Georgetown, ColoradoHistory and outdoors await. Colorado became the 38th state (right after Nebraska we have just passed through) to join the United States on August 1, 1876. The capital city is Denver. The highest point is Mt. Elbert at 14,433 feet.

Road Trip 2013 - Day 5 - June 15 - Colorado (Previous road trip 2013 posts: Indiana Dunes, De Immigrant, Amana Colonies, Des Moines, Madison County Roads, Bridges of Madison County, White Pole Road, Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Golden Spike Tower & Union Pacific's Bailey Rail Yard)

Saturday marked a major milestone on our road trip. After five days on the road we were to make it to our Colorado base near Mesa, CO where we would stay for a week and do trips within its area before starting the return leg of our trip. The Mesa, Colorado base would split our trip into three separate phases: 1) Buffalo, New York to Mesa, Colorado 2) Colorado and Utah exploration 3) Return to Buffalo through a southern route via New Mexico and Texas.

We started the final approach near Denver and quickly found our way to the Rocky Mountains via I-70. We did not want to just jet all the way to Mesa though and had plenty of ideas, too many as it turned out (and that was the common theme each day - there is just so much more to see no matter where you are). Our first stop was in a nice little historic town of Georgetown. We only walked around for a little bit and had lunch but one could easily spend a day or more. You could either take advantage of the great outdoors and stay mostly on your own or opt for some of the more organized activities. You could head out to the Guanella Pass Scenic and Historic Byway or take a ride on the Georgetown Loop Historic Railroad®.

Bicycling Loveland PassGetting the sense of accomplishment

From my previous short visit to the Denver area I knew about the great views along US 6 so that was where our next detour from the Interstate led. We were soon rewarded with some beautiful views of the snow capped peaks around us. And driving the winding road was rewarding too, much better than holding the steering wheel straight on a freeway.

As we were climbing to the 11,990 feet we passed a group of bicyclists doing it in a more rewarding way. It really must be a great feeling climbing 1,200 feet in elevation on just 4 miles from the Loveland Ski Area pedaling with your own legs. Maybe one day! These guys clearly had some practice. As we were passing one of them we engaged in a short conversation through our open window and the biker talked as if riding a motorcycle.

Once at the top, the views did not disappoint! No matter which direction you looked you'd see moutain peaks, valleys, passes, and still plenty of snow left despite being there in mid June. It was beautiful to just look around while turning and it was fun photographing too, even if just for a few quick snapshots. Unless you're capturing some really wide angle views add a polarizer for crisper skies. For wide scenes polarizers do not always look right as they may darken one side of the sky more than another. And yes, it was chilly! A quick elevation gain like this always makes me appreciate elevation differences so much more. It also adds to the road trip experience since one can enjoy a hot desert and cold mountain tops in a relatively short distance. It makes you feel like you are all of a sudden somewhere far, far away.

Enjoy your ride!

Loveland PassRewarding views in all directions

Sources:

• Colorado on 50states.com
• Georgetown Loop Railroad®
• Guanella Pass Scenic Byway
• Loveland Pass Bike Ride
• Continental Divide
• Continental Divide of the Americas (The Great Divide)
• Map of North American Divides

Equipment Used:

Nikon D600, Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens, Promaster 72mm Circular Polarizing Filter (I have since switched to the low profile Hoya polarizer on the left to avoid vignetting), Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack,  Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2

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