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« Passing Through Meeker | Home | Red Mountain, Idarado Mine, Silverton, and Durango, Colorado »

Grand Mesa, Colorado

By PK | July 16, 2008

Grand Mesa is the largest mesa in the world covering about 500 square miles and is located in western Colorado on the western side of the Rockies. The elevation of the Grand Mesa is roughly 10,000 feet rising 5,000 feet above it’s surrounding river valleys.

We exited I-70 onto Hwy 65 south. It’s the small yellow line that’s hard to see. Enlarge map for better detail. The rocky, craggy mountains continued as I continued to constantly take their picture. They didn’t mind, Dalton didn’t mind, and I just kept right up oohing and aahing…

I was lulled by the rough terrain, safe in the river valley looking at these awesome rock formations as I snapped my pictures, waiting for the perfect opportunity to take a great shot. Dalton didn’t stop every time I wanted to take a picture or we’d never reach out destination, so they were taken ‘on the run’.

This is the Grand Mesa in a scaled down image. Much of the mesa is within Grand Mesa National Forest. Over 300 lakes, including many reservoirs created and used for drinking and irrigation water, are scattered along the top of the formation. The Grand Mesa is flat in some areas, but quite rugged in others.

The elevation offers fantastic views of the river valley below.

Geologically the mesa is the result of a hard volcanic basalt layer on its top. This volcanic layer, created during the birth of the modern Rocky Mountains approximately 30 million years ago, suppressed erosion compared to the surrounding sedimentary rock layers.

There are many lakes up on top the Grand Mesa.

The route over the mesa provides a dramatic contrast in landscape, climate and vegetation. On the north side, the road climbs the steep cliffs near the Powderhorn Resort ski area. The forested top of the mesa remains snowbound much later in the spring than the surrounding valley, and is a popular location for cross-country skiing.

The view from the top is awesome but I could only imagine what it would have been like if it wasn’t so hazy. I wonder if that could have been from the fires in California?

This map will give you an idea where we were in the state of Colorado. The arrow is pointing to the beginning of Hwy 65 which leads to Grand Mesa.

After leaving Hwy 65 and the Grand Mesa, we traveled along Hwy 50 until reaching Hwy 550 headed towards Ouray, Colorado and the high, steep mountains south of the town.

Still hazy but you can still see the snow on top which means it’s over 10,000 feet in elevation. The picture when I first viewed it on my camera after taking it reminded me of just a normal foggy picture of mountains. After having traveled the road through this mountain, it has a whole new meaning….eerie mixed with elements of fear.

Ouray has been a special destination of world travelers for more than 100 years. This small intimate community is nestled in some of the most rugged and towering peaks of the Rockies. Set at the narrow head of a valley and surrounded on three sides with 13,000 feet snowcapped peaks - Ouray has been eloquently nicknamed the “Switzerland of America.” You can read more about Ouray here.

An aerial view of Ouray as we headed up the mountain. Is it not awesome how it is surrounded by these tall, steep mountains? Ouray offers a variety of outdoor activities, one being rock-climbing. I say…good for them! That’s one outdoor sport I am not interested in at all!

I’ve been through many tunnels but none quite like this. I can only imagine the hard work it took to carve through the rock to create this unusual tunnel.

This drive offers fantastic views of scenery including these falls not far from town. These falls are called the Box Canon Falls and can easily be reached by car or by foot at the visitor center entrance. A lower trail, an easy 500 foot hike on a walkway and suspension bridge will bring you to the base of the falls. I will add that when you stand near these falls you can actually feel their power.

The Million Dollar Highway stretches for about 25 miles in western Colorado and follows the route of U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado. It is part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway.Though the entire stretch has been called the Million Dollar Highway, it is really the twelve miles south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass which gains the highway its name.The stretch through the gorge is characterized by steep cliffs and the lack of guardrails, and the ascent of Red Mountain Pass is characterized by the number of hairpin “S” curves used to gain elevation.

Million Dollar Highway?? I’d call it the newest thrill ride. If you have a fear of heights and are traveling south on this road, I would suggest riding on the driver’s side of the vehicle or you might find yourself clinging to that side of the car. Seriously…this mountain pass scares the hell out of you!!!

Another view of the Million Dollar Highway that isn’t so bad…

They called this a snow shed…I’d call it a landslide shed.

A neat little cave Dalton stopped to photograph as I sat cringing in my seat along side the cliff’s edge.

Lastly, I want to post this dedication to the men who lost their life’s maintaining Red Mountain Pass. May they rest in peace.

Thank you so much for joining us in this leg of our journey. Tomorrow’s post will include more pictures and our continued journey of the Red Mountain Pass, Idarado Mine, Silverton and Durango, Colorado. If you missed the beginning of this journey, here are the links to get you started on ‘your’ journey. part 1 and part two.

216.237.246.94
38.107.191.101