Uraling to Shrine Pass, Fall Colors on Officers Gulch and a Sunset

Pretty full day of riding and hiking for Fall Colors.

Martha left mid-morning to join "the coven" as they met to peruse the wares available at the outlet stores in Silverthorne.

I rode out shortly after 10AM, with temperatures in the low 40s and sunny skies.  It would climb into the high 60s, low 70s by the end of the riding.  Quite warm and mild with some wind.

First I rode the I-70 Super Slab about 15 miles to exit 190, which leads you to Shrine Pass Road.  Not much in terms of Fall Colors along this road however, but still some nice mountain peak views, even on a hazy day like today.

I stopped at the Mount of the Holy Cross Overlook first to get a picture of that worthy peak:

 Taken at max capability of the 200mm Telephoto, and

then heavily post-processed to wash out the haze and bring

out the details.  Can you see how the cuts in the rock form

a cross, especially when filled with snow in Winter?

Historical Image
source: summitpost.org

I then rode Scarlett a short distance past the summit of Shrine Pass where there's a trailhead and a small parking lot.  We rode till a certain spot where I like to pose the rigs when I am on this road.  

 That far away peak is Mount of the Holy Cross

I chose to not ride all the way to the other end of Shrine Pass Road which ends in the small town of Redcliff.  Instead I turned back to the summit parking lot area and posed Scarlett with the peaks behind her.

 The peak on the left is Crystal Peak and Pacific Peak

on the right, the one in the middle didn't have a 

name according to the Peakfinder app.

I returned to exit 190, near Vail Pass, and elected to turn east on I-70 for a few miles till I got to the Officers Gulch exit.  There was lots of Fall Color to be seen from the highway and I was curious to explore this area.

Turns out, it's been closed to motorized traffic by the Forest Services for many years now.  What used to be some nice camping sites are no more, but it's still open to foot traffic so it was time to do a little hiking for Fall Colors.

 Walked all the way to the fence at the western boundary

It was late afternoon by now, so I headed on back to the campsite to rest for a bit and wait for the sunset.  No need to ride anywhere, it seems that Uma, the URRV, and Scarlett where already in the right spot for tonight's sunset:

 The colors above Peak 1 and 2 were pretty good

Temperatures dropped fast as the sun faded from the skies, a pretty good day for pictures and riding.  The thermometer outside says its 59 degrees outside, feels much cooler!  Time to turn on the catalytic propane heater.