Cottonwood Pass, the Second Highest Paved Mountain Pass in America

This is the view we had from our hotel window in Buena Vista, Colorado of a few of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Mountain Range in Central Colorado last October. We were excited to hear that the nearby Cottonwood Pass had reopened in September after being closed for three years of extensive road work.  At 12,126 feet elevation, it became the second-highest paved mountain pass in the United States after Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park which is at 12,183 feet elevation.  We decided to take a scenic drive over the pass all the way from Buena Vista to Crested Butte.

My husband has driven us over many Colorado mountain passes after we moved to Colorado seven years ago.  I usually sit next to him as he drives as I like to take photos.  I might be leaving some mountain passes out, but here's a list of those we driven over so far with highlighted links to a blog post about them:  Hoosier Pass, Loveland Pass, Guanella Pass, Independence Pass,  McClure Pass, Berthoud Pass,  Rabbit Ears Pass, Kebler Pass, Monarch Pass, Kenosha Pass, Raton Pass between New Mexico and Colorado,  Red Mountain Pass on The Million Dollar Highway, Pagosa Pass, La Veta Pass, and Vail Pass.  All are beautiful!  Cottonwood Pass is at a high elevation so it is closed for winter, usually, from November to May when there can be twenty-five feet or more of snow in the mountains!

It took three years, around $34 million, and some 90 pieces of road-building equipment to re-engineer the 31 mile Cottonwood Pass and make it a safe and beautifully scenic road--CR 306 on the Chaffee County side, CR 209 in Gunnison County.  Improvements included two 11-foot paved travel lanes with shoulders, guardrails, protection from rockfall, and additional parking areas at the summit and Denny Creek.

As we drove, we were surrounded by dense forests and mountain views...

...on an asphalt surface of the road that was smooth as glass.

From the eastern side of Cottonwood Pass, it did not take too long to reach the summit.

There is parking at the summit, trails, and a sign showing that we were traveling over the continental divide where water would feed on the eastern side to the Atlantic Ocean, and from the western side to the Pacific Ocean.

The summit vistas were magnificent!

We hiked for a while at the summit to enjoy the "top of the world" views and then continued our drive.

We continued driving on the western portion of Cottonwood Pass...

...and stopped again at Taylor Park Reservoir, at 9,500 feet elevation, to enjoy the view of the Sawatch Mountains in the distance.

We also stopped at the Taylor Park Dam to take photos.

Although autumn of 2019 was delayed by unusually warm weather, the colors here were brighter than in other areas.

The Taylor River was particularly pretty.

There were many ranches in this area around Almont,  Colorado, which was very evident by all the cattle we saw freely strolling around near the road...

...and even on the road!

They did not have a care in the world!

We finally reached Crested Butte.  I've blogged about this colorful ski town in the past--click here and here.  On this visit, it began to rain! We had lunch in town and continued on to travel back to Buena Vista but this time on Monarch Pass--my next post!

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A Very Snowy February!

We have had a busy week shoveling snow! This February we have had snowfall on and off for a total of over 36 inches (91.44 cm) in our part of the Denver suburbs, which is located nestled up to the Rocky Mountain foothills.  The months of December and January had been unusually warm and snow-free so the month of February seems to be determined to make up for that!

Fortunately, we invested in a powerful gas-powered snowplow the second year we moved to Colorado. It has saved my husband's back and his heart from the stress of clearing so much snow from our driveway this February.  Our house is north facing, which makes a big difference in Colorado, as north-facing houses accumulate more snow and it melts slower than south-facing homes. Why?  The sun shines here over 300 days of the year and it is very dry here as we are at a higher elevation. The sun warms the ground and cement in front of south-facing houses, even in winter, so the snow melts fast and does not accumulate as quickly. We had no idea about this phenomenon when we moved here from New York, as the direction of one's house did not make much of a difference there. 

Another unusual aspect of our weather this February is that the air temperature has remained cold!  Usually, after a snowy day, our temperatures rise above freezing and the snow melts fairly quickly.  This year we have stayed below freezing most of the day and large icicles are hanging from many houses. 

It has even snowed while the sun was shining!

 How unusual is that?

I know not many people love snow, but I do!  I would miss the four seasons if I did not live in an area that had them. I loved playing in the snow when I was a child and although clearing snow and ice can be hard work, watching the falling snow is so peaceful and seeing the winter landscape as it gets covered with a sparkling blanket of white is so beautiful.  We are fortunate in our neighborhood as we have miles of trails and open space, so many residents can enjoy snowshoeing or cross country skiing right in their "backyards."

