Bøger af Duane Vandenbusche

The Gunnison country, 4,000 square miles of high valleys, heavy snows, deep canyons, and 14,000-foot-high mountains, is one of Colorado s most beautiful regions. Located on the Western Slope of Colorado, the Gunnison country has a long history involving Native Americans, mining, narrow-gauge railroads, ranching, Western State Colorado University, and recreation. The region has also been influenced by nearby Lake City in the San Juan Mountains, Aspen in the Elk Mountains, and towns on the east side of the famed and historic Alpine Railroad Tunnel. Today, the Gunnison country still is beautiful and tranquil, hosting nearly 2,000,000 visitors yearly while remaining much the same as it was over 125 years ago."

Monarch Country is an incredibly beautiful mountain region spanning both sides of the Continental Divide in the southern portions of Chaffee and Gunnison Counties in the Rocky Mountains of south-central Colorado. Monarch Pass, at 11,312 feet above sea level, divides the Gunnison Country in the west from the Arkansas River watershed in the east. This scenic, wild, and rugged region surrounding the crossroads of U.S. Routes 50 and 285 is rich in mining, railroad, and skiing history and once included booming mining camps such as Maysville, Garfield, Monarch, and White Pine. The crown jewel of this spectacular high-country landscape is the Monarch Ski Area, which enjoys 350 to 500 inches of snowfall every year.

Crested Butte rises 8,885 feet above sea level on the edge of the beautiful Elk Mountains in the Gunnison Country of Colorado's Western Slope. Between Crested Butte and Aspen, 25 miles to the north, are six 14,000-foot-high peaks with 12,000-foot-high passes and scenery that takes the breath away. Crested Butte began as a silver camp but soon turned into one of the great coal towns of the West, with a rich ethnic heritage evolved from the mining camps. In the 21st century, Crested Butte is a tourist town of 1,500 residents highlighted by the Mount Crested Butte Ski Area, the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, and its wonderful wildflower and music festivals. The town today is what it always has been, "the queen jewel of the Elk Mountains."