West Elk Loop Scenic Byway and Kebler Pass

Towards the end of September, my husband and I celebrated an anniversary by taking a sightseeing drive to Crested Butte, Colorado -- click here and here to read those posts.   While we were in that area we also took a drive on part of the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway, passing over Kebler Pass.  Last October, we drove over the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway from another area, beginning in Carbondale, Colorado. and passing through Redstone, Marble and over McClure Pass.  You can read that post here.  That part of the byway had such spectacular views!  This part of the byway began in Gunnison, passing through Crested Butte, and over the very rustic gravel road of Kebler Pass. 

(All photos in this post will enlarge if clicked on)

Map Source/

Above is a map showing the entire West Loop Scenic Byway, seen in the green circular line. The entire byway is 205 miles long and the suggested time to drive it in its entirety is eight to ten hours. The section of the loop that is Kebler Pass is only open seasonally and is usually closed November to April or May. The West Elk Loop derives its name from the West Elk Mountains, which the loop circumnavigates, and it passes by four diverse wilderness areas.

Determining when peak color occurs in autumn in Colorado can be a guessing game.  As you can see by the photo above, in late September in Crested Butte one tree was in full color while the one standing next to it is just beginning to turn. Usually, northern parts of the state and higher elevations begin to show color in mid-September, and then the color moves down the state and down in elevation until late October. Variables, such as rain or snow or bitter frosts can change the timing. We felt we might be a little early to see full peak color in the Crested Butte area, but we were pleasantly surprised to see quite a bit of it.

In fact, we saw many aspens in shades of yellow and orange and there were hardly any clouds in the sky on our drive.

Even in areas without much autumn color, the views were spectacular!

The aspen tree is a unique organism that produces clones from common root systems and reproduces rapidly to cover vast areas. The forest is made up of many thousands of clone colonies.

At times we drove right through the tall aspen groves...

...on the twisting and climbing gravel road over the pass.

They were the tallest aspens I ever saw!

Thick, thick groves of aspens to walk through...

...with carpets of golden aspen leaves under my feet.

Such tall aspens that only their upper branches still had leaves!

Aspens that almost looked as tall as the mountain!

The vast areas of wilderness along the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway also amazed me...

...as well as National Forests thick with pines and aspens as far as the eye could see.

Beautiful vistas...

...of golden aspens...

...majestic mountains...

A short video of the wind making the aspen trees quake and some of the scenery. To view on my Mille Fiori Favoriti facebook page, click here.

So although we did not completely drive the entire West Loop Scenic Byway, between last year and this year we did the majority of it and enjoyed every mile! It is particularly beautiful in autumn, and I'm so happy to have seen this part of Colorado.  Hopefully, we will be able to return many more times.  We made one more drive while in this area, to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park--come back next post to see our visit to this very unique canyon.

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West Elk Loop Scenic Byway--Redstone, Marble and the McClure Pass

Colorado has spectacular scenic byways, and my husband and I have been fortunate to have been able to drive quite a few of them in the nearly five years we've lived here. When we were in the western part of the state, spending time away for our anniversary, we decided to take an autumn drive on CO highway 133, part of the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway, to see the historic towns of Marble and Redstone and to drive partially over McClure Pass.  If we wanted to drive the entire 204 miles of this scenic byway loop we would have continued on through different numbered roads all the way to Crested Butte, a total trip that would have taken an estimated six to eight hours of driving. 
We entered CO 133 at Carbondale, Colorado, with the magnificent view of Mount Sopris in the photo above.

Although Sopris' peak, at 12,965 feet (3,952 m) was already snow capped in early October, the foliage at its base was still changing into autumn color, so we were hopeful to see beautiful fall foliage along our drive.

We were not disappointed! The aspens and cottonwoods were changing into glorious shades of gold and orange, accented by red rock hills and green verdant forests.

There was beauty at every twist and turn of the road....

...and patchwork quilts of colorful trees sprinkled all over the high surrounding Elk Mountains.

The vistas were full of autumn color and we gasped and "oohed and ahhed" in awe as we drove along!

