Traveling through Colorado

We left Glenwood Springs this morning and decided to cross the Rocky Mountains, but we didn't want to take the interstate.  We headed towards the ski town of Aspen.  Outside Aspen is Independence Pass.  As I got closer to the Pass, yellow lights started blinking and they indicated that I exceeded the 35 ft length restriction (I'm 43 ft long).  The next sign said you'll be fined $1500 if you proceed. Needless to say, I turned around and backtracked about 30 miles to Carbondale, CO. We then traveled south to cross the Rockies by going over Kebler Pass.  However, the road became narrow and gravel, so we turned around and went further south. We finally ended up at Gunnison where we are camping at a federal campground on the Blue Mesa Reservoir. It was a wonderful drive. We saw mountains, lakes, rivers, and some coal mines (my favorite).  We also drove by the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park.

A memorial to the coal miners of the world.  The hunks of steel on each side of the memorial are "shields".  They support the roof of the coal mine during longwall mining operations.

Coke ovens for the making of steel

Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park.

 

Picture taken from our campsite