If I Were Going...: Mount Evans, Guanella Pass and Tarryall Road

Baby animals are the draw for Mount Evans

I try to blog all of my travels, but often I disregard all the cool places just outside my front door. So, this post is dedicated to some close, but fabulous things I’ve seen in Colorado.

Getting There

Mount Evans

I have written about Mount Evans before, but I just need to mention it again.

We try to go every year to see the Mountain Goats, but missed 2020 because of the pandemic.

So, Caty and I decide to spend a weekend in July near Mount Evans (there is no lodging near the mountain).

This time, we planned to stay overnight so we could stay late and go early.

We wanted morning light and no crowds

Since we decided fairly late in the game, there wasn’t much available in the way of accommodations – everything in nearby Idaho Springs was booked, so we decide to stay just up the highway in Georgetown.

Georgetown is known for Bighorns

After the drill of discovering two days before our trip that I had accidentally booked a hotel in Georgetown, TEXAS, instead of Georgetown, COLORADO, we got everything straightened out.

It was allegedly too late to cancel the Texas room, but, so far, they haven’t charged me. And, the Microtel we stayed in in Georgetown was convenient and very nice.

Traffic heading to (and from – more on that later) western Colorado is insane in the summer. Caty and I decided to meet at the hotel because we were coming from different directions.

I left early and wound my way through the mountains, avoiding major thoroughfares. I actually arrived early.

Caty came via I-70 and was delayed about 30 minutes in the awful crawl of traffic. We met early so that we could go to Smokin’ Yards in Idaho Springs for lunch. It’s a local BBQ place with the absolute best burnt ends I have ever had. But, you have to get there early. We were third in line and got one of the last orders of ends. Lunch was fabulous!

Not diet-worthy, but ...

After lunch, it was on to Mount Evans.

Mount Evans

We had some hurdles, but we got there

On the way to Mount Evans we discovered we had failed to check if Mount Evans, like National Parks, required reservations.

Graphic: Colorado.com

A sign said we needed them. We didn’t have them. So, we pulled off the road and started checking it out.

Mount Evans is peculiar in that part of it is administered by the U.S. Forest Service and part is managed by the City of Denver.

Both required reservations.

We were able to secure reservations for Summit Lake, the part administered by the City, for that afternoon (whew) and for the actual summit the next day.

Heading for the summit in search of Mountain Goats

Summit Lake, despite its name, is six miles and 1,435 feet in elevation below the actual top, which is 14,265 feet high (the parking area by the summit is at 14,130 feet).

Rugged landscape

We thought, when we booked the reservations, that we would not be able to drive past Summit Lake on the first day, but when we checked in, we were told that we could drive the entire mountain, we just couldn’t park beyond Summit Lake. No problem, we were just looking for Mountain Goats to photograph.

We sure found them!

The few times we did stop, it was on the side of the road and for short amounts of time.

Babies playing by the side of the road

The next morning, we actually arrived before 8:00 a.m., so we didn’t even need our reservations to get in. We were concerned that we might run into problems if we parked at the Summit of the Mount Goliath Natural Area because our only proof of reservation was on my phone.

When we stopped at Mount Goliath, we saw a Silvery Blue Butterfly -- a new one for me

But, we had no issues.

Lots of Cuties

It was a little later in the year than when we usually go, so the baby Mountain Goats were just a little bit bigger.

Cutie Patootie

But, they were still as cute as ever.

A baby Mountain Goat

We saw quite a few, most of them in small groups…

Three kids in a row

Many playing …

A favorite game involves circling each other

Running up …

A motorcycle frightened them and they were off

Running down ...

They are not fazed by steep cliffs

Running across the meadow ...

A mighty leap

Jumping …

They are little, but sure-footed

Following Mom ...

Working their way down the mountain

Posing ...

On top of the world

And, just generally, acting like baby Goats …

Goat play

You just don't get tired of Mountain Goat kids; see them in action here.

We also witnessed Goats licking cars.

We should have shooed them away

Later, when I researched this behavior to confirm why they do it – they are searching for salts and minerals that they need in their diet – I learned that this behavior is not good and that we should shoo them away.

They can be a little frightening when they head right toward you; those horns are sharp

We were trying to NOT interfere with the Goats, so we hadn’t waved them off. I know better now.

