Clear blue sky.
A short one hundred and seventeen miles today, one of the shortest legs of the tour. Our first stop was Durango; a very attractive town with a population about the same size as Bridgnorth and also has a steam railway. The main street is very busy for a Sunday and trades manly on its nineteenth century facades and excellent shopping. After a very good coffee in Durango we set off along the “Million Dollar” Highway to Silverton so called because of its cost per mile, but it is strongly suggested that the silver ore excavated during the laying of the road more than covered the cost. The route is dominated by the effects of over a century of mining, which has had a huge and dramatic effect on the landscape.
We had lunch in an old style saloon in Silverton followed by a ride in a Stagecoach, which during a quick tour of the old town we discovered all the disagreeable points of horse drawn transport of the western era.
Ouray is another town that was fixed in time by the sudden depletion of its main source of wealth – silver, leaving it set forever in the eighteen eighties as far as architecture is concerned anyway.
The evening entertainment started with a visit to a micro brewery/pub that we were advised had made a special brew for us in honour of the Morgans, however, there must have been a breakdown in communication as they seemed not to expecting us, but were glad of the business. A short drive from the pub found us at Dick and Louis Love’s holiday house, where they had organised a BBQ for us; this was a wonderful and generous thing to do and we were very well looked after. Their house is set in Colorado ranch land with a mountain backdrop. Ralph Loren has a neighbouring ranch and is said to have the best-dressed cowboys in the area! Dick is a Morgan owner who’s main home is in California. A short, legal and carful drive back to the hotel was made all the more interesting by the smell of a recently squashed skunk an odour to be savoured, but not for long.
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