Oct, do it. The fall leaves truly make it a great experience.
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I can only imagine how incredible it is given all of the aspen groves we saw. Unfortunately I’ll be in Moab early October this year. I hear the dirt and rocks there are astounding in the fall….
 
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Great pics!

I haven't taken the TJ out there but did go out there in 2019 and 2020 and rode many trails around the Alpine Loop with ATVs and RZR. Love the area! We went out there in Late Sept into Oct 2019 and right after Labor Day in 2020.
 
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@deadbeat son. Love it! Great trip with your daughter! Great dad! Showing her some beautiful things and doing things she loves like hot springs and water slides and cookies! Great scenery, and 🫎!
 
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OldBuzzard said:
Hey, what's the deal with the moose? My wife and I go to Ouray/Silverton for a week or two every year, for the last couple of decades, and have never seen a moose. Great catch. :) (I sure wish there was a plural for moose other than moose. Who's brilliant idea was that?)

It's a fantastic area.
Click to expand...

lBasket said:
meese
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Moosen.
 
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