It’s easy to forget how small Ouray County is, both in population (4,874 2020 census) and land area (542 square miles). It’s only 37 road miles but 4,717 feet of elevation difference from Colona (6,365 feet) on the north to Red Mountain Pass (11,080 feet) on the south. Driving time on two lane US550 for these 37 miles, though, is more than an hour.