Million Dollar Highway

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The Million Dollar Highway is really US 550 that begins in Ouray and continues past Durango. It is a scenic route that takes you along the San Juan Mountain range. It is considered part of the San Juan Skyway.  It climbs up three mountain passes:  Coal Bank Pass (10,640 ft.), Molas Pass (10, 970 ft.) and Red Mountain Pass (~ 11,000 ft.).  We drove from Ouray to Silverton and then all the way to Durango.











We got to Silverton and just drove around town.  There were a lot of people walking around not wearing masks (still Covid season, people!).  So we decided we didn't need to get out. Silverton is not very large...just a main street with some shops and bars. The drive over from Ouray is really the main attraction. There were several motorcycle riders on the roads.  It was a gorgeous day!

Silverton main street

Overlook with Silverton below.


We then continued on to Durango.  Durango is larger than Silverton.  We drove around Durango and didn't find any reason to get out. So we just turned around and headed back to Ouray. On the way back, the Jeep lost power going uphill. So we pulled off and Curtis checked for any errors.  No errors or warnings came on.  So we took off again.  It did it again.  After driving for a little while (and me praying because we had no cell signal), Curtis decided to stop at Molas Lake Park and campground so I could take pictures, we could let the Jeep rest, and he could get under the hood to  make sure everything was alright.  

Molas Lake is one of several lakes along Highway 550.  We also drove around Purgatory Lake.  Purgatory Lake is surrounded by private homes.  It is not very large, but narrow and long.  Molas Lake is a much prettier area to stop. 





Curtis still couldn't find anything wrong. So we took off again. I prayed really hard and God cleared the road for us.  I was worried we'd lose power on parts of the road that were narrow with cliffs to my right and we wouldn't be able to pull off.  But we made it back without incident. And the Jeep seems to be ok. The Million Dollar Highway is a definite must do drive if you are ever in Ouray.  












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