Day of Adventure

On Friday, David and I drove into the mountains and across Independence Pass.  The pass closes after the first big snowfall of the year and opens again around June.  It opened early this year due to low snowfall this winter. The road is curvy, steep, and narrow for much of the way.  It’s a beautiful drive up...you’re at the level of all the Aspen trees and see all the mountains' peaks so clearly.  Once you get to the top you’re at an elevation of just over 12,000 ft.  The temperature had dropped about 30 degrees once we reached the highest point.  We had a sandwich at the top and hoped to watch a storm roll in.  No storm...but we did get some snowfall :)  

This picture shows part of a ghost town we saw on the way up the pass.
I love these old buildings!

We also attempted to drive over Hagerman Pass.  This pass was crazy rough and surrounded by steep cliffs.  It has an elevation of almost 12,000 ft.  Once we reached the top, we looked down to see a beautiful view of Turquoise Lake. 

A top view of Turquoise Lake

Unfortunately, we weren't able to complete the pass.  At the top, we ran into a deep snow covered road.  We weren't sure our four wheel drive could handle this snow... so we decided to turn around (lucky we had a place to make the turn). Guess this just means we'll have to go back and try it again...or maybe he'll forget about it....

This is a view of the "road"

This is an old mine we saw on Hagerman Pass

We also drove through Leadville, CO and saw some beautiful old buildings...

Love this old church/school...?

Old building in Leadville

Capturing a memory

We set our for adventure today...just what we got!