Today was our longest driving day of the Colorado road trip.
Durango to Aspen. Around 240 miles across some very different parts of Colorado.
It sounds like a tiring day on paper. Somehow, it turned into one of the easiest and most relaxing days of the trip.
We left Durango early and headed back into the San Juan Mountains, retracing roads that had already given us some of our favorite moments over the past few days.
Coal Bank Pass. Molas Pass. Silverton. Red Mountain Pass. Ouray.
A few days ago, we drove this stretch stopping everywhere. Today we could simply drive.
There was something nice about seeing these places again without feeling the need to pull over at every viewpoint. The mountains were familiar now. We recognized the valleys, remembered the overlooks and knew exactly where some of our favorite photos had been taken.
Silverton felt especially familiar after spending so much time there over the past couple of days. We drove through the little mountain town and continued toward Red Mountain Pass, once again surrounded by those enormous San Juan peaks.
The Million Dollar Highway was just as spectacular the second time.
Maybe even better from the opposite direction.
We took the curves slowly, enjoyed the views through the windows and eventually descended into Ouray.
From there, the landscape gradually began to change.
The towering San Juans gave way to wider valleys as we passed Ridgway and Montrose and continued toward Delta, Hotchkiss and the North Fork Valley.
By the time we reached Paonia, Colorado looked completely different from the place we had woken up in that morning.
Farms. Orchards. Open valleys. Long stretches of quiet road.
We stopped in Paonia for a relaxed break and lunch, which was perfect after spending most of the morning in the car.
Then we were back on the road for what became my favorite stretch of the day.
We took CO-133 out of Paonia toward McClure Pass, and almost immediately the scenery started changing again.
The road climbed gradually into the mountains before taking us over McClure Pass at 8,755 feet. After some of the huge mountain passes we had crossed earlier in the trip, this one felt wonderfully easy.
Then came the beautiful drive toward Redstone.
The road followed the Crystal River with mountains rising around us and fall colors filling the valley.
Yellow and gold trees seemed to appear everywhere. Every few miles brought another view worth slowing down for.
We continued through Carbondale and eventually turned toward Aspen.
For a day with so many miles, it never felt exhausting.
We deliberately kept things simple. We had already explored the San Juans properly, so today was about sitting back and enjoying the drive.
We started the morning among Durango’s mountains, crossed the familiar roads through Silverton and Ouray, passed through the open country around Montrose and Paonia, climbed McClure Pass and followed the Crystal River Valley before finally reaching Aspen.
Nearly 240 miles of Colorado changing outside our windows.
By late afternoon, we rolled into Aspen and checked into the St. Moritz Lodge.
After dropping our bags, we headed out for an evening walk into downtown Aspen.
And Aspen in fall is beautiful.
There were yellow and gold trees everywhere, leaves covering parts of the sidewalks and mountains rising behind the town. We wandered through the streets without much of a plan, enjoying the crisp evening air and all those fall colors.
It was also fun looking up at the mountains surrounding us and imagining what this same place will look like in December.
Right now, the slopes are covered in autumn colors. In another couple of months, they’ll be white with snow and filled with people skiing down them. Walking around Aspen and trying to picture exactly where everyone would be skiing gave us a completely different sense of the town.
Today was a slow, easy road-trip day, despite being our longest drive.
Tomorrow brings one of the places we’ve been looking forward to most on this entire trip.
Maroon Bells. 🏔️🍂❤️
