We left Ridgway on Colorado 62
to Placerville, then headed west on Colorado 145 and north on Colorado 141 north to
Whitewater and Grand Junction. This route is known as the
Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic Byway. We then continued east on I-70 to Glenwood Springs for the night. The day's route was 257
miles.
From
Ridgway the road climbs through the 8,970 foot Dallas Divide and provides a
beautiful view of the San Juan Mountains to the east. A few miles out of
Ridgway a large ranch with a fence that seems to run for miles reportedly
belongs to Ralph Lauren. From Placerville, Colorado 145 heads northwest
through the San Miguel Canyon, crosses over the San Miguel River and climbs
quickly nearly to the canyon rim.
After
a few miles, the road flattens out and passes through ranching country framed by
the Last Dollar Range of the San Juan Mountains in the distance. After
passing through Norwood, population 429, Colorado 145 ends and Colorado 141
heads north. The next small town is Nucla, population 656. Nucla
was home of the west’s first agricultural commune.
The name is derived from “nucleus”.
Continuing
north through ranch country following the San Miguel River you come to Uravan,
population "too small to count". The mine tailings from
Uravan, named for the uranium and vanadium mined there, created the first
atomic bomb.
Colorado 141 was reportedly built by the Atomic Energy Commission to provide
access to these critical minerals. There certainly isn't enough
population in the area to justify a well-maintained two-lane paved road.
There are no service stations, country stores, 7-11's, or McDonalds for about
100 miles, a fact that was indelibly impressed upon us later.
Just
past Uravan we stopped at a pull-off overlooking the Dolores River to view the
remains of the hanging flume, a 7-mile wooden flume that delivered 80 million
gallons of water a day to the Lone Tree Placer mining site. We all
agreed that the view rivaled the Grand Canyon, although the Grand Canyon
dwarfs the Dolores Canyon in magnitude.
The
road follows the Dolores River along the canyon floor, then turns east along
West Creek and East Creek. The canyon becomes very narrow with only
room for the creek, the road, and small stands of cottonwood trees. Red
rock formations tower overhead as you ride among the cottonwood trees
alongside the clear stream. The Dolores River Canyon’s steep, red walled S-turns are narrow, and
the good road makes for an excellent ride.
Leaving
Dolores Canyon and heading east, Unaweep Canyon is unique, being the only canyon
with a divide causing streams to run east and west.
The name "Unaweep" means canyon
with two mouths. After clearing the gorge, you enter Unaweep Seep.
Residing in the nearly one-mile deep Unaweep Canyon, it’s locally known
as Swamp Hill.
This unique wet meadow is one of the few habitats for the rare Nokomis
Fritillary Butterfly, although we didn't see the first Nokomis Fritillary (not
that we would have recognized one if we had run over it!). Climbing over
the Nine Mile Hill to Grand Valley, out the northern entrance of Unaweep Canyon,
the formation consists of 1.7 billion year old rock.
As you cross the Gunnison River, Colorado 141 ends at the intersection of U.S.
Highway 50.
