Though I was planning on going to the Black Canyon on the Gunnison National Park in Montrose County on this Wednesday the 3rd of June in the year of our Lord 2026, I decided upon US 550 instead.

US 550 earns its name as the Million Dollar Highway from the views it provides between Durango and Ouray (pronounced “your-ray”). You go right through the heart of the San Juan Mountains. You see their majesty. I would agree that this is one of America’s most scenic highways.

I’d been up and down US 550 before over the years. (The first time was on a long drive from Cotulla, Texas during my oilfield days). However, I’d never been on this highway in a Toyota Tundra. I’d never taken US Forest Service (USFS or FS) roads from 550 into the mountains.

While preparing my coffee at some pullout along an ever-busying road, where I woke up to truckers staring at my Fred Flintstone feet sticking out from the bed of my truck, it occurred to me that a diversion southwest from Ridgeway to Ouray and beyond would be worthwhile. Shooting the Black Canyon again could wait.

I was excited. Spontaneous diversions in the San Juan Mountains at 9000′ would be far cooler than that diversion down House Rock Road. Passing those diversions – those USFS roads – had always caught my eye. They all seemed to lead to hulking, green mountains whose snowy crags seemed higher away than reality. They seemed unattainable. They seemed like a dream.

Plus, Ouray (named after a famous Ute Indian chief) had hot springs. Perhaps I’d indulge.

At Ridgeway, north of Ouray, the hot springs began. I thought maybe I’d find a cheaper place outside bougie Ouray. I did, but they all allowed nudity. Fruitcake Coloradans. Seriously, Colorado fruitcakes may be the most obnoxious strain of liberal fruitcakes in the United States of America – and I’ll argue why. How it feels “liberating” to a soul to show off your ugly body – as most nudists are gross to look at – I’ll never know. So, screw the weirdos there.

A higher-end, family-oriented resort at Ouray did not have fat, blue-haired retards jiggling around. This was worth the extra $5. After an hour of alternating between 110-degree and 40-degree water, that was enough. Time to head south. Time to head into the mountains.

The photos on the next two posts are what my spontaneous diversion rendered. The first batch entitled 2026-6-3: Around Ouray (24 photos) is dedicated to an overlook not too far south of Ouray. The batch entitled 2026-6-3: Northern San Juan County (34 photos) is dedicated to photos from the San Juan County line to south of Silverton, Colorado.

Anyways, the map at the top of this post is the ground I covered this Wednesday.