Fall Break - Day 1

So the family and I took off on a road trip for fall break. We were hoping to find fall colors within the small towns of Colorado. Our destination was Telluride, Colorado, which we heard the colors were just peaking the week before. So loading up the kids and packing the truck, we heading out. First stop was Mount Princeton Hot Springs area. We saw this from the side of the road and decided to go and check it out. Unfortunately, we didn’t stop at the hot springs, but drove by and checked it out. It is definitely in our future to stop here and relax (https://mtprinceton.com/). Check out the image below of the Mt. Antero which is just south of Mt. Princeton. Awesome day… Next stop was Gunnison, Colorado area.

Mt Antero in Colorado - October 10, 2020

We intended to find our way to Crested Butte, but ended up missing the turn somehow. We stopped for lunch at Curecanti National Recreation Area (https://www.nps.gov/cure/index.htm). Beautiful area, however, the Blue Mesa Reservoir water levels were really low and there were warning signs all over not to go into the water because of a Toxic Algae Alert. Humans and Pets are not allowed in the water.. eeeek..

Black Canyon National Park - October 10, 2020

After missing Crested Butte, we did find the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park. Now this is a beautiful place… basically the Grand Canyon of Colorado. Highly recommended, for just the little we saw of the place. There were a lot of people and just to many small paths to hang out on during this Covid stuff going around. So we snapped some pictures and moved on..

So getting late into the day now, we needed to rush over to get our hotel in Mountain Village, Colorado by Telluride. However, on our drive just past Ridgeway, Colorado I saw the sign and missing the turn I slammed on the brakes and through a u-turn.. As we came up onto the sign and turn.. YES… The road I was excited to go down, the road I read about all the time, the road that is the best 10 hidden gems of Colorado.. YES.. “The Last Dollar Road”…. Now in the winter months this road is closed, but now it is open and dry.. You need a 4x4 and a higher clearance vehicle all other times. We drove on the road and eventually turned around because of getting darker and not really wanting to spend the next 3 hours in the dark trying to find Telluride. This road is the old miners road that passes tall aspens, scenic mountain landscapes and high ridges that overlook valleys. A road I should have travelled all the way, but we only did the first part. dang.. next time..