Driving Southwest from Denver, any ideas?

[imported_Janet]

A friend and I are driving this Friday southwest from Denver and have 9 days for an adventure. Any ideas from anyone? Anything would greatly help, either way should be fun and interesting!

[Robert Schaller]

Royal Gorge;
Cripple Creek;
Pikes Peak;
Florissant Fossil Beds Natl Mon;
Great Sand Dunes Natl Mon;

Bent's Old Fort (Not SW from Denver, but worth a look)

Pagosa Springs (hot spgs resorts);
Durango (ride the train!);
Mesa Verde National Park;

Eat German food at one of two good German restaurants in Dolores. Ask, the locals will know where.

Ski Resorts (Telluride, Purgatory, etc);
Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Natl Park);
Crested Butte;
Aspen/Snowmass (more skiing!);

Glenwood Springs -- more hot springs and Doc Holliday's GRAVE!

Dinosaur National Monument (NW of Denver, but what the heck...)

Drive SR149 South Fork to Gunnison (check out Creede);
Drive US550 Durango to Ridgeway;

Check out Georgetown!

You'll have fun just driving around and seeing what's along the way. If you want to go farther afield (like Utah), you could see Monument Valley, Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce and Zion, Cedar Breaks and others.

You won't be able to do it all, but there are some suggestions to think about!

[imported_Janet]

why thank you for all the great suggestions! :)