Driving southwest to Ouray, Silverton and Durango.

The weather around the 23rd was predicting snow over most of Colorado so we made a reservation at a B&B in Durango for 2 nights and headed that way. We had a snowy drive through Ouray, but the roads were dry, thank goodness no ice or chains required! 

Snowy ride through Ouray

Check out this route through the mountain range between Ouray and Silverton!

It was a nice drive down from Paonia and we were welcomed at the Country Sunshine B&B where we had a nice room for a couple of nights.

The Aspen Room

Here's our view from our room, the deck you see is on the bank of the Animas River. Not a very sunny day, but the grounds were sure peaceful.

View from the Aspen Room @ Country Sunshine B&B.

The next day was sunny and bright, so we did some small touring, had a good burger at the James Ranch Grill, and I made a shopping stop at Honeyville, (a local bee attraction & shop), for some lemon flavored whipped honey, (and cinnamon too).  One spot we checked out was the Butch Cassidy Bridge, from the famous jump scene in the movie. What a gorgeous view of the Animas River! You had to be there, the picture doesn't nearly do it justice.

Animas River, Durango, CO

We also checked out the Lemon Reservoir, one of the many we saw whose levels were low. The area by the reservoir had a huge grassy meadow upon which there were a few people practicing obedience training with their dogs - always a treat to see a well-behaved dog/person combo. 

Lemon Reservoir, looking pretty low at this, the shallow end.

Another reservoir we perused was the Vellecito Lake Reservoir. It too was low, but what a lovely spot to have a lake house. (I'll bet the prices are sky-high during this housing boom.)  

It was a short but sweet stay here in Durango which we enjoyed if just for the great drive through the mountains. Next up we head even further west to Cortez. Stay tuned.