Durango, Colorado | June 1, 2026
Ended up staying another night in Durango. I got a couple weeks of food ($230) and some diesel fuel ($175). Got rid of some trash. Flew the drone all the way down the main street of downtown Durango about 12 feet off the ground. Then after errands relocated to a different neighborhood spot.
The highlight of my day was reconnecting with someone from my past I hadn’t seen in 35 years(!). All that time gone by, and we were able to get back in it pretty easily. I’m so grateful for the people in my life, and bringing relationships from my past to a more harmonious place feels like a true blessing. One more thing I love about this life on the road is the frequent opportunities to connect with people from all different times of my life.
Last night I was set up in what I call my home office - a large cushion on one side of my bed, a lap desk and my computer. It’s so comfy, and a productive little spot for me. And I was going over what I’m doing making these short form videos. Working from the years of footage that have piled up, thinking of how to make something from them. That was a big part of the idea - do something with all this footage that has piled up. It’s been part of my morning routine for 7 days. Last night I began feeling that it would be more powerful if it were me speaking into the camera for 30 seconds. That also makes me far more uncomfortable. FAR more. It makes me want to avoid it. But I’m feeling that this is bearing the signs of something I should probably do. So I think I’m going to make myself do my first one after this journal entry. Yikes.
I woke to the sounds of somebody pressure washing something nearby. I put on my over-the-ear noise cancelling headphones with no music and I’m transported somewhere. It does something for me. I tend to like a lot the things designed for people with autism. I love to wear noise cancelling headphones with just the cancelling going on - no music. I feel a change in my body, in my nervous system, when I put those on.
Yesterday I spent some more time studying the maps and working on some kind of a next plan. I decided not to head directly towards Telluride from here. I’m most excited about visiting Silverton. It’s been uncanny how many signs have pointed me to Silverton over the past 6 months or so. It seems to come up frequently in different contexts. Everybody here in Durango seems to go to Silverton a lot. I gather that the people who live in Silverton are a different breed than those who live in Durango. More rugged, more hardcore.
I have a friend I’ve met the last two years at Skoolie who lives in a 4x4 up in Silverton and has for many years. I’m looking forward to connecting with him out here. I reached out to him yesterday and he’s in New Mexico now, but it sounds likely we’ll cross paths in a couple weeks, whether in Telluride or Silverton. He’s the one who got me using OnX, which I love.
Beyond that, it has become clear that what I’m wanting is a spot to drop anchor for a month or so. I’ll be looking out for a spot either in Telluride or Silverton where I can stay in one spot for two weeks, then maybe another spot for two weeks. I’ve done enough miles for a while, and there’s no place I’d rather be this summer than that Telluride/Silverton region. Colorado is feeling like this lush welcoming oasis after being in the desert all year so far.
Another thing coming up that I’m excited about is driving the famous stretch of highway between Silverton and Ouray, known as The Million Dollar Highway. Here’s what Claude has to say about it:
The Million Dollar Highway is a 25-mile stretch of US-550 in southwestern Colorado running between Ouray and Silverton through the San Juan Mountains, widely considered one of the most dramatic and harrowing drives in the American West. The road clings to sheer cliff faces, passes through three high mountain passes (Red Mountain Pass being the most iconic at 11,018 feet), and offers no guardrails on long stretches of exposure that drop hundreds of feet into canyon below. The name’s origin is disputed: some say it cost a million dollars per mile to build, others that the roadbed fill contains a million dollars worth of gold ore, others still that a traveler once said she wouldn’t drive it again for a million dollars. Built in the 1880s as a toll road by Otto Mears and later improved through the 20th century, it passes through old mining country with ruins and tailings visible throughout. In winter it’s subject to avalanche closures and is not for the faint of heart in any season. Northbound (Silverton to Ouray) is the side with the cliff drops directly off your door, so most people recommend driving southbound on your first pass if white knuckles are a concern. Your Sprinter would fit fine on the road itself, but tight switchbacks and narrow lanes mean you’ll want to take it slow and be comfortable with oncoming traffic in close quarters.
I’m going to have to get some drone footage of that.
Roads dispatches appear on layng.com/roads after a short delay.