As highway 550 from Silverton curlicues down to Ouray, it noses through tunnels blasted through solid rock, skirts the remains of old mines, a breezes past waterfalls crashing down from invisible heights.  

Ouray has been called “Switzerland of America”.  At Box Canyon Falls and Park, the turbulent waters of Clear Creek thunder 285 feet down a narrow gorge.  A steel suspension bridge and well-marked trails offer glorious vistas.

The town of Ridgway lies north of Ouray.  Both US-550 into Ridgway and Colorado Highway 62 to Placerville offer panoramic views of the surrounding San Juan mountains.

Ridgway, a former Wild West town, was used to film scenes in a number of Hollywood westerns, including “True Grit” and “How the West Was Won”.

We spent the night in Ridgway.  Dinner was a real treat at the "True Grit" cafe.  We ate in front of the same wall that served as a backdrop for John Wayne in his first scene  in the movie "True Grit".