My son and I were excited to reach the mountain top and geek out on the telescopes while the sunset on the clouds. Your started off a little rough. The driver was late to the pickup spot, and the office gave me a different driver name and license plate number. The driver assured me I was on the right shuttle bus. When we made our way to the back of the bus, the two ladies sitting next to me said they were on a different tour and got on the wrong bus. So the morale of the story is be careful. The driver also told me to hurry up because everyone was waiting on me, despite the fact I we were waiting on him for 34 minutes.
We got to a parking lot at the base of the mountain and break up into two shuttle vans that take you to the visitor center. The guides were nice, but were only cursory knowledgeable about the telescopes. Read up on them before you go. You stop for about 45 minutes at the visitor center for a brief stretch around 9,000 foot elevation. As you get closer to sunset, you begin the ride up to over 13,000 foot elevation. Wear your seat belt like my son did or you will bounce 6 inches out of your seat as the road is not all paved.
Views at the top were spectacular, and worth the trip. Stories by the guides were ok. After seeing the sunset, you descend back to the visitor center. Despite rain and cloudy skies, the guides persisted in the hopes of seeing stars. Half the group stayed on the van. They descend back to the parking lot and then you begin your return trip on the shuttle bus.
We learned that if you have a 4WD vehicle, you can drive yourself. I would recommend that over a tour group, but again, the views at the top are great!!