Review by Ed Quillen
Colorado tours – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine
Colorado Byways – A Guide Through Scenic and Historic Landscapes
by Thomas P. Huber
Published in 1997 by University Press of Colorado
ISBN 0870814419
The official state scenic byway system pretty much ignores Central Colorado. Pehaps we should be grateful, since the program was designed to focus on roads that don’t get much traffic, and ours get more than enough to suit me. However, two of the 21 official scenic byways are on the edges of Central Colorado.
“Top of the Rockies” runs from Wheeler Junction (Copper Mountain) over Frémont Pass to Leadville and Twin Lakes, then back north and over Tennessee Pass to Minturn and Dowd Junction on I-70.
“Frontier Pathways” extends west from Pueblo up Hardscrabble Creek to Westcliffe, and back for a turn south past Bishop’s Castle to Rye and Colorado City.
Others range from rough four-wheel-drive roads in the San Juans to pleasant prairie drives.
Here, each route gets a chapter, starting with a brief description, followed by a quite readable explanation of the natural landscape — landforms, geology, drainage, life zones, and plants and wildlife. Then Huber explores the human landscape, starting with any Indian remnants and moving into historical times.
The author mentions points of interest along the way (for instance, the Mt. Elbert Power Plant on Twin Lakes), and adorns each chapter with some subjective impressions. Those are followed by a list of additional maps, a general road description, and a detailed mileage log.
Here’s a sample, about the natural landscape around Leadville: “Almost everywhere there are remnants left by ice. Examples include Tennessee Park, which is underlain by huge ice/ice-melt deposits, and the moraines that coalesce at the junction of U.S. Hwy. 24 and Colorado Hwy. 9. They include the glacial till that covers the top of Tennessee Pass and the glacial debris terraces upon which Leadville is built. They include the signature of alpine glaciation — U-shaped valleys descending from the summits of high mountains such as Mount Massive and Mount Elbert. And, finally, they include the archetypal terminal moraine that dams Turquoise Lake.”
In short, even if you didn’t know a glacier from an ice cube, you’d be able to spot glaciation and its effects by using this book. Think of it as a cross between Roadside History of Colorado and Roadside Geology of Colorado, organized by Scenic Byway, with some roadside wildlife and commentary thrown in.
This looks like a good companion for the inevitable summer travels. It should fit in most gloveboxes, and its binding and paper appear sturdy enough to survive such wear. The Scenic Byways program may increase tourism; if this book gets the circulation it deserves, the tourists (I among them) will have a better feel for the areas they pass through.
–Ed Quillen