Independence Pass, Colorado

As if Aspen couldn’t get any better, we drove out of town over one of the coolest passes of the trip — Independence Pass. Why is it awesome? Well, the US Pro Cycling Challenge just biked over it (full route). The road from Aspen narrows and widens oddly and inconsistently all the way up the slope. There’s an old ghost town near the top. It’s too difficult to maintain in winter, so it closes. And it’s beautiful. It goes right through some of the most spectacular mountains in Colorado.

Anyway, some photos. As always, click to enlarge:

Ghost town above the treeline. [LAM]

Ghost town detail.

Shit, we took the same pic. [LAM]

Host interpreter: a ghost. [LAM]

All downhill from here …

Independence Pass, Windows XP style.

Road across Independence Pass. [LAM]

Top o’ the pass. [LAM]

What the? Those tires must REALLY inflate.