Colorado – 1 – Silverton and Vallecito

In July of 2023 we took a nice long road trip in our RV. We decided to escape the heat of southern Arizona and head to the southwestern portion of Colorado. Indeed – it was cooler though, with temperatures over 110F at home, the bar wasn’t terribly high. We planned to stay at a campground at Vallecito Reservoir. A few weeks before we left, my parents were in town and we found out that my dad spend some time there when he was growing up. His father and grandmother took the kids for a camping trip for a few years. Ironically, we had chosen the same area!

Here’s my first attempt at some artistic photography. I like how the sun is beginning to light up the mountains and that there are some fishermen taking advantage of the cool quiet morning out on the lake. Others have chosen to camp on its banks. The depth of the mountains doesn’t have quite as much contrast as I would like and it’s slightly out of focus. Nevertheless, this is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

After Vallecito, we drove through Durango and headed north on the Million Dollar Highway. We stopped in Silverton to look at the town and grab some lunch. We found a hearty lunch of funnel cake. Worse decisions have been made… While enjoying my fried extruded dough, I noticed this building next to us. It caught my eye because of the architecture of the roof line (I’m sure there’s a name for it that’s not crown moulding) and the paint on the brick that was peeling off. It’s almost as if the painter only painted some bricks. I didn’t even notice the implanted reverse ‘S’ shape until making this post!

As I began to pull the RV away, I noticed this interesting building. I’m not sure how well rusted sheets of metal insulate the building (I suppose perhaps very poorly) but I thought that it made a good picture with the contrast of the surrounding colors and textures. This image is heavily cropped – I didn’t know what about the scene interested me until I got home.

I cannot take credit for this lovely photo. My wife decided to try her hand at some photos along the million dollar highway. Taken moving at about 50 mph, this photo reminds me of the 1965 classic, The Sound of Music. I half expect Julie Andrews to pop out from behind those trees. The drive from Silverton up to Ouray is truly wonderful – something everyone should experience at some point.