Road Trip Colorado: Unaweep+Tabegauche Scenic Historic Byway

If you love history and enjoy old mining towns, not to mention some breathtaking scenery, load up the car and cruise the Unaweep+Tabegauche Scenic and Historic Byway.

Towns like Naturita, Norwood, Nucla, Bedrock, Paradox and more were founded in the early 1900s as mining towns and are rich in history and the ruins that have been left behind are worth checking out.

Start out in Whitewater and drive to the town of Gateway. Driving along the Uncompahgre Plateau, down through the Unaweep Canyon and check out some of the most unique geological formations anywhere.

Continue your drive and watch the wildlife as bears, mountain lions and more are often spotted along the route. The walls of the canyon reveal some ancient secrets as well. Skeletons found there include the diplodocus and other creatures that suggest there was a heavy tree cover there at one time.

And don't miss the Hanging Flume. An early 20th-century engineering marvel. The 17-mile remnant was designed to bring water to the mines, but once the mines closed was used for irrigation.

Colorado is rich in history. Go get some!