Fall Drive

We started a tradition the first fall we moved to Colorado, the "Fall Drive". We just love driving through the mountains and taking in the spectacular color display of the Aspen. This year we drove for three days, and crossed the Continental Divide seven times!
Ace went with us and proved to be a wonderful travel companion. He loved all the new sights and smells. He attracted lots of attention from other people and met quite a few nice dogs too!

(click on any picture to see it full size)

Day 1: we stopped at Gray's Peak; it would have been only a 5 mile hike to summit this fourteener and Brian would have loved to add it to his list , but we just didn't leave ourselves enough time to do it. We did hike the path for quite a way, it was Ace's first hike and he did a great job! We did have to carry the little puppy down the mountain though! Next we drove through Glenwood Springs which was beautiful and ended up in Redstone, where we stayed in a cute little cabin at a place called Avalanche Ranch.
We absolutely fell in love with this place! The next day we headed out and immediately started driving through photo opp after photo opp!

We drove to Crested Butte via Kebler Pass, a wonderful drive to see the Aspen. We stopped in Crested Butte for a picnic lunch then headed to Aspen via Cottonwood Pass (summit 12,126 feet) and Independence Pass (summit 12,095 feet). When I mention these "Pass" names and summit elevations, do you picture narrow dirt roads, with major drop offs on the passenger side? Yes, that is how it was! We were off the beaten path and on the scenic route!At one point, the drop was actually on the driver's side, and we were on a really rocky road. Brian looked out his window and said, "Wow, look at the view down there." Then he looked at me and said, "you probably would rather I watch the road!"
It was quite the adventure! We saw so much and had a wonderful time, it was a great trip!