Colorful Colorado

This past weekend, while some of my friends climbed a 14er (they've climbed one every weekend this school year) and then hiked to Conundrum Hot Springs, I opted for an activity that involved slightly less exertion.

On Friday, while trying to come up with something exciting for my weekend, I happened across a website explaining that you can drive up Mt. Evans. Driving up to 14,130 feet and then walking up a path to 14,264 feet sounded about my ability level, plus now I can say I did a 14er.

A couple facts about the road to Mt. Evans:

• Depending on what source you use for the elevation of Idaho Springs, you climb 6-7,000 feet in 30 miles.
• The Mt. Evans Scenic Byway is the highest paved road in North America.
• The Mount Evans Scenic Byway was built after the road up Pike's Peak (completed in 1888). Pike's Peak was drawing the tourists away from Denver, so the road up to Mount Evans was built to draw them back. The road up Mount Evans was completed in 1927.
• The last 5 miles of the road are typically open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
• From Mount Evans you can see Longs Peak, Mt. Warren, Thorodin Mountain, Rogers Peak, Chief Mountain, Squaw Mountain, Denver metro, Meridian Hill, the Continental Divide, the Collegiate Range, Mosquito Range, Mt. Bierstadt, Mt. Holy Cross, the Kenosha Mountains, Kataka Mountain, South Park, Pike's Peak, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

So, Saturday morning I set off at 8AM to drive to Idaho Springs and then down to Mount Evans. To say the least, the road up to Mt. Evans is not for the faint at heart. I got the following two photos from the Mount Evans Scenic Byway Overview page. Ten of the fifteen miles of the drive, looked like the 2nd picture, only the drop-off looks much worse from the driver's seat.

However, I could not have asked for a better day. The sun was shining on the way over and the trees along the way looked absolutely gorgeous. It was a little overcast at the summit, but I did not mind that much because it was snowing! Technically they were only flurries, but it was snow none the less.

For more information, I recommend visiting MountEvans.com because, in my experience, it was the site that provided the most information. It also has a lot of very nice pictures.

Sunday, I went to Frisco for church, and discovered that the service had been cancelled, so I took pictures along Dillon Dam Road instead.

Monday afternoon I took a drive around Turquoise Lake. The last 3 pictures are of Hagermann Pass.

Well, that's it for my scenic weekend. Enjoy!