2011 Ouray, CO - Day 4 Yankee Boy Basin

Day 4 turned out to be our first true adventure day in Ouray.  Our original plan we put together the trip was to climb Mt Sneffles, a 14er to the west of the Ouray area.  After doing some additional research on the Sneffles trail and climb we decided that it would be too technical for our novice Oklahoma hiking skills.  The Yankee Boy Basin at the base of the Mt Sneffles trail was supposed to be really beautiful and we still wanted to get a chance to see it so we decided to take a day trip and drive to it.

We headed out fairly early in the morning and was immediately presented with what a Colorado county road was.  Non-paved, possibly rocky in areas, and more then likely a steep drop off throughout the drive.  Wow was not expecting that at all!  Heath had inquired at the campground if his truck could make it to the Yankee Boy Basin and they said he would have no problem since it was 4 wheel drive and higher off the ground.  So trusting their expertise we forged ahead on the road.  I do have to admit that in taking these smaller roads you see a much grander scale of the beauty of Colorado. Since the surroundings are virtually untouched there are several waterfalls and streams, abandoned mining towns, wildlife, and wild flowers to enjoy during the drive.  I have to admit at the end, the first 3/4 of the trip to the basin was not that bad.  I later would discover that we were on a fairly "wide road" that was also fairly smooth.
At this point we got to a set of waterfalls called the "Twin Falls" at the lower end of the Yankee Boy Basin.  These were gorgeous waterfalls that fell several times in a small valley area, surrounded by wildflowers and the mountains.  We got out and explored the area, climbing up and down and taking pictures.  I was definitely beginning to see why people loved Colorado so much - everything was beautiful.
We saw that the road continued on from the point we were at.  Since none of us had been here we weren't sure if we had actually made it to Yankee Boy yet, if this road continued to it, if we could even take it.  As we sat and pondered for a while we saw several vehicles pass us and head up the road (one very unsuccessfully).  There was a tour group by us so Heath asked if we could make it up the road, he said he was pretty sure (comforting huh!) and so we decided to head on.  While this road was much rockier and had several water crossings, it was all flat in the valley without drop offs - something I liked much more.  There was a Y in the road at one point and we chose to go one direction (remember this for later).  When we made it to the end of the road we were in the top portion of the Yankee Boy Basin.  Several mountains came together in a valley at this area and it reminded us of the opening scene in the "Sound of Music".  For several hours we took pictures, walked around, hiked a small ways on the main trail, and ate lunch.  It was so secluded with only a few people passing during the time. 
After lunch we packed up and headed back down the road.  For adventure purposes we decided to try the other portion of the Y on the road.  Bad idea - this had a much steeper decline back to the bottom area with deeper water crossings.  At one point we got stuck on the edge of a rock just past a stream crossing backing up traffic for about 5 minutes as we maneuvered our way out of the mess.  At this point I decided I had enough of the front seat and seeing the road so I switched with Sandy and took up the back seat.  Later I would post on facebook "I saw God today - Between the beauty of the mountains and the terror of driving on the road barely wide enough for the truck"  Oh if I only knew what was coming up the rest of the week!
The remainder of the trip back to camp was uneventful.  I discovered I saw a lot more of the landscape from the backseat as I was not concerned about the road in front of me.  I did however see the drop off the side a little better though!  Once we got back to the main highway we decided to drive south to Silverton and go shopping and explore the town.  Silverton is a Victorian mining town so all of the building were more of a Victorian style look.  Unfortunately Silverton didn't appear to put as much work into upkeep of the town.  It was much more run down then Ouray - reminded me a little of a wild west town by the look.  We started by going to a restaurant and bar called "Handlebars" (like the mustache) for some french onion soup that was recommended to us by a friend.  The bar had a ton of character and the soup was very good.  After that we walked through the stores, bought a few shirts and other items, got some ice cream and headed back to Ouray.
After the excitement of the day we kicked back and relaxed at the campground that evening and ordered food from the cafe and enjoyed the campground area.