Colorado Experience: Million Dollar Highway
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 พ.ย. 2022
- It’s been dubbed The Road to Hell, but it’s also called the most beautiful drive in Colorado. The Million Dollar Highway is magnificent, death-defying, and it should have been impossible to build. It nearly was. And at a terrible human cost to the Ute people as well as to the men who blasted, dug and drilled a path through the steepest, hardest, roughest of mountain passes.
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I grew up in Montrose Colorado, just a car ride north of Red Mountain Pass. Been over it countless times in my 66 years. I’ve gathered mushrooms in Ironton park, hiked many trails in the San Juan’s. I will have my ashes scattered there. Thank you for this presentation, well done.
That's cool tell me what was the terrain like lots of trees any caves?? How did the soil feel between your fingers gritty fine/ course smooth /slick,???
Hi, as a family. We used to stay in Lake City. 46-50. The road from Creed to Lake City was a glitch. Rough as a cob. The last time we were there we were on a road trip to Killaspell Montana.. it was a side trip.
This is not nothing, go and see the Karakorum/Old Silk Highway in Pakistan. Roads to see the splendors of Himalayas, the majestic peaks, views from heaven. You will never forget the experience.
I lived in Portland for ten years at Piece makers across from Cedar hill
My favorite hike is horse thief up to the bridge then a brew at true grit my favorite store is nextdoor to salvation army in Montrose I worked at Ike's Mobil home park for awhile there on 50
s'f'sa'g'f's'd'gsfsagfsdg
I grew up in Florida and seeing the Rockies has always been on my bucket list. My wife and I drove there in 2017. We stayed just north of Purgatory Resort for a week and traveled to Silverton, Ouray, Telluride, and surrounding areas. I have never seen anything more majestic and beautiful in my life. It was a great experience.
Well. If you like Colorado. Alaska makes it look like a toy snow globe.
First drove this road in the Summer of '72 with my future spouse. We slept on the ground in a pull-off in sleeping bags behind our 1962 Mercury Meteor. THOSE were the DAYS!!!!
What a great experience!
Wado, which is "Thank you" in our Cherokee language, for sharing your memory with us.
Men built this road. I can't imagine the unbelievably hard work that those great men put into this road. Kudos to them and their families. This is my favorite road. Ever.
today: women can do anything
also today: what is a woman
and yet they cry about 'equality'
This is nothing, go and see the Karakorum/Old Silk Highway in Pakistan. Roads to see the splendors of Himalayas, the majestic peaks, views from heaven. You will never forget the experience.
@@logicfirst7959 scenic byway 12. Best road in the world.
@@logicfirst7959 GIMME A BREAK.! Geezzz, we're NOT talking about the Himalayan area. Ok!? Its like someone's talkng about the biggest
Fish THEY are so proud of..@ aling comes... aahh, mr.Logic. who you KNOW is gonna say, " well it aint
Nothin'' like the one I GOT...up at the
Blah blah blah... Etc.
@@terriejohnston8801 calm down mate - take a chill pill, all that blood pressure will give you a headache, it aint that serious at all
A 1981 bicycle tour took me over this majestic highway after spending one night in Ouray. The descent from Red Mountain Pass to Silverton was more than exhilarating. So very sorry to the Ute Nation!
Why they are still here, and they gave up this mountain pass, the UTE nation is an great example of we don't use it here have it.
@@jackmountain8503 lol yeah here have it. It was already theirs.
Friend and I cycled the million dollar highway 91 🙏
Colorado PBS is lit. The documentaries on this channel are all so well done.
Learned to drive on this highway with my dad, Lloyd McMillan. We stopped frequently at the site of the minister and his daughters. Prayerfully. Lots of memories brought back by this documentary.
Silverton Colorado is my hometown I lived in ouray and 74 with my dad my mother my sister and my brother. We moved to Silverton in 76. My dad worked in the mines we had a gift shop I grew up in Silverton and I drove the million dollar highway more times than I can remember.
