Colorado Pics and some Jeepin'
08-01-2007, 09:58 AM
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Colorado Pics and some Jeepin'
OK, for those who have followed any of our escapades - here are some shots of the latest...
Brief overview....
Started in Tempe Arizona - went up / over through New Mexico to Pueblo CO then on to the Royal Gorge...so the first shots are from some sites there - highly recommened - the young and old all had fun and we even stayed an extra day. Then after more changed plans, we headed to Gunnison and then to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison -- really a blast as we were right next to an airport (so I was drooling the whole time). Of course, the plans changed again so we headed south to Lake City where we spent several nights and finally headed home after a bit of a mishap...
On to the pics...we have several hundred (almost a thousand actually!) but I shrunk these big time to save space - so sorry up front for the decrease in quality. However, it gives a bit of flavor about the trip but we have subsequently learned that since we seem to usually go to Colorado in the rain - the only way - next time - is for us to hook up a cam through the windshield as no one wants to get out in the rain or hail while we're headed through a river or up some washed out road!
First ones are from the Royal Gorge area...quick note - IF you ever go there - the entrance cost is not cheap but if you get there before 8:30 am it is half price!
Shot from our campsite...several miles away!
From the tram...
We figured since we walked in the morning, we needed to check out the drive in the afternoon! We missed a really good photo though of the "no fishing from bridge" sign!
Poser shot by the Arizona Flag...the route is lined with the State flags so of course we had to stop at each for the kids photos at their State of origin.
The real reason we went there was to go bungee jumping off the bridge. We were told they had it and the older kids and I were going to go. Unfortunately, we were 2 months too early - only happens in September and since we were going to do that - the wife decided she would go on the "SkyCoaster" - so we all did that instead. Of course our youngest is too young so he was left out but we have great videos (I'll try next week to get still from that) and too many pics of the rides too! However, we did rename the ride - Launch the Mommy as you actually launch out over the gorge - 1500 feet below!
just before launch...
the kids after...
Of course, not hunting season...the back road out was interesting too...
After much putt putt and food, and a little sleep, we headed West. Of course, changed plans mid way so headed all the way to Gunnison across the Monarch Pass...
and finally into Gunnison - where of course it rained even harder! Next morning though the sputtering of a very old engine (not from a plane) caught my attention and we walked back around the RV to see this...
The previous owner, the grandfather, passed away 3 years ago and left this treasure to his grandson with the request that his ashes be spread around a mine he owned. They decided to take him on one last ride.
On to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison after checking out the local fishing holes with many brown trout! Neatest thing (aside from some truly breathtaking photos and the fishing) was the 16% grade into the canyon where it of course rained and hailed and the thunder about made us all deaf!
The dogs were actually very good and only left us the furry kind of presents...even after being in the back almost the entire day (yes of course we walked them but it was still a long day!)
That was also when my front locker light decided to start blinking at me - not a clue as it hasn't returned.
Yet another change of plans as we discussed whether to go north to the Snowmass area / Crested Butte or south to Lake City. We figured we'd spend too many days around Snowmass so that we;re leaving for next year...on to Lake City...and of course more rain...
The rain also included hail and was so deafening that we could not talk to each other in the RV - even at a foot apart you had to shout!
Anyone know what town / city claims to have the most Jeeps per capita?? Other than RVs and ATVs - almost everything else was a Jeep!
After running a few trails, what else to do with all the rain...the crew decided to relax...
...to be continued as I seem to recall someone saying there was a limit on photos per post...
Brief overview....
Started in Tempe Arizona - went up / over through New Mexico to Pueblo CO then on to the Royal Gorge...so the first shots are from some sites there - highly recommened - the young and old all had fun and we even stayed an extra day. Then after more changed plans, we headed to Gunnison and then to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison -- really a blast as we were right next to an airport (so I was drooling the whole time). Of course, the plans changed again so we headed south to Lake City where we spent several nights and finally headed home after a bit of a mishap...
