Hey uscg1984........

[Freddie.B.Cocky]

Several weeks ago you suggested that I try the following road trip in Colorado. I saved the information and am going to copy it below.

But two questions: # 1. For planning purposes, approximately how long would the road trip take? and # 2. What routes would I take to see those places? Of course, I can look them up on a map but would appreciate any ideas / suggestions you have. I am going to try and get my road trip planned within the next couple of weeks, if not sooner.

Thanks in advance.

Freddie, if you fly into Denver and have already seen some great places in Montana and Wyoming, I would suggest a similar loop of Colorado if you haven't already seen most of that state. Colorado Springs, Canon City, Gunnison, Montrose, Durango, Cortez, Mesa Verde NP, Grand Junction, and then back to Denver via I-70 takes you through some breath-taking country. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park gets my vote for the most underrated national park in the entire system. It is an awe-inspiring gorge like something out of the Lord of the Rings and is never crowded. The view from the chairlift at the top of Monarch Pass is more impressive, in my opinion, than the one from Pike's Peak and doesn't require nearly the investment of time or money.

Most of the check-the-box tourist hot-spots in the Rockies are household names for a reason (they are awfully impressive), but there are many lesser-known and less crowded places in the Rockies that are just as impressive. Discovering those places in a road trip is incredible fun.

 

[Freddie.B.Cocky]

Bump.

 

[mauze1]

Several weeks ago you suggested that I tried the following road trip in Colorado. I saved the information and am going to copy it below.

But two questions: # 1. For planning purposes, approximately how long would the road trip take? and # 2. What routes would I take to see those places? Of course, I can look them up on a map but would appreciate any ideas / suggestions you have. I am going to try and get my road trip planned within the next couple of weeks, if not sooner.

Thanks in advance.

Freddie, if you fly into Denver and have already seen some great places in Montana and Wyoming, I would suggest a similar loop of Colorado if you haven't already seen most of that state. Colorado Springs, Canon City, Gunnison, Montrose, Durango, Cortez, Mesa Verde NP, Grand Junction, and then back to Denver via I-70 takes you through some breath-taking country. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park gets my vote for the most underrated national park in the entire system. It is an awe-inspiring gorge like something out of the Lord of the Rings and is never crowded. The view from the chairlift at the top of Monarch Pass is more impressive, in my opinion, than the one from Pike's Peak and doesn't require nearly the investment of time or money.

Most of the check-the-box tourist hot-spots in the Rockies are household names for a reason (they are awfully impressive), but there are many lesser-known and less crowded places in the Rockies that are just as impressive. Discovering those places in a road trip is incredible fun.

If you are site seeing, why would you take the interstate back to Denver from Grand Junction? You can go through Aspen and over independence Pass. Get a 4-wheel drive, just in case. It can snow in the summer time. I mean a real 4-wheel drive, not a Subaru or a pretend 4WD.

 

[Freddie.B.Cocky]

A 4-Wheel Drive is something to consider.

 

[Freddie.B.Cocky]

uscg1984, where are you, buddy?

 

[uscg1984]

I'm here, man. I've been so busy trying to get squared away for our move to Montana that I haven't had much time to check in.

How long it takes depends on how much time you have. I never had more than a week to get my traveling done, so I had to keep moving and make time where I could. If you are an old geezer and retired, you can stop about every quarter of a mile and take pictures of that beautiful landscape in Colorado.

Here is the cliffsnotes version of the route. From Denver, we went down to Colorado Springs. If you've never done the Pikes Peak thing, it is worth doing, whether you drive to the top or take the train (the train is much more relaxing though). But if you've done it once already (and are on a schedule like I always was), spend some time in the Garden of the Gods in Col. Springs and move on. Take highway 115 to Canon City and then 50 west across the state. The Royal Gorge bridge is impressive, but it's touristy. 50 will take you over Monarch Pass and over to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and then on to Montrose. From Montrose, you take 550 south and then you can either stay on 550 to Silverton and Durango or take 62 and 145 through Telluride and on your way to Cortez. Either route is beautiful and you can't go wrong either way, in my opinion. Cortez is your gateway town to Mesa Verde National Park which is a few miles away. From there, we would retrace our steps back up toward Grand Junction, but go whichever route from Montrose that we didn't take on the way down. 550 joins back up with 50 in Montrose and takes you back to Grand Junction. Colorado National Monument is in Grand Junction and is impressive in its own right.

From Grand Junction, we took I-70 back toward Denver. Not because we think interstates are pretty, but because we have jobs to get back to. But, hey, not all interstates are created the same. I-70 through Colorado ain't like I-20. The beautiful town of Glenwood Springs is located on I-70 and has some GREAT paved pedestrian and bicycle trails that run along the Colorado River. You can rent bikes or take your own and pay one of the guide companies to drop you off some number of miles upstream and have a relaxing ride back into town along the river. From there, we just drove straight back to Denver. We would usually take off 6 days from work, say, fly in on a Friday and drive down to Colorado Springs, and spend a full 7 days traveling the state in order to get back to Denver by Saturday night to catch a Sunday flight back to reality. We were moving fast and it wasn't ideal, but it was still great. Every extra day you spend on that route will make it all the better.

 

[Freddie.B.Cocky]

I'm here, man. I've been so busy trying to get squared away for our move to Montana that I haven't had much time to check in.