I remember my first trip over the Million Dollar Highway. It was September 1984 and I had just gotten out of the Marine Corps and gotten married. My wife and I took our honeymoon at her uncle's cabin near Gunnison. We were told that we HAD to drive south from Montrose through Ouray and up to Red Mountain Pass. So we did. I was a Michigan kid and was not used to the vertical world of the mountains so to say that I was a white knuckled nervous wreck driving along that road would be an understatement. Despite having faced down machine guns, rockets, mortars, and just about every other weapon of war that can be hurled at you in Beirut a year before, I was scared witless by those dizzying heights. I thought it was a thousand feet down and I was annoying the locals because I was driving so slow. LOL. I've now lived in Wyoming for more than 15 years. I've gotten used to the vertical world of the Rockies and no longer have that nerve wracking fear of heights. A few years ago a friend and I drove that highway once again, the first time I'd been through there since 1984. I had to laugh at the me of so many years ago, it wasn't a thousand feet down, more like 300. I wasn't bothered by the drive and since I was relaxed, I could very much enjoy the stunning beauty of that country. The nearby Beartooth Highway is very much like the Million Dollar, except it has guard rails... in most places. The beauty is jaw-dropping in both places. I'll get down there again to be sure.
A mere 300 feet down. Oh well!
@@commontater8630 Well, it's a matter of perception. The old me saw a thousand feet... which it ain't. After living in the mountains for all these years now I see it for what it really is.
In about 1918, My father when he was 19 years old drove a tour Pierce Arrow out of the Broadmoor Hotel thrilling terrified tourists up the then precipitous passages of Pikes Peak in about 1918. My grandparents and parents were friends of the Spencer Penroses. I remember them as being very fascinating yet 'earthy' unpretentious people. I remember as a child playing with their children on a huge trampoline in their backyard on Lake Avenue.
I helped our parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary at the Broadmoor as that was their first honeymoon destination after their wedding in 1949. They both passed away about 15 years ago at ages 85 respectively.
Those were the days...
I can also remember visiting Silverton when it has a dirt main street with wooden sidewalks. i worked at a high school and my boss's brother was a federal judge in Silverton. I actually had the pleasure of meeting him. The meeting took place in his chamber, when I entered, it was like history a few hundred ago. The judge looked like a man who has just come out of the mountains. We had an interesting conversation and then my buddies and I left Silverton. We continued north to Oray and then rode over the Million Dollar High Way. This happened many years ago though..
I lived in Silverton from 1983-1985. Really loved it. I worked for a mining company, until it shut down.
@@anneboban2002 Dude, were you at Eldorado? Staying in Silverton all year took fortitude. Well done!
I rode the Million Dollar Hwy. in the early 1950's with my parents and grandparents, it was a treacherous road then, very narrow, very dangerous. I have ridden and driven it many times since, mostly early Spring, Summer and Fall. To me it is the most beautiful Hwy in the beautiful state of Colorado, bar none!! The last I drove it was 2015 taking my grandson to see where his grandfather and I spent so many happy times in Ouray. We even took a jeep trip to the top of Red Mountain. Wish I could go back one more time.
Wow! You're living history. I'm not sure the road had been widened at that time. That means you were on the original Million Dollar Highway. Well done and thanks.
After a hair-raising descent into Silverton we were convinced to load our bike onto the narrow gauge train to Durango. After one night in Durango our next stop was Aztec, NM where my grandpa lived. What sweet memories!
I can't count the number of times I've driven this road in all seasons and weather and it never gets old or boring.
I did that in one day
I cannot get enough of Colorado's history. Thank you & kind regards from Adelaide, South Australia.
I used to see Sleeping Ute every day with my Eyes, now with my Heart. What a Joy and Adventure to ride through those Mountains ❤, so many times 🏍 ❤
I freakin love your videos on Colorado history, you can't imagine how much i let people know about them!
thanks!
GLOBAL WARNING induced by man, climate crises.
