Colorado Suggestions Needed

Thom02099 wrote:
OP - In your signature, you mention a couple of fur friends. Will they be coming along on this trip? If they are, that can change recommendations significantly, particularly if you want to visit Mesa Verde.

One other thing. In looking at your itinerary, on the leg from the Springs to Ouray, you have 267 miles/5 hours. You won't be able to do this in 5 hours. That would be averaging 53 MPH. And from Ouray back to Limon, 367 miles in 6.5 hours = 56MPH. That is not realistic for either in the Colorado Mountains.

If you were to take US 24 out of the Springs to US 285/US 50/US 550 to Ouray, you have to go over Monarch Pass. Though it's not a difficult pass, you might be able to take it at 35-40MPH, on both sides. Much faster than that is not advisable, especially going down. In the summer, there will also be heavy traffic, and even in places where you're not climbing or descending, you still won't be able to get up to much beyond 50MPH is places. Plan on, at minimum, another 60-90 minutes on those daily drives. And that doesn't account for any stops you may want to make, such as the top of Monarch Pass where there's an aerial tram on the south side of the pass to a high point with vistas that are worth the stop for 45-60 minutes.

ETA: OP - just re-read your post, so it looks like you've actually got TWO rigs coming out, a pair of Ford Diesels and a FW with one and TT with the other, correct? If so, definitely plan on reservations at all places you want to potentially stay. Many places have a 180 day window for reservations. December 8th was the opening of the window for June 8th, so use that as a base for reservations with that window, such as Mesa Verde NP.