To recap:
Day 5: Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Day 6: Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Now day 8 had come and it was time to start the 2-day drive back home to Indian Hills. The first order of business was going over Monarch Pass, on the Continental Divide, back to the east side of North America.
I didn’t take a shot of the highway sign. Monarch is 11,312 feet above sea level, and there is a nice wide area to pull off and let your engine rest. Here’s a view of a couple of thirteeners on the east side that you can see from the top:
A few years later, I discovered another pass over the Divide just a little way south of this one that I liked a lot better: Cochetopa Pass. It’s a thousand feet lower, and not as well-traveled as Monarch. I’ll have photos of it someday in the future, but today’s post isn’t about that pass.
Down the east side of Monarch Pass we returned to the area near Buena Vista, and I knew exactly where I wanted to take my sweetheart to camp for the night: The Cascades Campground on Chalk Creek (see “Day Two: Tincup Pass” above to refresh your memory).
We camped there and it was like paradise. I took this shot the next morning before leaving.
It was a perfect ending to an awesome trip.