Ouray and Ridgway towns in Colorado

We heard of the quaint town of Ouray (pronounce yur-ay) from our former neighbors, Chris and Brenda, a few years ago. The way they described the town was spot on based on what we ended up seeing. Basically, the town is nestled in a tight valley surrounded by steep mountains on three sides. The town itself still retains much of it historic charm but there's a distinct "touristy" aspect about it. As my former neighbors also mentioned, it is not as nice at Telluride but way more affordable.
   Something to consider about traveling to Ouray, for those sun-worshipers out there; since the cliffs and peaks are so high and so close to town, direct sunshine is limited. Even if the skies are bright blue, you might not feel the warmth of the sun on your skin for many hours after the sun rises. Also, whatever sunlight you enjoy will be short-lived because the sun goes behind the high peaks on the western side of town in early afternoon.
   We went up to Ouray for the day to cool off from the heat of Montrose. We went to their community hot springs pool complex to soak our bones for the day. The costs, in my opinion, are high at $18 for adults and $12 for children, but the facilities were clean and newer looking. Ultimately, sitting in a hot spring fed pool, looking up at the peaks surrounding town isn't all that bad.
   Afterwards we drove through the charming town of Ridgway and were amazed at how much money is being poured into the town. New homes, hotels, shopping centers, are all moving in. We heard that people are moving to Ridgway because Telluride is getting too expensive. In fact, rumor has it that the millionaires are being pushed out of Telluride by the billionaires. Fact? Fake? Who knows, but we did like what we saw with Ridgway's building codes and zoning to preserve the charm of the town. One day this town will become a magnet like it's neighboring towns of Ouray and Telluride.
        

Historic Ridgway fire department converted into a shop. 

Buying locally is easy in Ridgway.

A neat wild west themed area. 

A recreation of the ole western days. 

We loved the wide streets in Ouray.

The town was quiet at 10 in the morning.

High mountains surround town.

The community hot spring pools.

Raging waters.

The drive to Ouray was quite scenic.