Colorado SSR

I’ve just returned from a scouting trip to Durango, Mesa Verde and Four Corners – what a beautiful trip! The San Juans still have a lot of snow at the higher elevations, making for a very picturesque setting with green forests and valleys and of course fast, swollen rivers. It’s a far cry from a few short years ago, where drought had resulted in fast depletion of winter snowpack, the rivers were very low and the fire danger was high. With monsoonal moisture just getting started, it looks like the moisture will stay in the area for the foreseeable future. For those of you coming to the Durango Rally, this means that the days are usually sunny, with scattered storms getting started in the early afternoon. 

Road Conditions

Overall, the roads around Durango are in really good condition, and there were very few “cone zones” in place this past weekend. Highway 550 from Silverton to the top of Red Mountain Pass is fantastic – it’s been recently repaved, and it’s probably one of the nicest roads in Colorado right now. Work crews are also repaving portions of 550 from Silverton south to Durango, and there was one single-lane restriction around Molas Pass for rock-work and road repairs. Highway 160 from Durango to Cortez is also in good condition, but 491/160 south out of Cortez to Four Corners is only in fair shape, with a road surface that could be charitably called “undulating”. Road conditions in Mesa Verde are very good. 

Traffic Conditions

491/160 from Four Corners to Cortez sees moderate traffic, as it’s the only road through this part of Colorado. What’s more, is there are drivers on this road that are in no hurry whatsoever, and drive 5 mph below the posted limit. 160 from Cortez into Durango is much better, with less traffic and plenty of passing lanes available. 550 from Durango into Silverton, and even Ouray and Montrose further north is lightly travelled this year – you can tell the effect $4 a gallon gas has taken on the amount of traffic on this usually popular touring road. Expect to see an RV or two on these roads, and plenty of motorcyclists. Bicyclists are also prevalent on highway 550 – please watch for them as well.

Law Enforcement Activity

I saw a Colorado State Trooper on every road I travelled in Southwest Colorado this weekend – sometimes in passing, but mostly with someone pulled over. Just something to keep in mind when driving to Durango. 

Hotel Parking

Our lodging at the Doubletree is simply the best location in all of Durango for access to the train. The depot is a short walk away, and we can leave our SSRs parked safely in the Doubletree parking lot. The hotel is easy to find – it’s located at the intersection of highway 550 and 160. 

Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde has an amazing amount of things to see, and you can choose to take in the sights at your leisure during your visit to the park. If you plan to take a tour in Cliff Palace, Balcony House or Long Palace, make sure your first stop is the Far View Visitors Center, because these tours require tickets that are unavailable at the tour sites. Tours require some moderate hiking and climbing of ladders in certain areas, so please be sure of your fitness and ability level before opting into these tours. Finally, it gets hot in Mesa Verde, and the altitude is over 7,000 feet, so be sure to drink plenty of water, take breaks as needed, and protect yourself from the sun.

You will see large areas of sun-bleached tree trunks during your drive through the park – these are remnants of recent forest fires in Mesa Verde, and should offer some unique photo opportunities. 

To answer some questions concerning the roads – all areas are nicely paved. 

Four Corners

If you’re meeting here for the photo op on Thursday, or want to check it out on your own, it’s a relatively short drive southwest out of Durango. There is a modest admission fee of $3 to get into the monument area – I’m not sure they accept credit, so play it safe and bring some cash. 

Today, the Denver Post featured a great article on one tank trips within 250 miles of Denver, featuring great places to eat, stay and visit. The full article can be found at http://www.denverpost.com/travel/ci_6587075. Some of these destinations may be fun to visit on your way to or from the rally.

Estes Park was one of the destinations listed as well as many great cities within a few hours drive of the rally. Some of my favorites listed were:

The Royal Gorge in Canon City – this is a great stop for those of you coming from the south, headed northbound on I-25. The gorge’s breathtaking scenery will not disappoint you. There is also a train ride through the gorge, which I have not had a chance to ride, but is definately on my travel to-do list.

Central City and Blackhawk - this is one of the side trips we’ll feature in our rally information packet. Both cities are fun to visit whether you are interested in gambling or not.

Georgetown is a short trip outside of Denver on I-70 West. I have fun memories of our family riding the Georgetown Loop Railroad, enjoying a great afternoon lunch in the Rocky Mountain sunshine and helping John pick out a rather dashing hat at unique clothing store located in the historic bank building downtown.

Hopefully, these destinations and this article will give you some more great Colorado travel ideas. Enjoy!

There’s less than 2 months to go before our first Colorado SSR get-together! We are very excited to see some of our old SSR friends and meet some new ones! Putting the rally together has been great fun for not only John and I, but our family as well. We’ve loaded up our trusty family-mobile, our Impala and shared our research trips with our daughter and Grandpa. We’ll be sharing some of the cool things we’ve found in the area over the next few weeks until the Rally.
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