Independence, CO

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to my continuation of our Aspen trip!

On our third day of being in Aspen, my husband thought it would be a fun idea to drive on Independence Pass. Independence Pass is a winding road through the mountains that takes you up to 12,095 ft elevation and to the Continental Divide. I had never heard of it, but he really wanted to take that drive so I said sure. The road closes during the winter months because it becomes dangerous. Although it snowed the day before, the road was open, having closed briefly. Fortunately, we were able to go.

I won’t lie, parts of the drive were super scary. Sometimes it felt like we were barely on the edge of the road and could plummet thousands of feet down. Additionally, on some parts of the pass, the road becomes one lane. Combine mountain heights, snow, winding roads and one lane highways…I held my breath a lot. On the way up there were plenty of places to stop and take pictures and look at the beautiful views of the Colorado Rockies. One place we passed was an abandoned mining, now, ghost town called Independence. So, on the way back down, we stopped and explored a little.

Independence was originally settled in the late 1870’s after a miner struck gold on July 4th, hence the name. Once word got out regarding gold, it became a tent city and soon grew to house 1,500 settlers. In its heyday, it had 47 businesses, three post offices, five saloons and two boarding houses. But, as fast as the gold rush came, it went. By the early 1910’s the town was abandoned. It is now a national registered historical site.

FASHION

On this day, although it was a chilly, the weather was beautiful. I wore this quilted patchwork Anthropologie jacket that was comfortable and kept me warm. I paired my look with my favorite flare jeans, some durable booties for the snow, big earrings and a belt to accent my waistline. When I saw this quilted jacket, I was unsure. It literally took me two weeks to make up my mind, but I’m so glad I purchased it. It so unique. It does run big, I am wearing a XXS/XS for reference. I have my outfit below.

Anthro Quilted Patchwork Jacket // Zara Flare Denim // Nine West Boots (old) // H&M Earrings (old)

xoxo