Today was a gorgeous day with only limited rain forecast for late afternoon. So we headed east to Georgetown and the beginning to the Guanella Pass Scenic Byway. The road is 22 miles long and offers a twisty ride with lots of sharp turns through the Arapaho Nat’l Forest. The road tops out at 11,670 feet with a magnificent view of Crystal Lake and the surrounding mountains. It’s a popular hiking destination and we had the pleasure of meeting a father/son pair, Bill and Lucius. Lucius is on summer break from school and they take full advantage. When we met they just finished a five hour trek to a nearby peak and they still looked fresh. This past December they climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Really interesting and conversation with really friendly guys.
Later in our ride we climbed to Mestaa’Ehehe Pass, formerly known as Squaw Pass. Located near Evergreen and Idaho Springs, also in the Arapaho Forest, the pass tops out at 9,790 feet. The route we took was a little off the beaten path that Connie found and it proved fabulous! Coming off US 285, the ride up started on Rte 73, Stage Coach Blvd, then Witter Gulch Road, and then over the pass on Rte 103. Stage Coach and Winter Gulch roads were so much fun with more than a dozen switchbacks and beautiful turns. It reminded us of roads in the Austrian Alps. If you ride in this area, try this route!
Our route for the day. Definite must do!
https://scenicapp.space/ride/nrtVzTAB
You all know us and the pleasure we get from a good meal. We stopped for lunch at a rustic barbecue place called The Smiling Pig on Rte 68 in Bailey, CO. They brag about the care they put into preparing their meats with really good cause. We had a brisket and a pulled pork sandwich that were stunningly good. wish we’d ordered takeout for later.
Bacchus’ dream
We rode back to Georgetown for a cuppa at the coffee shop we visited the other day. Myami wasn’t there, unfortunately so we couldn’t visit some more. Then back to our digs and mundane tasks. Like laundry. It was time.
Tomorrow it’s on to Mt Evans, weather permitting. Looking forward to another
good day.
Wandering Retirees 
I take it the place across the parking lot from lunch was not the government ATF agency (a/k/a booze-butts-bullets).
You should be able to write a detailed comparison of the Alps and the Rockies after your trips to both mountain chains. The Alps are more historic, maybe starting with Hannibal’s trek over them with a pack of war elephants. But our Rockies are big and rough and really beautiful.
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You’re right when comparing the Alps vs the Rockies. Alpine roads were mostly made to carry quadrupeds like horses, oxen and their carts trailing behind, long before high speed vehicles were invented. So the roads are narrower and the turns much tighter. That makes for a technically more challenging ride. The Rockies are just stupendously beautiful and riding within such grandeur is not quite so difficult but incredibly rewarding.
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