Today dawned like yesterday ended; cloudy and gray. There was no point in spending another day in Ridgway if it was going to be cloudy and overcast all day. We packed up and left the campground about 11:15. We were leaving without seeing Owl Creek Pass and before the aspens along Dallas Divide reached their peak. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and the peaks are getting snow. It's really tough to leave when you know the best is right around the corner.
As we crossed Dallas Divide and approached Telluride, the aspens kept getting better and better. By the time we reached the Wilson Mesa area, the aspens were at their peak. From that point all the way down to Dolores, the aspens were incredible. The sky was still completely overcast, but the aspens looked even more saturated because of the rain. The chances to shoot along the river near Telluride and then along the Dolores were amazing. Of course, in the motorhome we couldn't stop. That made it even harder to leave. A three-week vacation would have been perfect.
As we neared Cortez, the wind started picking up. From Cortez to Gallup, we had nearly constant wind of 30 - 40 MPH. I had to constantly steer into the wind about 20 degrees to try to go straight. It was a LONG 130 miles to Gallup. We even had a dust storm so thick I could barely see the road.
We reached the RV park about 6:30 and "enjoyed" the wind buffeting the motorhome all night.
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