May 25 - Daytripping

Janet and I took a day trip from Montrose to Telluride and other destinations.  Telluride is still recovering from the ski season and much of the town is either getting ready for the summer rush (doing repairs) or taking some needed time off and closing their shop for a bit, although the Telluride Bud Company was open.  We stopped into the visitor's center to see what there was to do.  The person behind the counter told us that we could drive to the base of Bridal Veil Falls on a short dirt road just past the edge of town.  He told us that even though the road is unpaved it is easily passable for any vehicle, even a sedan.  Ummm...not this time of year, me thinks!  Since we have a high clearance truck we were able to get to the end and see the falls from a distance (the rest of the road was 4x4 only), but I would hate to see what would happen to a passenger car.  By the time we got back on the main road the treads on the tires and wheel wells were filled with stone and mud.  It looked as though we had been slogging through miles of off road track instead of just a few hundred yards of dirt road.  The falls were pretty, still covered in ice from the winter, but I am not sure it was worth the beating our bodies took (not to mention our poor truck).

Bridal Veil Falls - Telluride CO

While traveling north from Telluride back to Ridgeway we decided to take a side trip down a National Forest access road...hell, the truck was already a mess anyway.  We turned off the freeway onto Last Dollar Dr (not sure how it got its name...need to research that) and really enjoyed the drive.  For me it has been one of the highlights of our travels so far.  This road takes one back in time.  It is a simple, narrow, unpaved lane that winds pasted a beaver dammed river and working ranches.  The views are of meadows and mountains.  I shot one of my favorite photos along this route.  We came to an intersection of the main road and a small one lane track that led to some homestead off in the distance.

Paintbrush Lane

It is nice to go off the beaten trail and take a side trip.  You never know what surprises lie in store for you.