A very scenic road from Silverton CO to Ouray CO. Keep your eyes on the road as there are no guard rails and it's a LONG way to the bottom! It's a drive of only about 25 miles but well worth the trip if in the area. Rumor says the gold mine tailings used in the construction of the highway contained a "million $" in gold (unrecoverable by mining techniques of the day) but who really knows.
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
A very scenic road from Silverton CO to Ouray CO. Keep your eyes on the road as there are no guard rails and it's a LONG way to the bottom! It's a drive of only about 25 miles but well worth the trip if in the area. Rumor says the gold mine tailings used in the construction of the highway contained a "million $" in gold (unrecoverable by mining techniques of the day) but who really knows.
The final leg of the 550 run up from Durango to Silverton isn't exactly for the faint of heart either.
Driving along the precipice overlooking the Animas River about 600-700 feet below can be rather intimidating.
Originally posted by: ricman A very scenic road from Silverton CO to Ouray CO. Keep your eyes on the road as there are no guard rails and it's a LONG way to the bottom! It's a drive of only about 25 miles but well worth the trip if in the area. Rumor says the gold mine tailings used in the construction of the highway contained a "million $" in gold (unrecoverable by mining techniques of the day) but who really knows.
The final leg of the 550 run up from Durango to Silverton isn't exactly for the faint of heart either. Driving along the precipice overlooking the Animas River about 600-700 feet below can be rather intimidating.
Take the train from Durango to Silverton which runs immediately adjacent to the Animas River. A most scenic ride in the open cars along the rail bed cut into the side of the mountain with a straight drop down to the river hundreds of feet below.
Depending on who you ask, the origin of the name “Million Dollar Highway” varies from one extreme to another. One person may tell you that the road cost a million dollars a mile to build, another that the land was purchased for a million dollars. Another legend states that the fill dirt used to build the highway contains over a million dollars worth of gold ore, however, a personal favorite (stated by a poor lady who had no idea what they would be traveling over) was that she wouldn’t drive that road again in the winter for a million dollars. But don’t let that scare you!
Comments
A very scenic road from Silverton CO to Ouray CO. Keep your eyes on the road as there are no guard rails and it's a LONG way to the bottom! It's a drive of only about 25 miles but well worth the trip if in the area. Rumor says the gold mine tailings used in the construction of the highway contained a "million $" in gold (unrecoverable by mining techniques of the day) but who really knows.
The final leg of the 550 run up from Durango to Silverton isn't exactly for the faint of heart either.
Driving along the precipice overlooking the Animas River about 600-700 feet below can be rather intimidating.
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.americanlegacycoins.com
He calmed that most of the ore contained fools gold, and some real gold but just too little to get out at that time.
Great memories from that time. My oh my how times have changed and NOT always for the better.
He also took me into a mine and some how I got a rock with silver running through it.
I had it for years until I when overseas and returned it was lost.
A very scenic road from Silverton CO to Ouray CO. Keep your eyes on the road as there are no guard rails and it's a LONG way to the bottom! It's a drive of only about 25 miles but well worth the trip if in the area. Rumor says the gold mine tailings used in the construction of the highway contained a "million $" in gold (unrecoverable by mining techniques of the day) but who really knows.
The final leg of the 550 run up from Durango to Silverton isn't exactly for the faint of heart either.
Driving along the precipice overlooking the Animas River about 600-700 feet below can be rather intimidating.
Take the train from Durango to Silverton which runs immediately adjacent to the Animas River. A most scenic ride in the open cars along the rail bed cut into the side of the mountain with a straight drop down to the river hundreds of feet below.
Depending on who you ask, the origin of the name “Million Dollar Highway” varies from one extreme to another. One person may tell you that the road cost a million dollars a mile to build, another that the land was purchased for a million dollars. Another legend states that the fill dirt used to build the highway contains over a million dollars worth of gold ore, however, a personal favorite (stated by a poor lady who had no idea what they would be traveling over) was that she wouldn’t drive that road again in the winter for a million dollars. But don’t let that scare you!
The big mine was the Idarado. A $20M superfund site.
Images of US-550 from 2008