Which Way To Ouray?

First of all, we are excited that Greg, Kate, and Zachary have joined us for a few days here in Durango.  Andrew and Lauren were glad to see Zachary and of course, I had to get their

Vacation 2011 picture taken as soon as possible.

So, now for today's adventure.  We headed north to Ouray, by way of Silverton. But, oh my, by the time we reached Red Mountain Pass, I was beginning to wonder

which way to Ouray.

  There are 155 curves from the pass into Ouray.  The shops in town sell shirts to prove it!

Finally, after that last curve, we found ourselves in downtown Ouray.  Since this was our first time to be here, we found the Visitor Center and after browsing through all the brochures, we found as couple of fun activities.

First, the kids wanted to go to the

Old Mine and take a train ride.  We purchased our tickets and had time for lunch at the outdoor cafe there on the premises.  Soon, our tour would start, but, before we could

 

board our train, we were issued these

great outfits.

Once, everyone was loaded onto the mine train, we

headed into the old mine.  After we traveled some 1850 feet into the mine,

we unloaded.  Our lead miner then told us all about mining, not only in this mine, but others throughout the state of Colorado.

Afterwards, both

Zachary and

Lauren got to try their hand at mining.

I guess they didn't care for mining, because, once, we were out of the mine, they decided they would like to try

panning for gold.  They worked pretty hard at it and finally got a little help

from Mom, Dad, and

Poppa.

When all was said and done, they decided they really didn't want either to be their jobs, but, were pretty proud of their

little bottles of gold.

Next, we were off to Box Canyon.  We made our way

up to the top to catch

this view of the canyon and the

falls.  Then, we made our way

down, down, down to catch this view of the the falls.  And, to see

just where we came from high above the canyon floor.

Before leaving, we had to do just a little

shopping on the streets of the historic downtown area.

We really enjoyed our day in and around Ouray.  But, then it was finally time for us to head back to Durango by way of those 155 curves in the road...and now, you too, know...which way to Ouray!