Very racist history. Worse than na5is
One avalanche area is now "roofed" so the avalanches now slide over the road. The gold that was discovered during a highway widening and paved over has been mined out after the road was widened. The trucks that carried the ore out parked on the highway as a conveyor loaded them.
Been over it in all seasons. Neat road, really wide now.
As wide as Stacy Abrams?
During my vacation trips from Texas to Washington I always made it a point to drive that road. My favorite part of Colorado to be sure. Those fall trips just can't be matched anywhere. It is sad though the Ute were basically driven out of their beautiful homeland there for others to take it over. It's truly one of God's masterpieces. It's one road you can't just travel once but many times to fully enjoy the beauty of its nature.
My Grandfather of Hartman Brothers Ford Dealership in Montrose drove the first motorized vehicle over Red Mountain. 🤘
It's actually a road to paradise. And it's heaven being on it.
Been on that road over 400 times from 1966 to 2018…had several spooky trips.
Regarding the artillery blowing the avalanches... I was there in the late 70s for a couple of weeks while in College in Indiana visiting a friend. I had gotten out of the Marines in 1975 and was artillery fire direction control with a Marine Corps battery of the SAME 105's shown in the video... My friend introduced me to the guys on snow patrol who were his friends.
I was 24/25 years old, out visiting and skiing Berthoud pass when it was still going and CHEAP compared to everywhere else and within a few miles of Denver. I had beers with them got to know them and one night over beers and pizza they found out what I'd done in the Marines and they were just going to be getting their first 105's for avalanche control... I was offered a job right then and there... Oh, it was tempting as Colorado was still before the world had found it back then and I'd always wanted to live out there, it was fun and I got along with everyone I was meeting...but I ended up saying no and that was another road not taken in my life...
I'm so excited to see another Colorado experience video!!!
Yup people like this built this once great state, then we left the gate from KommiFornia open
RIP KommieRado...
Experiencing Colorado is like stepping into a postcard-perfect landscape, where rugged mountains, pristine lakes, and expansive forests beckon outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers alike
Drove over this with my dad in the middle of the winter in a 1980 Buick Regal during a blizzard! The snow was so heavy the wiper’s wouldn’t work. I was leaning out the passenger window manually removing the snow and ice with an ice scraper. I t felt like 20 hours going over that mountain at 5-10 mph scraping snow and ice all the way.
Fun!
Amazing history I was not aware of. I would like to drive on🏔🛻 Thank you PBS Colorado
Wonderful documentary I miss my beloved Colorado 🦕 thank you 🦋
This road is no joke to drive in the Winter!
White knuckle driving in summer - I can’t even fathom attempting in winter. I didn’t even know about it till I was on it. Everybody should see it, but I wouldn’t go in winter.
I used to go backpacking on this area every summer for 16 years in a row. I have driven this highway many times and I never get tired of it. Once I drove it at night. That is not something I really want to do again.
Imagine what this area looked like during the Younger Dryas epoch. I love Colorado. I absolutely love it.
Showed up at Silverton in shorts and T shirt September 12th. I now own a hundred dollar coat that says Silverton on it.
I hate when that happens!
That's why most all Coloradins keep a coat in the trunk year round. I've been in a light snow ❄️ in July at Mt Evans 14,000+ feet above sea level.
lol...That'll teach ya!
Thank you for telling the Ute Natives side in this historical program instead of only the white man's side. This area is extremely beautiful. I need to schedule a visit here.
For hunter/gatherers, the Four Corners area was a paradise.
Think Mesa Verde. The oldest condo project in the country...Native tribes knew exactly what they had and built condos (cliff houses) all over that area. Most are on private land.
The Egyptians built gigantic tombstones for pharaohs while Native American tribes were building extensive and elaborate housing projects.
Unbelievable and I wish they’d never have built it!!
My great grandfather and grandfather worked in the mines during the World war era, ending at WWII when my grandfather went to war. My great grandfather was in a shaft elevator failure and broke his back. Fortunately, he was not paralyzed but suffered the effects the rest of his life.
