Volume 5: Telluride/ Ouray/ Ophir
These mountain towns are gems in Southwest Colorado. Telluride and tiny Ophir are in San Miguel County, and Ouray, not far away if unimproved roads aren’t a barrier, is located in Ouray County. Telluride is the most populous (about two thousand residents) and best known of the three, home to a famous ski resort, many well-known music festivals, and exclusive luxury homes. Telluride’s colorful history as a hard-rock mining town where gold, silver, and tellurium were extracted beginning in 1878 changed dramatically in the 1970s when the Telluride Ski Resort opened. Telluride’s elevation is 8,750 feet above sea level, a bit higher than Ouray’s 7,792. (source) Fewer than 1,000 people call Ouray home, but each year many thousands of tourists visit the charming village, nicknamed the “Switzerland of America.” Like most mountain towns in the region, Ouray was founded on mining (gold, in this case), made accessible by the railroad, and popular with visitors. (source) Ophir, Colorado, is the highest in elevation of these three towns at 9,695 feet. Gold was discovered in 1875, and the town was founded in 1881, but the mines decreased until there was only one resident in 1970! Telluride’s popularity in recent has allowed a few hundred residents to call Ophir home. (source)
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- From Bear Creek Trail - Ouray, Colo.
- A distant view of mountains.
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- From Waterdog Lake Trail, Lake City, Colo.
- A view of mountains from Waterdog Lake Trail, in Lake City Colorado. On the back, the postcard is addressed to Mrs. Hattie Harrison.
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- Galloping Goose
- Galloping Goose underneath trees; caption on the front: "The Galloping Goose."
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- Galloping Goose #4
- Photo of the Galloping Goose railroad car next to a building. Tree leaves are turning yellow on a hill in the background.
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- Galloping Goose (Telluride, Colo.)
- Photo of Galloping Goose next to a building which is on the right. A mountain peak is in the background.
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- Galloping Goose near Ophir, Colo.
- A black and white photograph of the Galloping Goose on train tracks near Ophir, Colorado.
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- Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial. Aztec Indians.
- Color image of the Gallup, NM Inter-tribal ceremonial. Image shows a group of natives in a parade that are dressed up in Aztec Warrior garb with shields and giant feathered headdresses. There are spectators on the side of the road and some buildings can be seen behind the parade.
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- Gambling (Telluride, Colo.)
- Photograph of the inside of a saloon in Telluride, Colorado, a roulette wheel is in the foreground and men are sitting at tables in the background, a bar is shown on the right side of photo. [Note: the postcard title, "Gambling," is in quote marks; gambling is not permitted in Telluride.]
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- Glasgow Ave. (Rico, Colo.)
- Black and white photograph of Glasgow Avenue in Rico, Colorado.
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- Gold Fish Pond at Ouray, Colo. on Durango-Silverton-Ouray Million Dollar Highway
- Black and white photograph of the goldfish ponds at Ouray on the Million Dollar Highway
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- Grammar School (Ouray, Colo.)
- Photo of three-story building with a steeple (bell tower) with steep mountain sides in the background.
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- Greetings from Ouray (Colo.)
- Fishing: five scenes in Colorado.