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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- Uncompahgre River, on Million Dollar Highway
- Uncompahgre River, on the Million Dollar Highway. A black and white real photo.
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- Upper Box Canyon, Ouray, Colo.
- Black and white vertical panoramic view of Box Canyon with Canyon Creek and snow-covered mountain in background. Era and image date correlate with 2006:.002.75 postcard, which has vehicles.
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- Upper Cascade Falls, Ouray, Colo.
- Hand colored photographic print of a cascade waterfall.
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- Valley View Court, Telluride, Colorado
- Black and white photo print image of a motorist's hotel. the one floor wood building has several cars parked within the drive-up lot; background is forest tree line and mountain peaks. Motel name and location rubber-stamped at upper center.
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- View from Skyline Ranch Resort - Telluride, Colorado
- A real photo view of a log house with a vehicle backed up to it on the right.
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- View from Smuggler Mine Boardinghouse, Telluride, Colorado
- A black and white photograph of mountains from the view of the Smuggler Mine Boardinghouse. The postcard also has a photograph of the miner and photographer inserted onto the photograph of mountains. With the postcard there is a description on a separate piece of paper.
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- View from the top of Umcompahgre Peak.
- This black and white postcard photograph is labled "Top O' the World" and is a photo of beautiful mountain scenery in Montrose, Colorado.
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- View of Smuggler Mine Boardinghouse, Telluride, Colorado
- A black and white panoramic view of the mountains with the Smuggler Mine Boardinghouse in the center of the photograph. The postcard is about twice as long as a normal postcard, because it is a panoramic photo.
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- View of Wilson Peak, elevation 14,017 ft.
- View of mountain peak with some snow visible through the trees, whose leaves have turned yellow.
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- View of mountains from Smuggler Mine Boardinghouse, Telluride, Colorado
- A black and white photograph of mountains taken from Smuggler Mine, in Telleuride, Colorado.
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- Village Diner (Ouray, Colo.)
- The Village Diner, with owner Geneva Ferguson in the picture.