The entire West Elk Loop Scenic Byway is a two lane highway that passes through three designated wilderness areas and through thousands of acres of National Forests in a rural part of western Colorado. It had been home to countless generations of Ute Native Americans.  White settlers came to this area first in search of animal pelts and then in search of gold and minerals. Many stayed to farm and ranch.

We stopped to see the restored coke ovens in the town of Redstone. 

 Please click on to enlarge

Redstone was established by John Cleveland Osgood, a self made man who came west and founded the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company in 1887.  He built 249 coke ovens to turn coal into coke. The Crystal River railroad (now defunct) was constructed to facilitate coal for mines four miles away and to the coke foundries in Pueblo. They functioned for only about ten years when technology changed. Now on the National Historic Register of Historic Places, you can read more about the coke ovens and their restoration on this link.

The charming little town of Redstone is called the "Ruby of the Rockies," not only for its red rock canyon location, but because most of the town's original structures, built by Mr. Osgood to house the coal miners and coke workers, had indoor plumbing and electricity, which were luxuries at the time for mining camps, and lead to the nickname.  The large Redstone Inn, seen in the upper left corner of the photo above, was originally a dormitory for unmarried male miners. 

We continued on our way, driving along valleys of vast aspen forests and towering Elk Mountains.

We soon saw the sign for the turnoff to go towards the town of Marble.

 Please click on to enlarge

The tiny town of Marble is the home of Yule Marble quarry, first discovered in 1873, a pure white marble obtained from a mountain that is 9,300 feet high (2,800m).  The marble is so pure and luminous that it was used in the construction of the Lincoln Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknowns in Washington, DC, and the Equitable skyscraper in New York City, and the Colorado State Capital and City and County Building, as well as buildings in other states.  The quarry has gone through many "boom and bust" periods over the decades, due to the high price of the required high altitude mining process. It has been owned since 2010 by an Italian company based in Carrara, Italy.

Marble is located near the scenic Crystal River

As we drove close to the town the scenery was amazing!

In the small town of Marble we saw many art studios with marble sculptures outside, as well as the site where the old quarry factory once stood.  There were many pieces of marble lying along the road, but it is illegal to remove any marble from the area.

After leaving Marble we drove back to the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway where we climbed a portion of McClure Pass towards the summit.  The pass is usually open year round, except when there is a heavy snowstorm.  At a summit elevation of 8,755 feet (2,671 m) it is not especially high, but it is very steep, with 8% and 9% grades.  Before it was improved in 1947, McClure pass was a rough cattle road and before that a path the Ute Native Americans used to transverse the valleys.

We stopped at the summit at a roadside pull out to take photos of the Elk Mountains in the distance.

The autumn foliage and play of light from the sun behind the clouds made the mountains change colors in a beautiful show.

The views were outstanding!

So many aspen trees!

I took many, many photos, and could have stayed there all day just to soak in all the beauty!

If we continued on over McClure Pass we would have entered the town of Paonia, Colorado.

Instead, we turned around and went back to the Redstone area, and then back to Glenwood Springs, as we had dinner reservations that evening.  We thoroughly enjoyed the section of the Elk Loop Scenic Byway that we traveled, and the historic towns we saw, and the spectacular views from McClure Pass.

I know this post is already long, but I wanted to show a little of Hotel Colorado where we stayed in Glenwood Springs.  It was opened in 1893 and retains much of its old time charm. 

Please click on to enlarge

One interesting legend of the hotel is that President Theodore Roosevelt stayed in the hotel during a hunting expedition in the area. He was unsuccessful and the hotel maids made a stuffed bear for him as a consolation gift--the first 'Teddy Bear"! There was a display case near the hotel coffee and gift shop filled with teddy bear memorabilia.

Glenwood Springs is famous for its giant hot springs pool, as seen in the upper left of the photo collage above.  We went to the relatively new Iron Mountain Hot Springs, which consists of 16 mineral hot springs pools and a freshwater family pool with a jetted spa located next to the Colorado river. You can see a diagram of the pools in the collage.  The temperature of the water ranged from 98 degree Fahrenheit to 107 degree Fahrenheit.  It was the perfect way to relax for a day!   

