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. 

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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.

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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. 

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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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