If you are bored at home and like to have some fun... you always can drive somewhere. Driving up to the mountain is a special treat and let's have some fun today. Let's go and see the second highest paved mountain pass in Colorado - Independence Pass
State Highway 82 runs through the forest and as many mountain highways it is not straight. Absolutely not. It meanders along the creek and climbs higher and higher with every turn. The road is narrow and steep with a 6.5% gradient, including tight switchbacks on each approach. Sections of the pass have a speed limit of 25 mph, with advisory limits on some switchbacks as low as 10 mph. Trucks and other large vehicles are prohibited from using the road, large RVs are allowed, however. The pass is closed after the first heavy snowfall in autumn, often opening only in late May or early June.
Once you stop on the summit, put some clothes on. It's always cold here and extremely windy. The wind blows through the valley but it's worth leaving the car and walking around. The views are astonishing and... you know look by yourself. I guess the pictures are worth a thousand words, so just look.
On your way back home take a right turn just passing Twin Lakes. This way will bring you to Buena Vista, the small town on the beginning of the Banana Belt. Banana Belt is the name of the high elevated valley with a very mild winter. The town lies at the base of the 14,000+ peaks of the Collegiate Peaks, Mt. Princeton, Mt. Yale, Mt. Columbia, and Mt. Harvard, of the Sawatch Range. In summer, Buena Vista is a popular access point for world-class whitewater rafting, kayaking, and fly fishing on the Arkansas River, and mountain climbing and backpacking on local 14ers and the Colorado Trail. Sizable elk and deer herds attract hunters in the winter months, and bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and antelope are also indigenous to the area.
Buena Vista incorporated in 1879 and grew as a railroad town serving the local silver, gold, and lead mining industry, with three rail lines including the Denver, Rio Grande, South Park, Pacific, and Colorado Midland railroads. Many of the existing buildings of Buena Vista date back to this era, and were built in the 1880s and 1890s.
Now this is a very nice small old fashion town. We like the Main street, especially the small Coffee Shop - The Buena Vista
Roastery, when you always can find a cup of perfect roasted coffee or Spicy Hot Chocolate.
When we were about to leave the town, we stopped across the small house. The big deer was staying behind the fence. He stared at us and asked with just his eyes: "What's wrong, guys? The grass here is much better than outside, they use sprinklers to make it really delicious..." Don't you believe me? Next time when you are in Buena Vista stop and ask it :-)
Pictures were taken on October 16, 2011.
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