Fortunes were made and lost in the old mining towns of the American west, and some fortunes just never materialized. Many towns went from boom to bust in only a few short years. Some of them turned into ghost towns – or disappeared entirely. Others not only held onto their history, but celebrated it, enticing tourists to visit or even relocate. Although we had passed through Durango, Colorado, on our way to Mesa Verde National Park back in 2010, we had never made it north to the other old mining towns of Silverton, Ouray and Telluride. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park remained an elusive check mark on our bucket list, as well. Nearing the end of our expedition to Alaska, we worked our way back east through Colorado to visit with friends and visit the destinations that had remained just out of reach for way too long.
Base camp for our explorations was the Pa-Co-Chu-Pak Campground in Ridgway State Park, located less than 20 miles from Montrose. With a population of just over 21,000, Montrose was an excellent place to reprovision, get the truck washed and enjoy a couple of visits to Culver’s for their scrumptious frozen custard. The weather was a blend of sunshine, clouds and showers, but the rain didn’t hamper our plans, and we managed to accomplish everything we set out to.
