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)
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.
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