Round Trip to Aspen

Our picnic spot. Almost to the top of Cottonwood Pass

The Pacific side of Cottonwood Pass

The Atlantic side of Cottonwood Pass

Independence Pass

Hallie liked this building in Aspen. It's a restaurant called the Red Onion

Aspen's downtown area has a part that is pedestrian only

McClure Pass

a Dam before Kebler Pass

"Range cows" are cows that run around all over the place without boundaries. How those rangers round them up, I have no idea!

Third Bowl Ice Cream....a new favorite!

We knew Aspen was within a decent driving distance (less than four hours), but it's only accessible from Crested Butte during the summer when Kebler Pass is open. Danny wanted to see what kind of trip it would be and decided to make it a round trip, going one way and coming back another. We went over Cottonwood Pass and Independence Pass on the way to Aspen and then returned via McClure Pass and Kebler Pass to Crested Butte. We only spent a short amount of time wandering around downtown Aspen before we climbed back into the car to go back to Crested Butte. Once we got back into town, we were soooo tired of winding roads that all we wanted to do was get out of the car, stand on solid ground, and eat some ice cream! We have a new ice cream place in CB called Third Bowl ice cream. They only make in small batches with really unique flavors that change frequently. We have been absolutely amazed at how the flavors taste just like what they are supposed to. I am not very adventurous with my ice cream and usually end up with chocolate, but I like to try the different kinds. Yesterday Danny ate Sweet Corn, no kidding, and Hallie had Mint Cookie. The mint tasted like an actual leaf of mint...delicious. Today, we tasted Salted Caramel that tasted just like the real thing. Danny ordered Toasted Pistachio that tasted just like toasted pistachios and Hallie and I had chocolate. Danny and Hallie both tasted the Lemon Beet, but neither really liked the flavor. I don't think we will ever find ourselves driving back to Aspen as CB suits us much better, but it was fun to set out and explore somewhere different.