Highway 550 connects Durango to Silverton, paralleling the famed narrow gauge railway.
You may have trouble imagining a Toyota Prius as a roller-coaster car, but that’s how it felt today. It took us over passes topping 11,000 feet, through tunnels covered with rocks and ice, and within a few feet of sheer drop offs at dizzying heights.
Guard rails? Nah. Sweaty palms and white knuckles? For sure.
We were surrounded by peaks of more than 14,000 feet in southwestern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains as we traveled from Durango to Moab, Utah. A few other vehicles joined us for the ride.
Spring has not yet struck this aspen forest near Durango.
We stopped for coffee in the old mining town of Silverton, at more than 9,500 feet.
Look closely to see the narrow road descending from an 11,000-foot pass.
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