Another beautiful day. We followed the Dorlores River up a beautiful valley. Taking pictures was difficult because of the lack of places to pull off and the sun being in exactly the wrong place. I got this one at Lizard Head Pass Trailhead where a hiking club was gathering for a climb. You can see that I had to use a shelter to block the sun.
Lizard Head Mountain could not be seen from the trailhead, but fortunately it was on the west side of the road with a wide enough shoulder to pull off.
Telluride is a lovely 19th-c mining town turned 21st-c ski town. We drove through, looking for Bridal Veil Falls farther up the valley. It turned out to be 1.2 mi uphill to the base of the falls. I decided to give it a miss this time, but the picture below was taken from the trailhead. Next time, I'll have to plan on half a day.
We turned off the San Juan Skyway, continuing on 145 and stopping in the town of Naturia for a burger and onion rings at a local joint with a 1950s theme. Shortly after lunch the road turned into 141 and the scenery turned to a series of incredible sandstone canyons.
Lots of the best places had no possibility of pulling off.
At Hanging Flume overlook the view is fabulous in both directions. The flume was built around 1890 to carry water, I think, to a mine that closed a few years later. You may be able to see the remains clinging to the wall of the canyon at the top of the lower wide smooth layer. The upper smooth layer is above the road.
Our last stop was West Creek Picnic Area, a delightful fishing spot along the stream that carved all this. We chatted with a delightful motorcyclist at least our age.
Tonight we are in Grand Junction. Steve picked up a map at the front desk that shows another two days of places to explore in the surrounding area.
Tomorrow we head east to Hayes, Kansas, along the fabulous stretch of Interstate 70.
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