Day 2: Short but #$%&! scenic

We had decided at the end of Day 1 that we were not going to do a long ride on Day 2. We were unsure what the weather would be like (when we checked the forecast it called for a fair bit of rain!) and frankly, we wanted to have an easier, more relaxing day. As it turned out, Bill and Jackie (a couple staying in the same chalet as us) had very similar goals for the day. So over breakfast, we decided we'd ride out together and do a short jaunt to the town of Telluride and back.

Telluride is a small town with a single main street. Like many towns in this area, it's done up in an old western style. It's a tad gimmicky but I guess it's in line with the rich mining history Colorado has, so it works. The ride to Telluride was short, but beautiful. We left Ouray, headed northwest to Ridgeway, then turned west along Route 62 until we reached a junction with Route 145, at which point we turned southeast until we reached Telluride. The ride was beautiful. The roads were essentially never straight, full of long sweeping corners cutting through mountain passes and valleys. When we hit Route 145 the geology of the area visibly changed as suddenly we were surrounded by nearby and more distant rock faces composed of a reddish stone.

Once we reached Telluride, we stopped for lunch before retracing our route back to our chalet. After dinner, we spent the evening on the porch of the chalet with our lodge mates chatting and doing a bit of storm watching as a thunderstorm rolled through the area.

Day 2 Route:

 

View of US 62:

Rock formations:

Keystone Hill Overlook along US 145:

Whispering Pines chalet:

Lightning strike: