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After a hike with the tigers, we all wanted to see a bit more so we all headed home to pack up the bus and off we went. I wanted to drive some of 285 with the kids as it’s a very nice area to drive through, problem there isn’t a great way to get there from Parker. We decided to drive some small dirt roads that followed the Platte river. That turned out to be a great choice as we got to just cruise between some beautiful mountains of CO. The river was beautiful and made me want to start to learn fly fishing as there were several groups of people enjoying that sport. One somewhat hairy part of the road was a 12% grade down on loose dirt, the bus did great and we all made it through just fine. We continues to cruise north and eventually stumbled across 285. I wanted to see a bit more scenery so we turned south on 285 and headed towards Kenosha pass. 10,000 feet is quite a chore for a loaded down bus, it performed great however we just went up the pass quite slow. Once we got there we walked for a few minutes & soaked up the scenery. I also got the family to take a group photo, which the kids also wanted a “goofy” photo.

Once back in the bus we headed back north for just a few minutes to the Colorado Trail where the aspens were starting to change to a beautiful gold. I was hoping to be out sometime to catch some of the color, but right place, right time I guess. While exploring the area and walking part of the trail we found the remains of an old railroad track complete with a track switch. All the kids loved working with that for a little while. At the end of the track was part of the trail which lead to an overlook. I also got the opportunity to train for the WDW trip by hiking with Olivia on my shoulders for most of the way. The wind blowing through all the aspen leaves was fantastic & so relaxing. A few minutes later we headed back to the bus and got on the road again.

Our route turned north in Grant, CO where we did some more climbing in the bus and drove through Guanella Pass which sits at 11669 ft. The bus performed like a champ with this as well. As a treat we drove by The Old Geneva Basin Ski Area and looked up a bit of history when we got home. 118 Winds it’s way north into Georgetown with a fantastic payoff at the end of a breathtaking overlook of the entire town from above in the mountains. I hate driving I-70 in the bus so our path was east on hwy 40 as far as Idaho Springs where we stopped for some food. It was getting late and the girls had plans for a sleepover so our next destination was home.

I had a great time but really need to find a combination of gps/software to allow me to track where I drive & also generate a map for reference in the future. I guess I’ll keep an eye out.