8/31/16 - Lakeview Campground, Gunnison National Forest, CO

This morning the fog was really thick around us and the lake.  About 9:30 it burned off and we went for a drive.  Jim drove us over Cottonwood Pass.  This pass is closed in the winter -- it is 12,126 feet high.  The road is dirt and gravel on the Pacific/west side of the pass for 14 miles but it is kept graded and the road is really good.  The Atlantic/east side of the pass is paved.  In the summer of 2017 the pass will be closed and it will be paved all the way.  The views on this drive were beautiful!  Today was a sunny day, so very different from yesterday. The pass took us to Buena Vista.  We went to Eddyline Brewing and had lunch at Evergreen Café.  Then we drove to Salida and went to Moonlight Pizza Brewpub.  Next we went to Poncha Springss and stopped at Elevation Beer Company.  This was a really good brewery, and most of the beers were 8-12%.  Then we drove over Monarch Pass and stopped in Gunnison where Jim washed the Silverado after getting it really dirty yesterday.  We drove a loop of 163 miles today. We had leftover Hatch enchiladas for supper.