The Gold Beneath the Peaks

Colorado's autumn is not Vermont's autumn — fewer rolling hills, more cliffs, more altitude, and thousands of aspen groves igniting against dark evergreen and bare granite peaks. The San Juan Skyway is the trip: a roughly 230-mile loop that doesn't just pass through the mountains but climbs over them. From the Old West streets of Durango you cross high passes to the frozen-in-time mining town of Silverton, drive the cliff-hanging Million Dollar Highway to the hot springs of Ouray, and reach the great alpine finale at Telluride — then loop home through high desert, watching an entire ecosystem change. Time it right and the mountains look like they've been dipped in sunlight.

Questions, or a problem with your itinerary? Just email hello.livingearthco@gmail.com — I read every message, and I stand behind what I make.