We left our gracious hosts, Union Jack and Babe Ruthless, this morning to head for Ridgeway, Ouray and on to Silverton.
Leaving with a stunning view to the San Juan mountain ranges we headed out of town. Our first quick stop would be Ridgeway and the True Grit Cafe. The scene from the original True Grit with John Wayne playing Marhsal Rooster Cogburn, takes a ruffian and boots him out of the space marked as Chambers Groceries.
True Grit Cafe boasts the sign ‘Chambers Groceries’ that was used in the film and is a tribute to John Wayne, offering great food and a view to much memorabilia. However!! Again, we arrive and it is closed!! We kept thinking it was Monday’s it was closed but must be Tuesday’s which was soooooo frustrating!! So no, we still have not seen the inside of the True Grit Cafe.
We continued on our way to Ouray. Its scenery is often referred to as the Switzerland of America and of course is just stunning and one of my favourite places to go through. With its many historic buildings lining Main Street, I am just in awe of the secrets these must hold every time we visit. Of course we couldn’t go past the O’Briens Irish Pub without a pint of Guiness!
In the mid to late 1800’s, miners came to Ouray for silver and gold. It has hot springs that are still used today and along the Million Dollar Highway the view back to the valley in Ouray was featured in the opening credits of the Netflix series The Ranch. One of Jack’s and my favorites with Sam Elliott of a non-cowboy film nature.
We continued up the winding roads climbing again to some 10,000ft and dropping down into Silverton which sits at 9,318ft above sea level. We found a motel for the night and walked up the street to the sounds of the steam train.
The Durango-Silvertown Narrow Gauge Railway runs on a 3ft (914mm) wide track along 45.2m (72.7km) between the two Colorado towns. We have done this trip before but the sound of the whistle just draws you in!
We got up to the depot but she is turned around and ready for departure back to Durango. Still such a spectacular site and sound.
Wandering in and out of shops, we headed for the Handlebars Saloon. This place we have also been to on other occasions and is definitely the place to go when in Silverton. Handlebars has relocated from behind the Indian Store to its new location on Greene Street, the main street in town.
It still boasts its usual paraphernalia of taxidermy, weird signs and humor!! It has not lost its uniqueness at all and the food is still outstanding!
Back to the Motel for time out and a rest! Tomorrow we will head down through to Durango.
Kat xo
The Adventures of Jack n Kat 