Bridal Veil Falls

On Saturday, June 20, 2015, we left the hospitable camping near Molas Lake and moved further.
Our way lay to the waterfall "Bridal Veil Falls" by Highway 550.

The weather was wonderful and the mountains pleased us with its beauty.

The Highway 550 skirted the snow-capped mountains, along the shore of Animas River.

When the road turned again, we saw a town in a valley between the mountains...

This is the former city of miners - Silverton.
The town was founded in 1882, when a gold and a silver were found here.
*Silverton, CO*

In the mountains there was no road for cars in those years and the miners used the railroad between Silverton and Durango.
That railway operates continuously since 1881 and now used by tourists.
Its length - 72 km.

We had a very difficult part of the way, ahead...
Therefore a part of HWY 550 between the towns of Ouray and Silverton called "Million Dollar Highway" (the road for a million dollars).

Why the road has that name - nobody remembers.
Since the Highway was built in 1924...
But there are a few legends...

One legend says that the construction of this section of the road was so difficult, that the cost was one million dollars per mile.
The second legend says that the embankment of the road - this is the ore from a gold mine and it's worth the millions...
The third legend - more like the truth.
The legend says that a lady said she would not move in the winter by this road, even for a million dollars.

The length of the "Million Dollar Highway" - 40 km and it passes through the "Red Mountain Pass", next to the cliffs and precipices.
The driving is extremely dangerous, sometimes the road is closed in the winter.

It is "Red Mountain Pass".
It was the third pass in the mountains of San Juan, which we crossed.
Its height - 3358 m.
*Red Mountain Pass*
GPS-coordinates: 37°53'54.2"N, 107°42'43.9"W

It was June, but was a lot of snow on the pass.
We even played in the snow.

But the cars crossed the pass in winter, too.
As I understand the lady from the legend...

But we were on the mountain pass in the summer, the snow melted and the streams ran down

After the pass, the road went down to the town of Ouray.

The snow had disappeared, only rocks, cliffs and precipices.

The six miles to the town of Ouray are most dangerous, the road winds at the edge of cliffs, no fences.

The cars go slowly, observing the speed limit...

Ahead was the town of Ouray in the valley.
*Ouray, CO*

And here is the viewing area - "Ouray Look Out Point".

The town of Ouray lies in a valley.

The winding road goes down to the city...

We drove down...

Here we are in the city...

In 1875, the prospectors found a gold and a silver here and they founded the camp, a mining town in the future.
The town was named "Ouray" in 1875.
About 1,000 people live here now.
Mines were closed many years ago and the city's economy rests on the tourists and lovers of the hot springs.
There are many pools with healing water here - the "Ouray Hot Springs Pools".

We drove through the streets of the city and moved on - to the town of Telluride, where is the waterfall "Bridal Veil Falls". It was 16 km to the waterfall by the trail, but the 80 km around the mountains by the car.

We entered into the town of Telluride in about an hour by the roads 550, 62 and 145.
*Telluride, CO*

It was also a mining town.
It was founded in 1878.
Now, it is known as a center of winter sports, a mountain biking and a hiking.
The city's population is about 2.5 thousand people.

We arrived in town in the day of the festival, which are often held here in the summer.
There were many people on the streets, were street musicians and artists.

The town is located in a narrow valley , which abuts to the mountains and rocks.

No a road ahead - only a waterfall.

The paved road was over near the rocks and not paved road was ahead.

Well, like dozens of other cars, we parked beside the road, near to a beautiful pond.
GPS-coordinates: 37°55'43.4"N, 107°46'35.7"W

The large and small streams flowed down from the mountains and had filled the ponds.

We got out of the car and heard the hum...
Here it is - a waterfall "Bridal Veil Falls", the pearl of San Juan mountains.
*Bridal Veil Falls*

The height of waterfall - 111 meters.
The building at the top of the cliff - is a hydroelectric power plant, built in 1907.

If you want to get to the waterfall, you have to go along a dusty road up the mountain about an one hour.

Some guys tried to climb to the top by car but it was not a good idea.
The road was very dangerous: the pits, potholes and stones.
It was hot and hard going, but the waterfall was closer with every turn of the road.

We climb higher and higher, the landscapes become more beautiful.
The town of Telluride...

The streams flowing down from the mountains...

The beautiful ponds...

And ... the waterfall!

The creek with cold, clean water crosses the road

We stopped to a rest and drank water from the creek.

There were lots of mountain streams, because the snow was melting fast in the mountains in the summer.

All streams flow down to the valley...

We felt cold because the waterfall was close.

And here we are at the top, on a small site at the base of the waterfall.

It was cold, dark and damp.

The water sprays flying in all directions, and you can not go to the waterfall closer than 10 meters.
We were wet and cold very quickly...

But the landscapes were amazing...

"Very hot, I want to swim" - said my wife, when we went down to the car.
"How about the Colorado River"? - I asked.
The wife looked dazedly and I said:
"We move to Utah again, to the city of Moab.
The Colorado River flows there and there are many campgrounds on the shore".

Nature is amazing in America.
In the morning, we played in the snow on the pass, then we went up to the waterfall, but the three hours later, we will to swim in the Colorado River in the Utah...

Hi, Utah!

The forests and mountains of Colorado were left behind...
We moved on the roads 145, 90, 46, 191 and 128.

Near the city of the Moab, on HWY 191, we stopped at the Rest Area, to relax...

The city of Moab was founded in 1878.
*Moab, UT*
The inhabitants were farmers, they mined the uranium and the manganese.
When the uranium mines have closed, the number of residents decreased.
Now, the five thousands people live here and a lot of tourists.
Because the famous National Parks "Arches" and "Canyonlands" are located near.

Near the city of Moab, we turned onto the road 128 and drove next to the Colorado River.

The campgrounds are located on the shore of the river next to the road.
It was Saturday, and almost all the sites were occupied.
We drove a little further, found an empty site and put the tent.

The evening was excellent on the river: we rested, swam and looked at the sleeping river and the starry sky.
Well, tomorrow we will see another natural wonder - Arches National Park!