We travelled west over Kebler from Crested Butte to Paonia and on to Grand Junction on Saturday Oct 7th, 2006.

This unpaved road passes thru extensive groves of aspen and provides grand views of adjacent high peaks. Most of the country was draped in beautiful fading fall colors. The intense yellows were past prime up high near the pass but still very nice on mid on the western side of the pass. The oak groves on the lower western slopes that would have blazed red earlier in the season had lost all color at the time of our trip: Timing is important if you're looking for fall colors.

The road is heavily washboarded in places and was very muddy after several days of rain, but was easily passable with our Subaru and wouldn't present much of a problem to any vehicles if the driver is paying attention. I wouldn't recommend towing over this pass however. Big snows at high elevation would be a problem - something to consider if weather is severe. Take your time as some of the curves are tight and the road drops a lot of elevation on the west side of the pass. We saw plenty of deer, but no other large mammals this trip.

Great way to see this scenic area especially as means to get from Gunnison and Crested Butte to Delta and Grand Junction.