Ouray - part 14 of Independence Day trip 2015

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Telluride - part 13 of Independence Day trip 2015

We left Telluride and headed back to Denver. But... we couldn't go straight home, without making a detour :) We love this small town so much and cannot skip it, even if we don't have time to stop by. We always have time to stop and see Ouray ;) Always!

But before we slowed down somewhere in the middle of nowhere just to look at the mountains and clouds.

 

Aren't they beautiful? What can be better than mountains?

They called this area Switzerland of America and for a reason. The mountains there look pretty much like the Alps. 

And the visitors can find tons of attractions here - incredible views, two waterfalls and box canyon, hot spring at the Summer and ice-climbing at the Winter, Million Dollar Highway and 4-wheel accessible passes, nice brewery and historic hotels... In one word - Ouray is the coolest place on the highway 550 :) no, probably Silverton is even cooler :))

Originally established by miners chasing silver and gold in the surrounding mountains, the town at one time boasted more horses and mules than people. Prospectors arrived in the area in 1875. In 1877, William Weston and George Barber found the Gertrude and Una gold veins in Imogene Basin, six miles southeast of Ouray. Thomas Walsh acquired the two veins and all the open ground nearby. In 1897 opened the Camp Bird Mine, adding a twenty-stamp mill in 1898, and a forty-stamp mill in 1899. The mine produced almost 200,000 ounces of gold by 1902, when Walsh sold out to Camp Bird, Ltd. By 1916, Camp Bird, Ltd., had produced over one million ounces of gold.

At the height of the mining, Ouray had more than 30 active mines. The town—after changing its name and that of the county it was in several times—was incorporated on October 2, 1876, named after Chief Ouray of the Utes, a Native American tribe. By 1877 Ouray had grown to over 1,000 in population and was named county seat of the newly formed Ouray County on March 8, 1877.

The entirety of Main Street is registered as a National Historic District with most of the buildings dating back to the late nineteenth century. The Beaumont Hotel and the Ouray City Hall and Walsh Library are listed on the National Register of Historic Places individually, while the Ouray County Courthouse, St. Elmo Hotel, St. Joseph's Miners' Hospital (currently housing the Ouray County Historical Society and Museum), Western Hotel, and Wright's Opera House are included in the historic district.

We walked along the streets, enjoying the views and breathing fresh air you can find only in the heart of these mountains. That was great, but we needed to go back to Denver and finally we were back in the car, driving through the rain that began shortly after we left Ouray and accompanied us all the way down to Denver. But we were in a very good mood, because we had an incredible great trip. Three days we were on the roads and drove about 1100 miles, but we have seen so many new places and places we always loved. And we've seen a lot of spots we missed during our previous trips around the area. We were tired, but we had no regret doing it. And... believe it or not, but we were making plans for our next trip ;)

Pictures were taken on July 05, 2015.