Although we had a plan for today, we didn't complete it. My bad. We left Montrose at 8 AM and 63 degrees. The temps today ranged from 56 to 69, but it always felt good, even in shorts and short sleeves. We hovered most of the day between 9,000 and 11,300 ft. elevation, where the air is dry and pure and it doesn’t feel cold.

The plan for today was to take the scenic route south of Black Canyon and up to Aspen, spend a little time there, then continue on through scenic country to Silverthorne. We started out going east from Montrose, which didn’t make Mrs. GPS happy one bit. But we had a plan, so we turned her off and continued on. We drove through a lot of national lands today, several national forests and the Curecanti National Recreation Area, which was absolutely beautiful. It is made up of three reservoirs created on the Gunnison River and surrounded by mountains. We saw boaters enjoying each of the lakes. And we took in the vistas and enjoyed the quiet and the softness of the early morning sun.   We drove through Gunnison, an old small town with it’s own brand of charm and the home of Western State Colorado University, a private college located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.

The next part of the drive took us up to 11,300 ft., to the Monarch Crest, one of several points on the Continental Divide which we have visited on this trip. And from here on, we were in the mountains and at high elevation for the rest of the day. We passed several mountains along our route and one of them, Mt. Antero, is taller than Pike’s Peak, topping out at over 14,260 ft. The top of it was up in the clouds.

Eventually we took the turn that would take us up to Aspen, a 44 mile drive (that would take about an hour and a half to drive) through the mountains. I had no idea what we were getting into when we began this leg of the trip. We have been on a lot of mountain roads, making hairpin turns, and circling mountain ridges as we climbed. But for some reason, this road freaked me out. I shocked Steve when I asked him to turn around after about 20 miles. The road was so narrow and the drop-offs so steep and so high up, with no guard rails, I had a feeling this was not going to turn out well. So we returned to the main highway and continued on our way toward Silverthorne. I guess we should have listened to Mrs. GPS's ranting. Call me a coward. I can take it.

We passed through a town called Leadville, and my research tells me that it is the highest city in the USA at over 10,200 ft. It was an old mining town in days long past, and it too has it’s own brand of charm. Beyond it was a huge mining operation in a town called Climax. I could see a mountain in the distance that looked very bare and golden in color. It didn’t look natural. It didn’t seem to fit the landscape. It turned out to be a mining operation where they were mining something called molybdenum. Even after researching it, I still don’t understand what it is. But the operation was actually breaking down the entire mountain, all the way to the peak, and that is why it did not appear natural. Seems a shame to totally destroy a mountain.

We next landed in a town called Frisco which is very popular because of its proximity to four internationally known ski areas including Breckenridge. The town was bustling with bikers and kayakers and all sorts of people. They even have a marina which is located on a beautiful lake at the base of the mountains.

We landed in Silverthorne around 4 PM and settled in for the night. Tomorrow, Rocky Mountain National Part, visit number 2.