Well I'm just about all over the place in CO - but I know that I have to narrow it way down here soon.
I was reading through the Colorado Visitors Guide and saw their spread on historic byways/skyways in CO. Now I'm looking at the West Elk Loop. I'm trying to narrow down our 9 nights in Colorado to stays of mostly 2 nights each, with 1 here and there. Where coming in through Estes Park and Rocky Mtn. Natl Park. Then I'm thinking about cutting through Kebler Pass to Crested Butte, winding around from there to Black Canyon of the Gunnison doing the San Juan and then back through Gunnison to head home to Delaware.
By touristy, I just meant the stuff that tourists flock to without seeing small town CO. Plus - after being in the car as much as we're going to be, sitting on a train is sounding less attractive, although I LOVE trains, and don't want to miss that. As you can see I'm all over, but I'm real close to narrowing it WAY down, just trying to get ALL the info and want to see the best.

Most people will tell you the train was the highlight of their whole trip. As a matter of fact, it will be nice to let someone else do the driving for a while!

From RMNP to Kebler pass is a LONG way. How are you getting there. Kebler Pass and the Elk Loop is OK but it will take a lot of time that could be used for more scenic areas, IMO.

Just remember all these roads take a lot longer than they look.

RMNP is well worth your time if you can fit it in.

Dee -- this was my response to your previous post (not sure if you are still checking that one):

After your drive from the East Coast, I think you should do the following, going straight to Colorado Springs:

Day 1: Colorado Springs (Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Olympic Training Center, BTW: the Rodeo Hall of Fame is closed indefinitely), drive to Estes Park for overnight.

Day 2: Tour RMNP & drive to Montrose for overnight.

Day 3: Tour Black Canyon, Million $ Highway, Ouray, through Durango (skip for now), & to Cortez for overnight.

Day 4: Mesa Verde -- get there by 8am for tour tickets to the Ruins. Keep in mind that it is 45 minutes from Cortez to the Visitor Center; Tour 1 Mesa (Chapin has 2 tour only ruins: Cliff Palace & Balcony House); you can do Spruce Tree, Far View, & Chapin Museum on your own; drive to Durango for overnight.

Day 5: Durango/Silverton Railroad & head for home maybe stopping at a hot spring site to relax before the drive --I think there is one in Ouray?

Good luck & have fun. Happy Anniversary!

Please note that doing any serious sight-seeing in Colorado Springs and then driving to RMNP/Estes will be unbelievably difficult. Traffic along 25 (Colorado Springs through Denver or even taking the 470 by-pass to Boulder and then on to RMNP) is notoriously bad and the distance is longer than you might think. Likewise trying to get from RMNP to Montrose in a day leaves me exhausted just thinking about it.You'll almost be traveling from one end of the state to the other.

Colorado is an amazingly beautiful place, but I would suggest you trim your itinerary and enjoy what you can reasonably manage. Leave something for next time and with the idea that there'll be a next time.

Assuming that you are arriving from the north and skipping Colorado Springs, I would do the following:

Day One – Arrival - Estes Park

Day Two - RMNP/Overnight Estes Park

Day Three – RMNP/ Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake/ Overnight Glenwood Springs or possibly Redstone. I'm not a big fan of the town of Glenwood, but you will appreciate the springs after days of driving & I think driving to Montrose is too far. Redstone is charming and I love the Redstone Inn, but again Glenwood might be a better choice.

Day Four – Glenwood Springs to Black Canyon of the Gunnison/Overnight Ouray

Day Five – Ouray area/Overnight Ouray

Day Six – Million Dollar Highway to Durango/Overnight Durango

Day Seven – Mesa Verde/Overnight Durango

Day Eight ?

Day Nine ?

This still leaves you with two more nights to plan. I'm with Connie on Kebler Pass. I would skip it on this trip. Colorado has many scenic routes but I would concentrate on RMNP and the Million Dollar Highway area. Just my two cents.

Check out my trip report (#1-5), we just got back from taking a Colorado Springs loop around and back trip. We visited many of the areas you want to visit. If going to Mesa Verde and want to do it in one day (spend the night there) do just one of the Mesa loops...we did just the Chapin loop and saw lots. If you have kids it is definitely the loop to take. Go to the Far View Center early and reserve your tours (two of them on this mesa). Make sure you have LOTS of water.

Also, I would skip the railroad ride and take the Yankee Boy Basin trip through Switzerland of American in Ouray.
With so few days you would be better off to go through Ouray than Teluride.
I would also skip Canon City. We went from Col. Springs to Montrose in one day and did a lot along the way.
We were not impressed with Silverton...just drove through it, just a tourist trap. Believe me...you will see beautiful mountains in Ouray and through the million dollar highway from there to Durango.