Ouray is pronounced "yer AY" according to the official guide to pronouncing places in Colorado correctly. I've heard it said a couple different ways (OOO ray, YOU ray), but this one seems to have the majority consensus.
Anyway, we took a break from work around lunch time and went for a walk into town (about a half mile from the campground). Oh yeah, here are some photos of the place we're staying: Ouray RV Park & Cabins, along the Umcompahgre River:
There's a path right along the river that heads into town.
On our way back to the Airstream after we grabbed a little lunch, we passed the Ouray Mining Park (which is basically a little cordoned off area in the parking lot of the Ouray Mineral Springs pool).
They had some of the rocks from the rock drilling mining competitions, and one of the rock drills, along with some other miscellaneous "mining stuff":
Near the Ouray Visitor Center, there's this sculpture: The San Juan Miners' Memorial.
"It represents a miner changing the bit on his drill. Before pneumatic drills, this tedious labor was done by hand – called a double-jack team. One miner would hold the drill bit while another pounded with an 8-pound sledge. Longer and narrower bits were used until the hole was deep enough for the blasting powder."
Now okay, maybe I'm 12, but I'm wondering whether the sculptor knew how it would read from all angles. Really?
Here is is from the front:
(Okay, yeah, I'm 12.)
Totally cute. How’s the cell/data service?
We have good 4G on AT&T, campground Wi-Fi is kinda good…probably depends where you are in the park. Haven’t tried Verizon or Sprint yet.
Check out Buen Tiempo if you haven’t already. Surprisingly good Mexican food.. and this is coming from someone who lived in a Tex-Mex haven for many years.
Also I like 4J+1+1 if you get a spot right on the river (if you tire of your spot).. you literally have full river views on three sides and acts as a real-life sleep sound machine.
@Cyrus: We went to Buen Tiempo for lunch the other day and it was really really good!
We were originally going to go stay at 4J+1+1 for a couple more days and just explore Silverton again with day trip(s) but we decided to come down here for a few days instead. The river spots at 4J looked lovely though…next time. 🙂 -L