We do, after all, want healthy Mountain Goats

In addition to the adorable Mountain Goat kids …

Double cuteness

… and their very shaggy mothers …

The first-year wool is prettier than the remnants of last winter's coat

… this trip delivered a surprise. We saw quite a few Bighorn Sheep ...

This yearling really wanted to be photographed

... and many were babies ...

A Bighorn Sheep "nursery"

We have seen Bighorn Sheep on Mount Evans before, but never this many little ones.

The youngsters stay together

They are not quite as cute as the cuddly, fluffy white butterballs that are Mountain Goat kids …

Fluffball

But, they are stinkin’ cute …

Another cutie

So stinkin' cute ...

Nose to nose

They weren’t as rambunctious as the Goats either, but we did see quite a few running ...

Moving quickly

... hanging on the cliff edges ...

Ready to jump

... and leaping down the rocks …

They were so close, I couldn't even keep them in the frame

... and, of course, taking a break ...

Stopping to nurse in the middle of the road

The Charms of Mount Evans

Of course, it wouldn’t be a 14er without the other two Colorado mainstays – Yellow-bellied Marmots, both alert …

Standing Marmot

... and not so much …

Flat Marmot

And, of course, adorable little American Pikas …

American Pika

Both of these animals live at high elevations (Marmots above 6,500 feet, Pikas above 8,000). Marmots hibernate as long as eight months each winter ...

One of the longest hibernations in the animal world

... where Pikas don’t hibernate but instead hunker down in the dens in the winter.

Is he smiling?

Regardless, we only get to see them in the summer. And, another summer treat is Hummingbirds. There are always quite a few at the Echo lake Lodge at the beginning of Mount Evans Road ...

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Our time on Mount Evans was lovely. We had a teensy bit of rain ...

You can see how wet the Bighorn Sheep are

... but rather than interfere, it just made the visit prettier.

We could see the end of the rainbow

Plus, the reservation system seems to be working. It was the least crowded I have ever seen the mountain. It’s always a treat to visit.

Guanella Pass

My route

This time, I decided to take a different and far more scenic route home – partially to see what I could see and partially to avoid 1-70.

Caty decided to drive to her home via Grand Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park for the same reason.

I chose to go over Guanella Pass (elevation 11,669 feet), which Scott and I had just visited (but not traveled north from) a few weeks earlier.

My route took me through downtown Georgetown, which was still bustling from a bike race up to the pass that morning, over the pass and down to SR 285 where, instead of turning toward Denver, I would head west and cut past Tarryall reservoir and head home.

It’s a longer drive, but, this?

Photo: CDOT

Or this?

Guanella Pass

I rest my case.

The drive up to Guanella was uncrowded and beautiful, but I didn’t stop very often for photos.

Looking back on Georgetown

The summit is breathtaking. And, there, I stopped multiple times to capture the view …

Guanella Pass

… from different angles …

Another view from the Pass

… and in different light …

Wide angle

Guanella Pass was named in 1953 for Byron Guanella, a road supervisor and commissioner in Clear Creek County for nearly 50 years. It provides a route between Georgetown in the valley of Clear Creek to the north and Grant in the valley of Geneva Creek, a tributary of the North Fork South Platte River, to the south. The entire route is paved, but closes in the winter because it is not maintained.

You can see why the highway closes

At the summit of the pass, hiking trails lead east to Mount Bierstadt (elevation 14,060 feet).

The highest peak to the right is Bierstadt

The Geneva Basin Ski Area, which existed from 1963-1984, was located just a few miles south of the pass.

I didn't see much in the way of wildlife, just a few Mule Deer and a Least Chipmunk ...

The striped face says Chipmunk

Rock formation

Tarryall Reservoir Route

I am so glad I decided that I would head west after intersecting with Highway 285 in Grant. The traffic heading east to Denver was backed up at least five miles, probably more.

A couple of years ago, I “discovered” Highway 77, which cuts from Highway 285 near Kenosha Pass past Tarryall Reservoir and then connects with Highway 24, which connects to Colorado Springs.

It’s a gorgeous route which is generally fairly uncrowded. This day was no exception.

Along Highway 77

An absolutely beautiful drive.

Summer flowers

It was on this drive last October that I saw and photographed a Long-tailed Weasel. I went back the next week and got more photos and then have not seen one there since.