This little map belies the fact that our drive today was likely the most adventurous of our entire summer. We left Santa Fe and skirted up the edge of the Rocky Mountains, before turning left just East of Twin Lakes, Colorado. Admittedly, we did make a small but costly wrong turn and ended up at Monarch Pass on the way, but what's a little detour on an otherwise beautiful roadtrip?
We climbed out of Twin Lakes and over the infamous Independence Pass. This pass road, only recently paved, twists and turns, and rides a knife-edge along the Rocky Mountains, before lifting you over the Continental Divide. The Continental Divide is a geographic line that divides whether water will drain East, into the Mississippi River and the gulf or West into the Pacific Ocean.
The drive is beautiful, if scary, and it is not over when you reach the summit of the pass. Descending the pass, the road continues to wind, but narrows, creating hazardous blind curves. Ultimately, however, it deposits you in the beautiful Aspen valley, where we contined along Highway 82 to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, where we will visit Kevin's mom, Michele, and her husband, Joe, for a few days before we begin our hustle back to the East Coast.
Photos from our day are available here.
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