Gothic Road (Gunnison County Road 317), Gothic, CO, 9/26/2011
After I arrived in the lovely town of Crested Butte, Colorado on an autumn photography adventure, I enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner at one of the fine restaurants there. My waitress was thoughtful enough to suggest that I explore the road north to the town of Gothic; she said there was attractive scenery that way. The next day I followed her advice and was pleased to find clusters of golden aspen trees in dramatic mountainous settings graced by the prettiest skies I would encounter on my trip. While driving northwest on Gothic Road alongside the East River, I emerged from under trees into a clearing and discovered this wonderful view of Gothic Mountain, aspens glowing in the sunshine, and the road itself beckoning me onward! This was a beautiful scene and I was fortunate to capture it at such a perfect moment, in between the passing cars of other visitors. Gothic Mountain has an elevation of 12,631 feet above sea level and a local prominence of 1,645 feet. The road here is at elevation 9,440 feet and we're on the northeastern slope of Snodgrass Mountain, which rises to our left. These peaks are part of the Elk Mountains, a high, rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of west-central Colorado. This part of the range is located within the Gunnison National Forest. The Elk Mountains are the westernmost range in the Rocky Mountains; to their west, the west-dipping Grand Hogback ridge marks the transition to the Colorado Plateau.