Modern-day folks don't realize how hard and dangerous that work was. Most of those mines were hard-rock drill and blast.
There are not a lot of folks out there now with the fortitude to do such work.
One of the greatest routes to take on a motorcycle. A friend and I rode it in 2015 and I still think it was one of the most scenic routes I had ever taken.
I will be 84 come November 19 -2022
First rode over it in a pickup camper, then on a Goldwing motor cycle, then a dune bugging my husband built, it’s is beautiful , but oh so scary ,
Nice, love this documentary.
Love that road! Driven it quite a few times, never fell off. Thank goodness!
Obviously you've never fallen off, or you might not be here to tell about it. Duh.
thank you
I've been over that Mountain over 100 times being from Delta Colorado. My dad used to haul log's over it. I have always been afraid of it even though it's so Beautiful. I took my husband over it, the first time he drove it. I had to tell him to follow the speed limit, when it says 23 miles an hour it means it. I remember some of the stone guard rails. I remember the 3 crosses, more have been added.🙏💕
Wow! your dad was a log hauler over Red Mountain. Logging trucks and City Market trucks were the kings of that pass. City Market hauled groceries over those passes almost every day, rain or snow. Logging trucks were everywhere but on Red Mountain, that's a different animal.
@@petecartwright5211 I know I still have my City Market card for Gunnison. I shop there and Safeway when we go to Delta and Gunnison or Pagosa. Yes growing up we traveled Red Mountain Pass all times of the year. It's a crazy road 😎
My dad spent decades in the maintenance shop that kept the snowplows going that plow that road. Coalbank, Molas, and Red Mountain passes were all under their charge. To this day, they keep them open all year round.
I don't have the intestinal fortitude to be a plow driver over Red Mountain.
The Riverside snowslide on Red Mountain could run almost a mile wide. (There's a snowshed over it now)
I don't know what they use now, but back then, they would pull a small howitzer behind a truck and would shoot slides to get them to run. Then, they had a recoilless rifle mounted in the back of a Dodge Ram. They also dropped plastic rockets filled with charges from helicopters. Rock slides were/are common.
Plow drivers would live in cabins provided by the state at the base of the passes.
I probably followed him up the pass while it was snowing. I always waited for a truck to be ahead of me in bad weather.
@@anneboban2002 That would have been the safe place to be. Red Mountain is hairy on a bright sunny day. Before the snowsheds, those slides would run, and the Highway Dept. would clean it up usually with D-9 bulldozers and gigantic snowplows. The plows were made with augers in the front that would eat the snow and spit it out whatever direction they needed. They were "SNO-GO 's" and built by Oshkosh.
They could eject snow what must have been a hundred feet, maybe more.
My old man was the final o.k. before they went back up the hill for the winter and needed to be certain it all worked. I got a couple cool test rides.
Such a great documentary, thanks to everyone who put their heart into this one. Now I got a new one on my bucket list to do with my son
Chief Ouray and his wife Chipeta were my cousins great great grandparents. We are from Saguache Colorado
An exceptional story, and the history a tale of heroic accomplishment. Well worth the time to watch.
what an incredible asset that we have. Think i found my next summer trip. Thank you so much for publishing on youtube
Excellent video but I feel sorry for those who were killed
What a beautiful and informative video! Thank you for sharing!
We've been over it 6 times . It's AWESOME
I remember doing that road in June 2006 on my "Mile High Colorado" tour.
Rocky mountain high Colorado softer than a lullaby .
Amazing how far we've come!! I drove this route the million dollar highway in my Nissan leaf, and can't wait to do it again, and actually stop and enjoy!! Thanks for the video, makes me love it so much more!!
Oh boy, If I ever got up that way, I'd disappear into the mountains.
On July 4 2017 I drove a truck with a 53’ trailer from Grand Junction CO to Farmington NM. I had been that route many times by car before. I was sure glad there were no vehicles in the oncoming lanes when I needed to use them to round the many curves.