How long it takes depends on how much time you have. I never had more than a week to get my traveling done, so I had to keep moving and make time where I could. If you are an old geezer and retired, you can stop about every quarter of a mile and take pictures of that beautiful landscape in Colorado.

Here is the cliffsnotes version of the route. From Denver, we went down to Colorado Springs. If you've never done the Pikes Peak thing, it is worth doing, whether you drive to the top or take the train (the train is much more relaxing though). But if you've done it once already (and are on a schedule like I always was), spend some time in the Garden of the Gods in Col. Springs and move on. Take highway 115 to Canon City and then 50 west across the state. The Royal Gorge bridge is impressive, but it's touristy. 50 will take you over Monarch Pass and over to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and then on to Montrose. From Montrose, you take 550 south and then you can either stay on 550 to Silverton and Durango or take 62 and 145 through Telluride and on your way to Cortez. Either route is beautiful and you can't go wrong either way, in my opinion. Cortez is your gateway town to Mesa Verde National Park which is a few miles away. From there, we would retrace our steps back up toward Grand Junction, but go whichever route from Montrose that we didn't take on the way down. 550 joins back up with 50 in Montrose and takes you back to Grand Junction. Colorado National Monument is in Grand Junction and is impressive in its own right.

From Grand Junction, we took I-70 back toward Denver. Not because we think interstates are pretty, but because we have jobs to get back to. But, hey, not all interstates are created the same. I-70 through Colorado ain't like I-20. The beautiful town of Glenwood Springs is located on I-70 and has some GREAT paved pedestrian and bicycle trails that run along the Colorado River. You can rent bikes or take your own and pay one of the guide companies to drop you off some number of miles upstream and have a relaxing ride back into town along the river. From there, we just drove straight back to Denver. We would usually take off 6 days from work, say, fly in on a Friday and drive down to Colorado Springs, and spend a full 7 days traveling the state in order to get back to Denver by Saturday night to catch a Sunday flight back to reality. We were moving fast and it wasn't ideal, but it was still great. Every extra day you spend on that route will make it all the better.

Sounds great. I am retired and can take extra time if I want. The Pikes Peak thing sounds great. I have never really done anything in the state of Colorado, which the exception of when my friend who lives in Denver met me last year when I caught my flight back home. I had a mid-night flight home so we had time to see the outskirts of Denver. He took me to the football and baseball stadiums and we drove around parts of Denver and it was beautiful at night. He also took me to a little town called Idaho City (not sure if it was Idaho Falls, Springs or whatever I just remembered the name Idaho was in the name of the little town). It was a very neat looking old western town or at least looked like an old western town. We went inside this restaurant and there were three buffalo's heads over the bar.

I would like to drive through Aspen, because I use to snow ski a lot, years ago. And would love to see the town.

Your information has given me a good idea of what not only to see but how long I should plan to see the things I want to see on the trip.

Thanks ever so much uscg1984 and good luck with your move to Montana, oh how I envy you. If my wife would go along with it I would move to either Denver, Cheyenne or Laramie Wyoming or Kallispell or White Fish Montana, but that ain't happening. LOL! Cheyenne got about 11" of snow on Mother's day of this year. The winters start in late September and don't end until late May or early June. But, there is PERFECT weather for the summers, none of those 98 plus degree days and high humidity like we have in the Southeast.

 

[uscg1984]

Thanks ever so much uscg1984 and good luck with your move to Montana, oh how I envy you. If my wife would go along with it I would move to either Denver, Cheyenne or Laramie Wyoming or Kallispell or White Fish Montana, but that ain't happening. LOL! Cheyenne got about 11" of snow on Mother's day of this year. The winters start in late September and don't end until late May or early June. But, there is PERFECT weather for the summers, none of those 98 plus degree days and high humidity like we have in the Southeast.

Enjoy your trip. You really can't go wrong with any road/route in Colorado west of the Front Range. It's all beautiful. I have never been to Aspen, but that route I laid out does take you by Telluride, so if you are into ski towns, they don't get much better or more scenic. I'm anxious to hear about your trip, especially about the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. As I said, I think it's the most underrated park in the national park system. It's not a huge park and not tons of different things to do there because it's less developed, but the canyon is other-worldly.

We always thought Sheridan, WY would be a nice place to live. It's right at the edge of the Big Horn Mountains. Wyoming has no state income tax and Sheridan is a reasonable drive from Billings (a pretty good sized retail center) where Montana has no sales tax. Live in a state that has no income tax and drive to Billings once a month to load up on groceries and supplies where they have no sales tax.

 

[Freddie.B.Cocky]

Enjoy your trip. You really can't go wrong with any road/route in Colorado west of the Front Range. It's all beautiful. I have never been to Aspen, but that route I laid out does take you by Telluride, so if you are into ski towns, they don't get much better or more scenic. I'm anxious to hear about your trip, especially about the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. As I said, I think it's the most underrated park in the national park system. It's not a huge park and not tons of different things to do there because it's less developed, but the canyon is other-worldly.

We always thought Sheridan, WY would be a nice place to live. It's right at the edge of the Big Horn Mountains. Wyoming has no state income tax and Sheridan is a reasonable drive from Billings (a pretty good sized retail center) where Montana has no sales tax. Live in a state that has no income tax and drive to Billings once a month to load up on groceries and supplies where they have no sales tax.

Boy, from a tax standpoint that set-up sounds like a winner.