My grandchildren love the snow as much as I did as a child and they have had fun sledding and building snowmen.

Even our local wildlife seem to enjoy the snow!

Some local views as we drive around our area.

The snow makes everything look like a winter wonderland.

More snow is expected here tomorrow--what will your weather be?

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St. Elmo Ghost Town

St. Elmo is one of the best-preserved ghost towns in Colorado.  Founded in 1880, St. Elmo lies in the heart of the Sawatch Range, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Buena Vista and sits at an elevation of 9,961 feet (3,036 m). Nearly 2,000 people settled in this town when mining for gold and silver started in Chafee County.  There were 150 patented mine claims within the area.  The Mary Murphy Mine was the largest and most successful mine in the area and recovered multi-millions worth of gold while it was in operation.  St. Elmo was originally named Forest City but was later changed because of the multitude of towns with the same name. The name St. Elmo was chosen by Griffith Evans, one of the founding fathers, who was reading a novel with the same title

The town was at its peak in the 1890s when it included a telegraph office, general store, town hall, 5 hotels, saloons, dancing halls, a newspaper office, and a schoolhouse. The Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad line ran through St. Elmo.  The train traveled on through the Alpine Tunnel, located nearby, which was once the highest railroad tunnel in the world, at an altitude of 11,523 feet.  It was the first tunnel to be built through the Continental Divide. Unfortunately, the line was plagued with accidents and storms during its 30-year life until, finally, the railroad company gave up on the dangerous and accident-prone tunnel. The last train came through in November 1910, which along with many mines becoming depleted and closing, created a major decline in the population of St Elmo. 

When my husband and I decided to visit the town of Buena Vista for our anniversary in October to enjoy the hot springs of Mt. Princeton in nearby Northrop, Colorado--click here--to read that post, I was also excited to add on a drive to see St Elmo.  I follow many Colorado photography groups on Facebook and have always been enticed by photos that I've seen of this town.

The Chalk Cliffs

The 15 mile Chalk Creek Drive--Chafee County Road 162--from Nathrop to St Elmo is paved in the beginning and turns into a well-graded dirt road for the last five miles. 

It was a scenic drive through the mountains, where the aspen trees were just beginning to turn their autumnal gold color.  We were surprised, as autumn color usually arrives in late September at the higher elevations in Colorado, but we had an unusually warm, dry summer which seemed to delay the change.

When we arrived at St Elmo one of the first buildings we saw was the General Store.  It is operated seasonally May through October, weather permitting, and sells souvenirs, antiques and snacks, cabin rentals, ATV and snowmobile rentals and tours, and a bed and breakfast.  We learned that all of St Elmo's buildings are owned by a private foundation that is, thankfully, concerned with stabilizing and preserving them. The community is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the St. Elmo Historic District

The School House and Town Hall are both owned and operated as museums by Buena Vista Heritage, but neither was open on our visit.

Some of the antiques for sale next to the general store.

Once the mining industry shut down, St. Elmo drastically declined in population. Miners searched elsewhere for gold and silver and the business district in St. Elmo closed down as well. Few people continued to live in the town. It was said most of the population rode the last train out of town in 1922.

The last original residents that did remain in town were a sister and brother, Annabelle and Tony Stark, who lived in the house above. Their father and mother ran a hotel and general store and later the post office was located there. As the town deteriorated, so did their lifestyle and health, and they were removed for their safety when they were elderly, around 1958.  You can read more about them on this link.  

Please click on to enlarge

There was a poster with a brief history of St Elmo in one of the building's windows and I was able to zoom in on a photo of Annabelle feeding the chipmunks.

When I saw this sign in the town I smiled as I thought it was a cute joke...

...until multiple chipmunks ran out from beneath the piles of wood and began climbing on me, begging for a treat!   Obviously, Annabelle's chipmunk friends' descendants still live in St. Elmo and are a popular tourist attraction.

One of the seasonal cabins for rent in St Elmo.  Chalk Creek runs through the town and offers fishing opportunities, there are many hiking trails in the area and the old mining roads are now used for ATV and Jeep recreation.

We really enjoyed our visit to St Elmo--it was a step back into time, and I'm glad that efforts are being made to preserve it and its history.

We returned to Buena Vista for the night, with plans on driving over the newly reopened and refurbished Cottonwood Pass to Crested Butte the next day.  More about that wonderful adventure in my next post.

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