By any chance was is it for dollar general?
@@viscarra40 no
Bill and I rode the Million Dollar High Way on our Goldwings.. (Honda motorcycles). It was an amazing trip, we stopped at the top and put our leathers on. The weather was changing so fast. When we rode into town, I noticed the rooftops. Slanted so sharp as to let the snow slide down. We also noticed how narrow the main street was.
I have ridden the four corners of the state and this was the most amazing.
I think it was Co. that had the largest change in temperature ever recorded. Something close to 100* in a matter of hours.
so beautiful ..
So impressive what men could do back then!
sure enjoyed this and seeing the Galloping Goose at the beginning. Was there where it used to sit back in 1970 when a wee boy, my mother and her family are from the area and we had gone there from east TX to visit, is a early memory of mine, Ouray and that area.
Excellent...thank you
We drove it last summer (2022), an absolutely gorgeous and thrilling drive. Would definitely do it again.
i accidentally took that route in a tractor trailer in the winter. Google maps said it was a shortcut and i was a rookie.
Great program
Learned a lot. Thank you.
We drove from Ouray to Grand Junction one year. When we came around a blind corner there was a 4ft boulder sitting right in the middle of the highway. No mishaps and we called someone to report it, but it was eye-opening.
I grew up in Farmington, my mother's family from Durango. As a kid we went to Ouray several times. The last time I was on that road was 46 years ago traveling from Grand Junction to Farmington, with my baby daughter with me. Scared the @#?#!! out of me. Beautiful drive, but never again.
I love that highway
I've ridden my motorcycle over it without giving the road much thought. I'll appreciate what I'm riding on more after watching this.
A wonderful drive.
I kept stopping to take in the beauty around me
Thank you for this video.
Thank you
The Utes are such beautiful people. So sad we stole their land.
Land Back.
Everyone on Earth was conquered at some point in history.
It's time for them to move forward.
Have traveled through out the American West. I believe Native Americans should celebrate their culture much as I celebrate my Irish heritage. But it’s time to move on - So sad to see the deplorable conditions on many reservations. Opportunity in this country is unlimited - It’s depressing to see so many Native Americans satisfied to live on welfare and government handouts. Anyone can can become very successful through hard work, common sense and determination. I wish the best for everyone.
They were savages that are better off with technology. Horses, guns, glass, metal weren't even available until the white men came. Its interesting, they really were wild and living off the land. But the Natives numbers were scarce. 300 k spread across the whole U.S. That's empty. The buffaloes far outnumbered the MONGOLS who crossed the bearing straight. Too small a number to say you own or control the land.
If you look at a portrait or photograph of the Ute 'beautiful' is not what comes to mind. They look rather brute, very large nose, it's Colorado that is beautiful. It's beautiful that they chose colorado
This was Beautiful
Great camera
Concepts were fantastic.
56:40
Well done. Loved this !
I'm more than halfway through and haven't heard anything about a highway yet. Bait and switch.
PBS: Program Bait & Switch
Enjoy going up that way.... several times. Nice job on the video, for sure!
The area is beautiful. The highway is dangerous. I've been there and explored many of the trails and high mountain passes.
STUDIED CREEDE, CO...BUT NOT THIS HISTORIC AREA...SILVER & GOLD...PRICES HIGH & LOW...INCREDIBLE...THANK YOU...
beautiful
When this $M highway was built $M was really something.
Today, most freeways cost MORE then $M per mile.
!
I still have nightmares about that road.
My father, a trucker, hauled gasoline to silver ton when the road was pretty much a one lane gravel road. Said he would have to back up often to let cars get around
Thank you grampa ,and dad .
We all suffer trauma. My ancestors fought in every war. There would not even be a country to grease without their blood.
The waters from Red Mountains being acidic is an understatement. Much of the waters from Red Mountains mines have a negative pH value.
highway 14 west through Poudre canyon is also a fantastic drive
Keep Colorado great! Keep Californians out!
