End of the Road

So, I'm still kicking up dust on Last Dollar Rd, looking for new vistas and working my way around the western shoulder of the mountain headed for Montrose. The mountain backdrop here is the same as in the picture of the chalets west of Telluride, a southerly view, but the foreground and middle ground have changed. The scene could use some horses - or maybe some Longhorns - couldn't it?

Okay, here's another one with all the elements: the mountain at first glance appears to be a perfect cone; the snowcap is a nice touch; a traditional snake-rail fence just past the whatchamacallit trees; and the stand of aspens split by the road would give you some shelter from the wind. You could get excited about going home if you lived on Last Dollar Rd.

This, of course, is the same stand of aspens from the preceding picture. Here though, it's all about the light. It would even be nice to walk down this road. . .

I saw this fence and disliked it immediately. First of all, the rails aren't split - like they ought to be in my estimation - but it's more than that. After some consideration, I decided the posts ought to be vertical, irrespective of the slope at the side of the road. These posts appear to be perpendicular to the ground. What was that guy thinking? Not only does it offend my aesthetic sense but, commenting as an engineer, a significant portion of the weight of the fence is "working" to loosen the posts in the ground. But it's not my fence. . .

After a few bends in the road, you begin to anticipate what might lie beyond the next one. In this case, I was wondering when the road was going to start around the western end of the ridge and take me out of the San Miguel or Telluride Valley [I don't know what the locals call it]. As it turned out, just around this bend I found one more gravel drive before Last Dollar Rd turned into a tire-sucking quagmire, challenging all comers. Needless to say, I declined the challenge.