I hope you enjoyed seeing our 43rd anniversary trip that we made this year to Glenwood Springs, and our visits that I blogged about this month to the very scenic Maroon Bells and the Aspen Snowmass Wilderness, Rifle Falls State Park,  Hanging Lake and Spouting Rock, and now the Elk Scenic Byway.  We feel blessed to live in this beautiful state and be able to enjoy all it has to offer!

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Crested Butte--Part One--Vinotok Autumn Festival

I was away last weekend visiting Crested Butte, Colorado, with my husband, for an early anniversary getaway. Since moving to Colorado six years ago we have been trying to take trips to all its four corners and in-betweens of this beautiful state. Crested Butte has been on our list to visit and we felt that the autumn season would be a good time to visit the town as well as see some beautiful fall foliage along the way. We were not disappointed! (All photos will enlarge if clicked on)

Crested Butte has been fondly referred to as "The Gateway to the Elk Mountains," "Colorado's Last Great Ski Town. " and "The Wildflower Capital of Colorado." It sits at an elevation of 8,885 feet (2708 meters) and is located 28 miles north of the city of Gunnison, and a 228-mile distance from Denver, which was a 4-hour car trip for us.

We were impressed by the size of the 12,162-foot (3,707 m) Mt Crested Butte summit that is the site of the Crested Butte Mountian Ski Resort.

We stayed on Mount Crested Butte in the Elevation Hotel and Spa.

We could see the ski resort chairlifts close to our hotel.  Vail Resorts has recently bought the family-owned Crested Butte Mountain Resort and locals hope this won't change the ambiance of the town.

It was late afternoon by the time we checked into our hotel room and we heard from the front desk that the town was going to have a Fall Harvest Festival that evening that they called "Vinotok," which is a storytelling and fall harvest festival with ancient roots, and is a long-standing annual event in Crested Butte, that takes place on the autumnal equinox. You can read an interesting story about how this festival originated on this Colorado Public Radio link.

We had noticed some of the streets in town were closed off when we drove by and now we knew the reason. We had dinner reservations so instead of driving to town we took the free shuttle bus service that the town provides from the mountain into the historic district.

When we exited the bus the sun was on the horizon, soon to set. We heard the beat of a drum and people wearing costumes and aspen leaves in their hair walking towards the center of town. We followed the crowd and soon saw free-form dancing in the street.

All of the costumes and dancing were very colorful! We watched for quite a while as we waited for our dinner reservations.

As you can see by the video above--make sure to turn on the sound--or watch the video on this link on my Mille Fiori Favoriti Facebook page, Vinotek is a fun and happy celebration for all ages!

Around 8 pm, the Vinotok Tribe presents the "Trial of the Grump." The community puts The Grump on trial with harvest maidens dancing and a play of the Harvest Mother, Dragon, Knight, and Green Man. The performance is amplified and lit so the community can hear and see the tale take place on the stage.

The Vinotok Fall Harvest celebration then ends with the "Burning of the Gump" bonfire. You can also watch this video on my Mille Fiori Facebook page on this link.

We dined at Marchitelli's Gourmet Noodle where we had the specials--Osso Bucco for my husband and Rainbow Trout over risotto for me, and since it was an anniversary celebration we indulged in desserts--spumoni with cannoli and tiramisu. Everything was very delicious!

The National Historic town of Crested Butte is so pretty.

Many of its buildings date back to its early history as a coal mining town from the 1880s.  We went back to explore more of the town on another day and that will be on my next blog post.

After dinner, we returned on the shuttle bus back to Mt Crested Butte and our hotel. 

We had driven part of the beautiful West Elk Loop Scenic Byway over Kebler pass earlier in the day to see the autumn colors--more on that in a future post-- and we were tired from our long and festive day.

We were happy to spend this full moon and the first day of the autumn night in Crested Butte!  Come back soon to see more!

See my Part Two blog post about the Historic Town of Crested Butte here.

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