the wandering chick

The West Elk Loop Scenic Byway is a series of highways that surrounds the West Elk Wilderness Area in Gunnison County and the West Elk Mountains. Its highlights include the Curecanti National Recreation Area, which is a series of reservoirs and lakes on the southern part of the route, Keebler Pass and the charming towns of Redstone, Marble, Crested Butte and Gunnison, among others. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is along the Highway 92 section of the loop.

My travel partner for this trip and I had done the Highway 92 north toward Crawford a couple days ago, and the fall colors were breath-taking. We were excited about seeing the rest of the loop.

My goal was Keebler Pass on this particular day, hoping we'd be able to complete the part of the loop that we had not yet seen.

We started the day in Montrose and headed for the pass where rain clouds loomed overhead. By the time we got well into the pass it started to rain and didn't let up. At one point, we happened upon a couple of people who were moving a tree that had fallen over across the road.

If that wasn't enough excitement, the rain had turned into mushy snow flurries that made us a little nervous. But they weren't sticking, and besides, we had only about six miles to go before we made it into Crested Butte. We pulled into a visitor center to decide what we wanted to do next, stay and wait out the rain/snow, or keep going toward Gunnison.

About that time, the clouds cleared just enough for us to see the results of the snow. The mountains, which seem to surround Crested Butte, all had a very light and beautiful coating of snow. It was magical. The clouds hung over some mountains, but we saw patches of blue, too, so we decided to just drive around and try to get unobstructed views of the moutains. The trees had not yet peaked, but they were about 70 percent there, so that was good enough for us.

We were disappointed that Keebler Pass was cloudy and rainy, but our reward was the beauty at Crested Butte. We were happy.

...The West Elk Loop Scenic Byway
a day of leaf-peeping
Countryside along Highway 50
It's hard for me to pass up such a scenic countryside scene, and there are multitudes of them in Colorado. This one and the next two were taken on Highway 50 near Cimarron on the way to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison's North Rim.
on Highway 50 around Cimarron
Countryside along Highway 50
Along Highway 92 north toward Crawford
Along Highway 92 north toward Crawford
The Highwy 92 runs toward Crawford and is the only route into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison's North Rim. The drive north toward Crawford starts near Lake Fork and keeps getting better as it travels north. The next several shots were taken along the route which was just beaming with fall foliage.
Along Highway 92 north toward Crawford
Morrow Point Reservoir
Along Highway 92 north toward Crawford
The Morrow Point Reservoir can be seen from an overlook on Highway 92 called Hermit's Rest. In the background are the San Juan Mountains.
View from Hermit's Rest on Highway 92
View from Hermit's Rest on Highway 92
View from Hermit's Rest on Highway 92
on Highway 92 toward Crawford
on Highway 92 toward Crawford
barn with horses in field
on Highway 92 toward Crawford
barn with horses in field
on the Highway 92
This barn complete with horses and an old wooden fence caught my eye on the North Canyon Road.
on Keebler Pass
on Keebler Pass
on Keebler Pass
This was our goal: Keebler Pass. Unfortunately, the trees were somewhat dulled by the rain and lack of blue sky. We happened upon a tree that had fallen across the road. Thankfully, not on a car.
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
Crested Butte, at the south end of Keebler Pass, benefited from the rain and snow that we hit on the pass. Surrounded by mountains including the West Elk Range, Mt. Emmons and Mt. Crested Butte, the light snow had made a beautiful setting of the town.
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
This old barn may have been surrounded by new homes, but to me it was the coolest structure on the block.
old barn in Crested Butte
old barn in Crested Butte
Crested Butte
Crested Butte
anglers in the East River in Almont
anglers in the East River in Almont
Anglers take their lunch break down at the East River in Almont to do some catch and release fishing for Kokanee Salmon.
Angler in the East River in Almont
Kokanee salmon closeup
Fork Lake in the Curecanti Natl Rec Area
angler
The Curecanti Natl Rec Area
The Curecanti Natl Rec Area
Fork Lake in the Curecanti Natl Rec Area
Fork Lake in the Curecanti National Recreation Area, on the south side of the West Elk Loop. The Curecanti NRA extends for several miles along this section of the byway and it includes lakes and reservoirs and a marina. The Dillon Pinnacles tower over much of it.
The
Fork Lake in the Curecanti Natl Rec Area
along the Highway 92 north toward Crawford
the Dillon Pinnacles at the Curecanti Natl Rec Area
The Curecanti Natl Rec Area
The soft stone above the waters of the Curecanti NRA is called the Dillon Pinnacles.
The Dillon Pinnacles are part of The Curecanti Natl Rec Area
The Curecanti Natl Rec Area
The Dillon Pinnacles are part of The Curecanti Natl Rec Area
the Curecanti NRA
The Curecanti NRA
The Fork River marina at the Curecanti Natl Rec Area
a Robin sits on a fence post
West Elk countryside
Much of the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway is serene countryside dotted with horses, barns and occasionally sheep. And robins are always flittering around, flying from one fence post to the next.

If you'd like to see more of the fall colors in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, there are a couple of pages you can view:

Telluride in the fall

Highway 145, the San Juan Skyway

If you'd like to see summer scenes from Colorado, please return to the Colorado home page.

 

West Elk countryside

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