After a quiet night, we are on a mission to check out the wildflowers.  This weekend is actually the last couple days of the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival and there have been many reports of how amazing they are this year.  We choose one of the festival recommended trails, Snodgrass Mountain, head out pretty early for the drive to put us on the trail by 8:30 or so.  The area is amazing with entire hillsides painted mostly shades of yellow but dotted with purple, blue, red, white and orange.  Snow capped peaks ring the valley along with the namesake crested butte.  Wow!  We hike about 4 miles through meadows and treed terrain.  What a great time of year to be here.

North from town a driving loop reaches further up into the mountains.  Kent’s up for a bit more challenging driving, this is NOT all paved.  We start out high above then along the East River and the lush green valley that envelopes it.  I spot an elk.  Cool.  Wildflowers are still around but the show now is the surrounding mountains.  We get lots of pictures and find a spectacular lunch spot. The pictures don’t do it justice.  Two marmots cavort on the rock pile providing lunchtime entertainment.  We won’t be finishing the loop drive.  We meet a Crested Butte bound driver who reports that some earlier driver overestimated his skills and is stuck in remaining snow pack.  They have blocked the road and no one is getting through.  So, home we go.