Reason:
1. To see aspen leaves.
2. We promised ourselves to come back to see CO65 again when aspen leaves get yellow:
Reality:
We started on Saturday morning. Taking a route 6 to Keystone for the first time. Nice scenic town.
The drive south through highway 24 was also scenic but not as scenic as a lot of other scenic roads in Colorado. We also passed the historic town of leadville/twin lakes, where used to be a major mining center also famous for high country land.
Taking CO82 north, we came to the Independence pass, it was 12k feet tall. Everywhere in our eyes are strong winds, white snow and shining sunlights. When the CO82 comes closer to Aspen CO, there are many shining yellow aspen leaves on the side of the highway. Great scenes. There was not much to see in Aspen CO, the place the most of american want to live in, also the place where a lot of super-rich people live in. The two mountains at the north and south of Aspen were quite plain. It reminded me when we were here in August 2004. We never like Aspen.
Although the leaves were yellow and the trunks were white, there are a lot of problems about some diseases spreading out in aspen trees. A lot of leaves have black scars and many of them are totally black and dead.
We decided to take CO 133 south. It was great scenic road. In this area, there were tons of healthy aspen trees, green or yellow or in between. There are several coal mining companies along the road.
We came to Hotchkiss in the afternoon. It is so-called "friendliest town around". There was a big BMW lovers having a gathering and camping in the fairground. We also decide to camp there after a dinner sitting on the trunk of the car with roasted chicken from city market and two foster can beer.
Night came we stopped at the one of two bars in town. It was a rough bar, with nobody dressing nicely. Granny works as bartender and served few generous whiskeys. There was a sticker at a very noticeable spot saying "the taxpayers that voted obama is like a chicken voted for colonel sanders". A young man in his 20s introduced himself to us. He works in one of the mining companies we saw on CO133. He lives in Cedar city, UT, very close to Cedar breaks national monument where we visited on the way to pick up my parents in Sept. 2006. He got 3 kids and one wife at home. Mining around in Colorado, Utah, Washington, Mexico even Peru. Learning that I am from China, he said," oh I have a Thai roommate at college."
Next day we went for the long-anticipated CO65 skyway trip. It was still good, but most of the leaves were blackened. I would rather see the green healthy leaves we saw before - I guess that can only exist in our memories now.
There was a ski area with many shops and condominiums, sort of running down, but did attract quite a lot of viewers.
After we got some Palisade peaches and plums, we headed straight back by I-70. The classical mountain scenes around Vail area was still there: blue sky, snow mountain, yellow shining aspen leaves standing out of background.
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