"Top of the Rockies" - or how to see 4 passes in 1 day

The destination was (and the photos are from) Independence Pass. But that day we really saw the Rocky Mountains, by visiting a total of 4 beautiful passes:

1) 8am - Schofield Pass (which our taxi from Crested Butte passed on the way to the trailhead. The bus, run by Dolly's Taxi, had a flat right front tire which took 29 minutes to replace!)
2) 11:15 am - West Maroon Pass (which we hiked up and over via the West Maroon Trail)
3) 6pm - Independence Pass on the road between Aspen and Twin Lakes
4) 6:45pm - Fremont Pass, between Copper and Quandry Mountains

After our 12-mile hike from Crested Butte to Aspen via the West Maroon Trail, John offered to show us the scenic route back home to Silverthorne/Summit County. So we drove through Aspen via State Highway 82, passing the gate used to close the road once snow starts.

The road to Independence Pass is second highest paved road in Colorado. The pass, at 12,095 feet, is on the Continental Divide, separating the watersheds of the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The closest town west of the Divide is Aspen; on the west side it is Twin Lakes.

Before the sun set, we saw virtually every mountain range in the Rockies. A fitting end to our Colorado hiking vacation.

See the four of us and some of the views here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickijbrown/sets/72157622187675860/