July 19th, 2022
Billings, MT

After just two weeks at home, I set off in the van again to meet my brother and his wife Michelle in Ouray, Colorado.  Ouray is a very beautiful place and the setting, with mountains rising in all directions, is gorgeous.  We spent three nights together at a local campground and, when not eating out, Michelle cooked up some mighty fine food.  I think it is fair to say we drank a bit of wine as well.

We were unable to get into the local museum as it is now by appointment early, but met some folks who had done so and raved about how nice it was.  Lunch was at Ouray Brewry where the killer seats are on the third floor, looking down on the main street.  There was a bit of sticker shock at the cost of a burger and beer, but that’s generally true everywhere these days.  And I have to admit, it was an excellent burger.

View From Third Floor Deck at Ouray Brewery

Day Two we made a tactical blunder in driving to Telluride.  Jamie and I had both driven US 550 south to Silverton before and remembered it as a beautiful drive.  We all somehow got it in our heads that this was the way to Telluride, and none of us bothered to check a map.  It is not the way to Telluride, as we realized after an hour.  We did see a moose, however, and were entertained by a certain member of the party calling it:  “Heeeere, moosey, moosey, moosey!”

We finally arrived in Telluride about two hours later than planned, thanks to the detour.  It is even more beautiful than Ouray.  We spent some time in the decent historical museum there before heading back to the campground.  Jamie and Michelle have a mammoth 42′ multi-slideout trailer that is nicer than many people’s homes.

After a night in Steamboat Springs, I headed up into Wyoming. 

Storm Peak Brewing in Steamboat Springs is very dog-friendly

Near Big Horn, I visited the purely wonderful Brinton Museum.  This wasn’t just a drive-by, it had been an intended stop on this trip.

Bradford Brinton made a fortune in manufacturing and real estate in the early part of the 20th Century.  With homes in New York and Santa Barbara, he bought a 600-acre ranch near Big Horn for a summer home.  An avid art collector, he collected and commissioned works specifically for his ranch.  The grounds are preserved as they were in 1930, with the addition of a beautiful 3-story structure built into a hill that houses his art collection, including original western paintings and bronzes by artists like Frederick Remington and C.M. Russell.  It also had a gallery with an impressive display of Native American leather work collected from throughout the southwestern US.  Well worth a detour off the main highway.

Art Gallery at Brinton’s Ranch

Original Brinton Ranch House

Notably, that area NW of Big Horn and SE of Sheridan is gorgeous.  In those foothills of the Big Horn Mountains are numerous large homes on small acreage with incredible mountain views.

I then fled the heat and spent two nights at a USFS campground at 8,700′ in the Big Horns.  Just after grilling dinner the second night a lengthy thunderstorm hit and I relaxed in the luxury of my comfy dry van for the evening.  Yeah, my days of camping in tents are long over.  (Note to self:  Be sure to put bug spray in the van!)

A couple more nights in Wyoming and Montana and I was home again.  Until August, anyway.  The road beckons.