June 26: Crested Butte, Ohio Creek Valley, and the Gunnison River Festival

The Colorado scenery just keeps getting better...wow!  We drove a scenic loop recommended to us, from Gunnison to Crested Butte, then through the Ohio Pass into the Ohio Creek Valley, back into Gunnison. Crested Butte was an 1880's historic mining town, and they must still be mining something! Gorgeous homes everywhere and a very affluent looking town! Crested Butte also is called "the official wildflower capital" of Colorado. We were a little early for the flower show.

The scenery coming into town:
What a beautiful, clean downtown area and historic district...









From Crested Butte up the Colorado 12 to Kebler Pass, we were treated to views of the spectacular peaks of the Ruby Range, green and flowering meadows, and expansive groves of fir and aspen.









Next we headed through the Ohio Pass, seeing the giant cascading waterfall down the sides of Ohio Peak.











Views of "The Castles" and the Baldy Mountains from the Ohio CreekValley. This area is home to the world's second largest aspen stand, and must be absolutely gorgeous in fall when the aspens all change together...
The Castles, so unique and strikingly different from the surrounding mountains:



Aspen glen in the Ohio Pass; Aspens on a hillside of Colorado Sunflowers in the Ohio Creek Valley.



A view of the Anthricite Range from the valley (Ohio Peak on the right, where the cascading waterfall is).



The lush Ohio Creek Valley; many beautiful ranch homes line this valley!


Back into Gunnison, we checked out the Gunnison River Festival at Whitewater Park, where kayakers were doing tricks on one of the manmade rock structures in the "paddle playground". 

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