We’re not kidding around when we say we’re taking the long way home. After weekend visits with our daughter in Denver and son in Colorado Springs, we took the scenic route back to our home in New Castle. This included some of my favorite scenery in the state.
Our drive took us on Highway 24 through Woodland Park, with views of Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak, over Ute Pass to Buena Vista. From there, we went up and over Cottonwood Pass and stopped in to visit with some friends camped near Taylor Park Reservoir. We went through Taylor Canyon, which is always spectacular, and on to Crested Butte via Jack’s Cabin Cutoff. Kebler Pass leads out of the Butte and is breathtakingly beautiful. The foliage is lush and the wildflowers abundant due to all of the rain that we’ve enjoyed this year. I’ll get to take this drive again in September, and am looking forward to seeing the fall colors.
Kebler drops you down near Paonia, which is home to several wonderful Colorado wineries. From there, it’s over McClure Pass into Marble and on to Redstone and Carbondale. That drive alongside the Crystal River is one of my favorites. The portion of our drive from Crested Butte to Carbondale is part of the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway.
It was pretty dark for the rest of the drive since we didn’t leave Colorado Springs until 2 p.m., but the route from Carbondale through Glenwood Springs and west to New Castle is also quite pretty. All in all, a fantastic Sunday drive!
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more Tales from the Empty Nest!
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Tales From the Empty Nest 
Paonia is also home to sheep, cheese, vegetables, a cidery, nice hippie people, nice farmer people and a brewery. It’s one of my happy places.
What a wonderful drive!!! Sometimes taking the long way makes all the difference. 🙂
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I loved reading about your stay at The Living Farm in Paonia, Heidi! Hopefully we can stay for a couple of days sometime instead of just driving through.
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