Longing for a road trip after my last one in 2016, and a brief test of my car on hills in 2022, I decided to just get going and headed up to the mountains in my old 1999 Dodge Caravan minivan to see how it did on the passes.  I brought along a friend who knows a thing or two about cars should we have run into any problems.  I am happy (and grateful) to say that my car went well and did what it was supposed to do.  It was slow climbing hills, but the engine performed as it should, apparently.  I was thrilled and I feel confident that I can take it on another road trip, should the opportunity present itself, without any unnecessary worry.

I have always wanted to visit Crested Butte but was scared of the snow.  I shouldn't have been as it was a lovely road and a very easy drive.  There wasn't any snow on the road, silly me. 

Hearing that the Cottonwood Pass had been paved, I opted to go and see it for myself, and the rest of the trip fell into place.  Trying to be spontaneous, I changed my route the morning we left and added the Kebler Pass (out of Crested Butte) to my schedule on the recommendation of my friend, who had discovered it the week before!

The first day turned out to be a gloriously sunny day, and as we approached the mountains (having spotted them in the distance from Hwy 9), it got brighter and brighter, complete with loads of snow-capped peaks.  There is something magical about being above 8,000 feet in the Rockies.  For a lot of time along both the Cottonwood Pass and the Kebler Pass, we drove alongside rushing water, and we saw lots of lakes.  Getting onto the Cottonwood Pass at Buena Vista for the 57-mile drive was exciting, and it took us about 3.5 hours (straight through takes about 1h30) to complete as we stopped at the summit and later turned onto a beautiful dirt road to go and see the tiny town of Tin Cup.  I had always seen this name on the map when drooling over going to Crested Butte, but never anticipated ever seeing it.  It was worth the 8-mile drive there and another 8 miles back as the town is adorable.  There are lots of little wooden homes and a lovely cemetery (be careful of the very bumpy road up to the cemetery), with the most astonishing lookout over water and mountains.  We stopped at Taylor Lake to get some photos and I spotted a bald eagle gliding high above us.  I didn't get a good picture, but I got one.

The view from the summit of Cottonwood Pass (12,126 feet and crosses the Continental Divide) is spectacular.  There was a lot of snow around and so much greenery up till the granite peaks, and the road is easy to drive.  The huge trees were so green and plentiful it was difficult keeping my eyes on the road!  There was very little traffic for most of this trip, which was great.

Reaching Hwy 135 at Almont, we drove up to Crested Butte just to take a quick look as it was getting late in the afternoon and I had been driving for over seven hours.  I snapped a few photos and we decided to head to Gunnison and rest up.  We went back the next morning after breakfast to have a look around. 

We drove back down Hwy 135 to Gunnison (about 20 minutes) for the night because Crested Butte accommodations were out of my price range, so I opted for a night in Gunnison instead.  We checked into the Days Inn and then went for a walk to stretch our legs and take in the pretty little buildings that housed shops and restaurants and pubs.  We didn't eat out as I had brought along loads of snacks which sufficed as supper.  Breakfast was at the hotel.

The next morning we drove back up to Crested Butte to sightsee and get onto the Kebler Pass road.  I fell in love with Crested Butte as it is in a wide valley with mountains all around without making me feel claustrophobic.  There are lovely homes and the town is spread out and uncluttered.  I didn't think the town ostentatious or overly "rich", but there were some amazing homes, clearly not for the low-on-funds.  I loved the Historic District with pretty little buildings, and there were loads of cyclists which was nice to see.  I closed my eyes to visualize what it might look like in the winter when it would be a hundred times busier, and colder, and I think I might like to return.
A little walk around, a few photos and a stop at the Visitor's Center was all we managed before we set off on the Kebler Pass drive.

Kebler Pass is about 30 miles long and should take about 2 hours.  It runs through the Roaring Fork Valley and is a truly spectacular trip.  For the most part the road is not paved, although it is in some places.  There are quite a few places where you have to watch out for pot holes and ruts, but it's very driveable, even in a minivan.  The raging waters alongside the road were hard to resist and we did stop for some photos.  It took us over three hours because someone had to go on a hike for about 45 minutes.  The air was clean and fresh and the trees (lots of Aspen trees) and sounds were uplifting and quite amazing.  The pass summits at 10,000 feet.

With two passes under our belts, we turned north on Hwy 133 to Carbondale for a pit stop and to fill up with gas.  By this time I had used three quarters of a tank.  We turned onto Hwy 82 and drove through Aspen, which, in contrast with Crested Butte, seemed closed in.  The traffic was horrible and you crawled through the town at a snail's pace.  Once through town, we continued on the very twisty Independence Pass, with so many beautiful Aspen trees, to the summit at 12,095 feet.  It was a little windy up there and people were putting on sweaters for the little walk to the observation deck.  There are restrooms up there.  The views were gorgeous and it was wonderful to breathe in fresh air and stretch our legs.  We still had a few hours to go before we got home, so we didn't stay very long at the summit.  It was downhill from there through Twin Lakes (there were a few fires burning on the other side of the lakes) and through Buena Vista and back onto Hwy 24 to Colorado Springs.  We stopped on Wilkerson Pass, and a hummingbird flew right up to me and stared me in the eyes before flying off.  Naturally, it was way too fast for me to get a decent picture, but I got a slightly fuzzy one as it sat for a second on the fence.  I find Hwy 24 pretty in places and yawningly boring in others, but we got home safely and exhausted.

Where to next?

Always take a warm jacket when going up in altitude in Colorado!  I brought along gallons of water as the altitude can affect you, and it's a good idea to stay hydrated.  And we did!

Photos from this trip.   Route