Saturday, October 17, 2009

highways and byways

 off-roading from Silverton to Telluride, Colorado, USA
 Ophir Pass 11,789 ft elevation (mid September; 2 days later it was snow-covered and closed)
The Ophir Pass Road winds through a narrow valley up through tundra to a rocky summit.  It was once a wagon toll road used for transporting ore from the town of Ophir to Silverton for processing.  
The views of the mountains and valley are spectacular.  The road winds down through lush Aspen groves into the valley.  Below are a few views of the road and scenery.
The richness of the Autumn colors-greens, golds, earthy reds and browns, gray; and the sky fading from turquoise to a darker blue, makes this one of the most spectacular places on earth.






printable map here

This post is for The Brenda Photo Challenge.  Read about it HERE and HERE.
This challenge was hosted by Judy:  The Road to Here  and Through Squirrel Eyes

photos by me © 2007

38 comments:

  1. Gorgeous photo's!! Thanks for sharing!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The first photo was a rocky road and a very nice place for road tripping!

    ReplyDelete
  3. that is one amazing view to see..i could walked that road for hours to take me just there!

    eng

    ReplyDelete
  4. Outstanding landscapes beautifully photographed! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, what beautiful pictures! I'd love to go there! It's been such a long time since I went hiking!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Spectacular views!! I would love to see some of your bi-ways some day. Thank you for joining us!

    ReplyDelete
  7. great photos! Beautiful country we have here. Let's hope people realize that! {:-D

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful country we live in! Are we lucky or what! Great shots...thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Awesome photos Margaret, that is some gorgeous country. I love the shot of the valley with all those beautiful colors. Your post shows that some of the very best byways don't require pavement.

    Have a great weekend,
    Judy

    ReplyDelete
  10. wow ! those are sumthin else!
    very niiice.
    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's so pretty! I like the mountain view!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What BEAUTIFUL Country!! I can almost hear John Denver singing!!
    These are great...hard to imagine snow there just 2 days later!!
    Well done!!hughugs

    ReplyDelete
  13. Be still my heart! What gorgeous photos and gorgeous country! You must have been out there on vacation, huh? We saw Silverton last year and rode the old train down to Durango. Great fun!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love that part of Colorado! It's so beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Absolutely stunning photos - love the golden aspens, the staggering blue mountains. The vistas are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing these beautiful views.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful Photo's!!! I just love the mountains, maybe because here we can see for miles.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you for a wonderful view of mountain paths. I've only seen a few miles of Colorado and would love to explore more of the highways and byways of the state.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beautiful! That is breath taking scenery!

    ReplyDelete
  19. BEAUTIFUL!
    The first one of the road between the mountains makes me want to see what's around the bend.
    I'm guessing one needs to watch the weather rather closely. :)
    These are gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wow!!! Beautiful photos.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love the roughness of Ophir Pass, but just too soon to be snowing!

    The mountains and the colors of autumn is just breathtaking!

    ReplyDelete
  22. What fabulous views. So inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh wow, beautiful photo's of a beautiful country. That view is fabulous

    ReplyDelete
  24. Lovely roads, great shots! Love the lush green -very refreshing! Makes for a cool walk or a breezy drive! Thanks for sharing, Margaret!

    ReplyDelete
  25. WoW! Magnificent! Your's is an area I've always dreamed of visiting. Thanks for giving such a beautiful look at it Margaret.

    ReplyDelete
  26. OH! What beauty! Great capture of some awe inspiring highways and byways! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Beautiful, beautiful photos. Makes me miss the mountains even more. Thanks so much for that. ;o) Have a lovely day!

    ReplyDelete
  28. beautiful shots! Fab blog!

    Missy
    Last chance to enter my giveaway:
    http://thefashionfusion.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. Absolutely beautiful photos - I would have never wanted to leave.

    ReplyDelete
  30. What amazing views, makes our mountains look like molehills! LOL
    Sunny :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a beautiful place! It would be a great place to hike or take a road trip. Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Spectacular view and landscape scenes indeed. The autumn colors in the foreground contrasting the snowy background make up amazing compositions.

    ReplyDelete
  33. What a gorgeous drive! You make me want to jump in the car and BE there. So beautiful and wild...

    ReplyDelete
  34. Totally changed my breathing...

    ReplyDelete
  35. You have an interesting blog here..some wonderful photos!

    Thanks for your visit to my blog!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make my day! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!