I'll bite. What's scary? I looked it up on Wikipedia - Mormon farmers in the 1880s, then uranium miners in the 1950s.

I think Glenwood Springs is interesting for the baths and some of the hiking/climbing opportunities which range from easy to tougher than you are. The drive through Glenwood Canyon on I-70 is just amazing...you're in flat, boring countryside, then you drop down into something that looks like a Pixar film. I was just driving through but it looks like the downtown area South of I-70 has some things to look at.

I haven't done this yet, but some of the wineries in the Western Slope; and I understand the Yampa River as you get towards Utah in Dinosaur National Monument is amazing - river runs through canyons 1000' deep. Our son's pediatrician told us the only hotel in Dinosaur CO is one mobile home, cut into a few hotel rooms. The Yampa is the last undammed river of any size in the West.

http://www.cmc.org/AdventureTravel/A...x?EventID=2561

Yampa tour...you have to join the Colorado Mountaineering Club (which is a GREAT use of money, IMHO.)

http://www.groupon.com/deals/colorad...d650fe5961c025

This isn't exactly what you were looking for, but here's a brew tours Groupon.

I'm wondering the same thing. My first guess was the Mountain Meadows Massacre but that can't be it since the Massacre happened far west of Bluff.

It seems to me, going in either direction would be enough to scare anyone. I can't imagine doing that drive in inclement weather. I did it in the summer was scared the entire time. I always wondered why they didnt put guardrails along the highway.

As for my small town choice, Redstone CO is a great little town. It is about 45 mins from Glenwood Springs. It is an old coal town along the Chrystal River. The owner of the mine built a huge house (or hunting lodge as he called it) called the Redstone Castle. Plus its only another 10-12 miles up the road to Marble CO. They used to offer tours of the marble quarry but when I went through the town last year, someone said they discontinued it several years ago.

I met an older woman and her daughter at the Hilton bar in Sedona one night and we got talking about the San Juan highway. The woman (mother) Told me that they owned a lumber company in, I think, Gunnison and she used to drive a lumber truck down the road all the time. She thought nothing of it. I had to have another martini to even contemplate that.

Bobette

OMG, Marble! When I was in college, I spent a summer at a high altitude field station called the Rocky Mt Biol Lab (RMBL). It was located on the site of an old ghost town called Gothic, 9 miles north of Crested Butte. We frequently went north from Gothic to a place called Crystal. To the east across Monarch Bells and the Continental Divide was Aspen. To the west down the canyon was Marble. I never made it to either town that summer though later I did manage to get to Aspen, but not by hiking over the Divide. We always talked about Marble but somehow never made it.

Thanks for the reminder!

Bobette, amen to that. It was scary enough going just north on Hwy 550 to Montrose from Durango. I can't imagine doing it multiple times. However, my neighbors (who told that the hwy was a must do in Colorado) apparently have done it numerous times.

JerryFF, I know there is a road that goes out of Marble and ends up in the Crested Butte area. I am not sure how good the road is but heard it was very scenic. I did drive up to the entrance of the marble quarry (single lane dirt/gravel road for 4 miles). This was in July and absolutely gorgeous.

HawaiiTrvlr, I'm pretty sure this is the Schofield Pass. We did this pass (well, sort of) once starting in Crested Butte to Marble. The weather turned very bad and we had to turn around and go back. It was very beautiful.

Bobette

Yes, that's it! Schofield Pass. As I recall, one definitely needs a 4WD with high clearance. Great area. As I recall, the road from Crested Butte through Gothic up to Crystal was generally ok - but the tough part was between Crystal and Marble.

Maybe I can add that to my adventure this summer. I camp down the mtn near Carbondale. Maybe I will try to do a loop from there, up through Marble, over Schofield Pass to Crested Butte and back over Independence Pass to Carbondale. I will have to research that and see how difficult that road is. I have a pretty high clearance Jeep 4wd so I am not terribly concerned about the road (too much).

Maybe it's a good thing the weather turned bad and we had to turn around. Take a look at this.

Schofield Pass

Bobette

I was told that guardrails were not present due to the amount of snow in winter. As you could imagine, it is much easier to push the snow off of the road and over the side without guardrails there. And, though I cannot remember who, I think someone also said that if there were an avalanche, the force against a guardrail could damage or remove the edge of the road, which I can also see.

Wow...I am not sure I would even attempt it by hiking it. Thanks for the link.

That makes total sense now. Thanks for the info.

Chama, Eagle Nest, and Red River, NM are very small but have gorgeous scenery, especially in the fall when the aspen leaves are turning.

Skip Tombstone and drive a few miles up the road to Bisbee. Lots of shops/galleries, good restaurants (Cafe Roka is fantastic but need reservations), and several nice B&B's. Don't stay at the Copper Queen (or eat there for that matter) but the bar/lobby is cool. Mine tour is fun and the mining museum is excellent. Lavender Jeep Tour is a mini history lesson of the town/area.