The Road to Hotchkiss

Our next adventure was a trip to Hotchkiss, Colorado. Jalene's cousin had invited us to stay at her vacation home, but she had to leave early. She was gracious enough to let us stay for a few days anyway.




The route from Cortez to Hotchkiss took us through some of the most beautiful places in the Rockies. We passed through Durango, but since we couldn't ride the steam train without Niki, we decided to stop in Silverton, the train's destination. Maybe we'd get a glimpse of it.

We explored the town while we waited. Jalene suggested ice cream, so we found a place that looked good, the Elevated Coffee Company. The ice cream was delicious. This place was connected to the Grand Imperial Hotel, so we had to take a look. There was an antique grand piano in the lobby, so Jalene asked if she could play it. The desk clerk said it was out of tune and probably wouldn't work, but Jalene insisted. To his surprise, it sounded pretty good.

We waited around town a little longer, but we never saw the train.

The road to Hotchkiss took us through Ouray, Colorado, on what many say is the most treacherous road in the state. It consists of eight percent grades, twenty-mile-an-hour curves, and massive cliff drops. Since I'm familiar with mountain driving, it wasn't too intimidating, but Jalene wouldn't look down when we rounded the curves.




We stopped at Bear Creek Falls overlook to take some pictures. The falls were cascading down the mountainside, and the view was breathtaking.




We finally arrived in Hotchkiss, and Niki immediately found a place to find some doggie smells. What a view out the window of our house!




The next morning, I drove into town for a cup of coffee and to explore. At the coffee shop, I found a vintage XKE Jaguar parked in front. I also found out what I could do with that old pickup tailgate.

I can't wait to see what the rest of our adventure in Hotchkiss has in store for us!

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