I agree. Born and raised here my whole life, and Californians do not belong here, along with Texans. Both different sides to a horrible coin.
To late you guys are ultra liberal already.
Going over today!!
I was at the top of red Mountain and saw a little pond with a beautiful white Lilly Flower and I ask my husband if it was possible for him to get the Flower He said the water was so cold that had ice in it , but that it was not deep he might be able to just walk out and pick one of the Flowers. So he stepped into and it went up to his chest and he say oh well and he swam out and got it. but he almost froze. Just to pick me that Flower. THAT IS WHEN YOU KNOW A MAN LOVES YOU.
I, for a minute, thought this could be an interesting video but that literally only lasted a minute
White man bad. All of our shortcomings are their fault. We take no responsibility. 🥱👌
@@tebelshaw9486 Aren't you a rebel?
I bet you wear your camouflage jacket at the beach in July too, don't you? lol
Many years ago I drove to western Colorado to visit friends. I drove over Wolfcreek pass for the forst time, myself. It was then I discovered that the work we'd had done on our car just a week prior, had ended up eliminating a low gear. So, coming down Wolfcreek pass was a frightening experience for me, especially since it was my first time driving that kind of road. So we finally get to Montrose and our friends decided to show us the sights. We started up the million dollar highway and I had a pa ic attack. We turned arou d and returned to our friend's house. What little I saw was beautiful, but I never had any desire to return. That was over 40 years ago. After seeing this vid, I'm glad for that panic attack! And I wasn't prone to those. But since it was the same day as the Wolfcreek experience, my friends thought that the mdh would cure me. That's not how my drum rolls. It's beautiful seeing the sights through the video from the safety of my lazyboy! 🤣
Colorado belongs to the Ute...GIVE IT BACK!!!!
On a coastal Highway in 1950s New Zealand, grass grew where a white line might have been painted. Every month a new track of a car that had rolled down the ocean cliffs into the ocean.
I live about 2 hours for this highway. Completely and unbelievably amazing! There is said to be over a million dollars worth of gold in the rocks under the highway but that's likely billions now. Dangerous and definitely not a road you want to take when it snowed. Monument Colorado the dessert million dollar highway.
I live on Hwy 550 it's the most beautiful land in America but today's drivers drive too fast on this road making it a stressful drive .
I'm from Canada I live where the caribou gold rush happened in quesnel BC we have a similar situation with the Frasier river canyon road I enjoy watching and learning about our mining history and the hardships endured by those worked so hard to open up the back country I lived in a cabin I built myself in the high country and have a small idea of what those brave hard working folks lived through I really enjoy the old time pics. Of the early equipment they used, thank you for your efforts it is appreciated.....
My 16 yr old son and I accidentally drove the entire length of the million dollar highway. We'd had to drive a road we thought was scary so to avoid it on the way home we let the GPS reroute and decided we'd rather drive an extra hour than the one road again. Annnnnnd we ended up driving this road instead. Much scarier. Made at least 6 cars of locals hate me. It was breathtakingly beautiful though!
Try driving this in a Saturn SC2, with a gasoline tanker in front of you, and an eighty year old driving a full size Winnebago behind with darkness coming on the way I did from Silverton to Ouray back in the summer of 97, I was never so glad to get off a piece of road in my life as I was that night.
Cool...but try driving the gasoline tanker.
I always disliked summer driving the pass due to trailers, etc.
@@thatsmrharley2u2 Driving a car is enough for me, lol.
That is a great car, still have my 99, would drive through a foot and a half of snow and never get stuck, wipers on high and snow coming straight over the hood. Cheers
Wonderful❤
luv it!
Never seen it, but went through the going to the sun road in Montana twice and it was awesome and scary without guardrails.
If PBS want's to do a Ute documentary great.
I wanted to see the million dollar hwy.
3:51 cloud looks like a wolf in the saddle on the mountain
Best video seem to be about everything but the million-dollar road 🛣️🛣️🛣️