From Grand Canyon Back to Denver - September 23 & 24, 2019
Now that we had completed our exploration of the Grand Canyon, it was time to head home. Our plan was to drive through the Rocky Mountains with an overnight stop in Durango, Colorado.
We waved goodbye to fellow camper Mike as we drove out of the Kaibab National Forest. Our next stop was Desert View again for a bathroom break. Heading back the way we came the week before, we headed east on highway 64, north on 89 and then east again on highway 160, passing the road side stands where the Navajo were selling their crafts and wares. There were not too many stands open on this Monday morning in September. This time we stayed on highway 160 all the way to Durango. Friends of ours live on the north side of town and graciously agreed to let us moochdock on their driveway for the night.
For dinner, we went with our friends to a new restaurant called Bird’s. It is a counter-service restaurant. They have chicken just about any way you like it, such as roasted, fried, hot wings, sandwiches, and soups. Most of us had the roasted leg and thigh. For our sides, Right Buddy (RB) had onion rings and sesame-miso broccoli while Left Buddy (LB) had garlic mashed potatoes. The food was very tasty, but RB felt she had ordered too much food. Of course she ate it all anyway since it tasted so good. For drinks, Bird’s serves Zuberfizz which is a Durango soda company. Zuberfizz uses pure cane sugar and produces some interesting flavors, such as chocolate cream and strawberry rhubarb. RB had a vanilla creme soda which brought back memories of her childhood. In addition to enjoying the food, we also enjoyed the dinner conversation as we caught up with our friends. The temperature dropped below freezing overnight, but we stayed plenty warm inside our Red Tail Lodge campervan despite not having installed a heater yet. However, we did enjoy having a hot breakfast the next morning, consisting of hot oatmeal with hot chocolate and coffee. After going inside our friends’ house to say thank you and goodbye, we hit the road again.
From Durango we drove north on highway 550 to Silverton, Colorado. Silverton is a cute, touristy town with a main street lined with old, historic store fronts. It is also the turn-around point of the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge train ride. Our purpose for stopping in Silverton was to find a coffee shop. The Coffee Bear caught our eye and we went in for a cup of coffee and hot chocolate (RB doesn’t drink coffee). It was a really cute place and worth more time there than what we had available. The pastries looked delicious, but we refrained from buying any since we already ate breakfast. Many shops in town were closed. We're not sure if it was just too early in the day for some, or if some were closed down until tourist season starts up again.
The stretch of Highway 550 north of Silverton to Ouray is known as the Million Dollar Highway. It is considered a dangerous road with its narrow lanes, hairpin curves, and steep cliffs with not many guardrails as it climbs over Red Mountain Pass. It is not that bad to drive, but the driver needs to stay alert and pay attention to the road instead of the gorgeous scenery around them. People in large RV’s drive the Million Dollar Highway which makes it exciting not only for them, but also for the other cars on the road. There wasn’t much traffic on the road when we were on it, so it was quite enjoyable taking in the views (says the person who was not driving). We even caught a glimpse of a moose crossing the road.
When we reached Montrose, we turned east onto highway 50 along the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. For lunch we stopped in Gunnison at Mario’s Pizza. Gunnison is a small college town, home to Western Colorado University. Mario’s Pizza had a great atmosphere and great pizza. We would definitely stop here again if we were passing through town.
We continued on highway 50 to Poncha Springs, then turned north on highway 285. In order to get to Fairplay, we had to take a detour on highway 24 and highway 9 due to road construction on highway 285. It was time for ice cream, so we parked in Fairplay and walked over to Silver Scoop Creamery. To our disappointment, Silver Scoop was already on its winter schedule, only open during the day from Friday to Monday, and it was Tuesday. We were "forced" to settle for ice cream novelties from the gas station, which are definitely not the same thing. As we headed up 285 towards Kenosha Pass, we passed a little road side stand on the north side of the highway where people were outside eating ice cream. If only we had known! We believe it was the Hungry Moose Caboose in Jefferson. The aspen trees were just starting to take on their fall colors. They were pretty, but we’ve been over Kenosha Pass during peak color before and there was no comparison. It's a beautiful drive even without the vibrant yellow aspens.
From Kenosha Pass we headed down into Denver and back home. Season One of our Red Tail Lodge travels had come to an end. It was nice to be home again to catch up with family and friends, but it was also a little sad that our travels will slow down for a little while. However, now we have time to plan and look forward to Season Two!
Check out our related video on our YouTube channel: From Grand Canyon to Denver.
(RB)