We departed Denver heading west to the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  While we generally try to avoid interstate travel, I-70 west of Denver to Grand Junction has got to be one of the prettiest sections of interstate highways in the country.  Heading into the foothills past Golden, Evergreen, and Idaho Springs are some very pretty sights.  Dare I suggest keep your eyes on the road, though.

As you continue west, you will pass cutoffs to Winter Park and Loveland ski areas before entering the Eisenhower Tunnel, just over 11,000 feet elevation – the highest point in the entire US interstate system.  Keep in mind this is October and the Aspens and Cottonwoods are in their full fall wardrobe.  Traveling on I-70 through canyons on steep descents does not lend itself to taking pictures with a 20,000 pound, 55-foot vehicle, so you’ll have to trust me on the foliage.

Past the tunnel you will have opportunities to stop at Copper and Vail ski areas as you follow the paths of Straight Creek, Tenmile Creek, and Gore Creek, which join the Eagle River.  The Eagle then joins the Colorado River in Dotsero, which we followed to Palisade.  The Colorado River, which originates in La Poudre Pass Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, becomes central to much of our travels.

Our camping stop on the Western Slope was in Palisade at the James Robb Colorado River State Park (Island Acres), a terrific (electric only) campground.

Wanting to visit a dear college friend, we traveled from Palisade to Cedaredge via Colorado SR 65, which crosses the Grand Mesa National Forest (over 11,000 ft elevation), part of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests.  This is a stunning drive and is obviously an enormous playground for anyone with outside interests.  We did not tow over the mesa, but we could have.

Our route for departing Colorado took us from Grand Junction south via CO SR 141 to Vancorum where we connected CO SR 90 through Bedrock (yes, that’s a real “town”) and on into Utah. This road, like our route on SR 65 mentioned previously, was exceptional on views as much of the ride follows the Dolores River.  If you take this route, it is a good idea to fuel up in Grand Junction – there was not a lot on our route except beautiful views.

Even with this very limited exposure to the Western Slope, we will surely be back!