On to the pics...we have several hundred (almost a thousand actually!) but I shrunk these big time to save space - so sorry up front for the decrease in quality. However, it gives a bit of flavor about the trip but we have subsequently learned that since we seem to usually go to Colorado in the rain - the only way - next time - is for us to hook up a cam through the windshield as no one wants to get out in the rain or hail while we're headed through a river or up some washed out road!
First ones are from the Royal Gorge area...quick note - IF you ever go there - the entrance cost is not cheap but if you get there before 8:30 am it is half price!
Shot from our campsite...several miles away!
From the tram...
We figured since we walked in the morning, we needed to check out the drive in the afternoon! We missed a really good photo though of the "no fishing from bridge" sign!
Poser shot by the Arizona Flag...the route is lined with the State flags so of course we had to stop at each for the kids photos at their State of origin.
The real reason we went there was to go bungee jumping off the bridge. We were told they had it and the older kids and I were going to go. Unfortunately, we were 2 months too early - only happens in September and since we were going to do that - the wife decided she would go on the "SkyCoaster" - so we all did that instead. Of course our youngest is too young so he was left out but we have great videos (I'll try next week to get still from that) and too many pics of the rides too! However, we did rename the ride - Launch the Mommy as you actually launch out over the gorge - 1500 feet below!
just before launch...
the kids after...
Of course, not hunting season...the back road out was interesting too...
After much putt putt and food, and a little sleep, we headed West. Of course, changed plans mid way so headed all the way to Gunnison across the Monarch Pass...
and finally into Gunnison - where of course it rained even harder! Next morning though the sputtering of a very old engine (not from a plane) caught my attention and we walked back around the RV to see this...
The previous owner, the grandfather, passed away 3 years ago and left this treasure to his grandson with the request that his ashes be spread around a mine he owned. They decided to take him on one last ride.
On to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison after checking out the local fishing holes with many brown trout! Neatest thing (aside from some truly breathtaking photos and the fishing) was the 16% grade into the canyon where it of course rained and hailed and the thunder about made us all deaf!
The dogs were actually very good and only left us the furry kind of presents...even after being in the back almost the entire day (yes of course we walked them but it was still a long day!)
That was also when my front locker light decided to start blinking at me - not a clue as it hasn't returned.
Yet another change of plans as we discussed whether to go north to the Snowmass area / Crested Butte or south to Lake City. We figured we'd spend too many days around Snowmass so that we;re leaving for next year...on to Lake City...and of course more rain...
The rain also included hail and was so deafening that we could not talk to each other in the RV - even at a foot apart you had to shout!
Anyone know what town / city claims to have the most Jeeps per capita?? Other than RVs and ATVs - almost everything else was a Jeep!
After running a few trails, what else to do with all the rain...the crew decided to relax...
...to be continued as I seem to recall someone saying there was a limit on photos per post...
Last edited by AZToad; 08-01-2007 at 10:00 AM.
08-01-2007, 10:01 AM
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Hitting the trails around Lake City
...the next installment...
Next morning started with confusion as usual so the older boys headed to town to rent ATVs for Friday morning and we decided to head to Whitmore Falls to see what Engineer's Pass was like...
We have way too many photos and I’ll try to just pick those out that can give a bit of flavor to our usual!
After starting up – in the rain of course again…we made it to Whitmore Falls. Very beautiful and worth the trek down – although the dogs made it a bit more dangerous than it needed to be. As our luck would have it, the rain stopped as we returned to the Jeep and we were to decide whether to head back to the RV. It also meant the the now wet dogs were lovely to have in a nice warm enclosed Jeep.
Which meant, of course we were not heading back! We would continue on to check out what the trail maps meant by moderate! So we ventured onward. We came to a fork in the road and although the Garmin showed to bear right, my navigator said the path to the left looked much nicer. Turned out it was an ATV trail and after some hairy rock climbs and narrow tree passages (including some minor trail scars), we returned to the trail the Garmin suggested we should be on.
By this point the rains had begun again but we thought we were near enough to the summit that we might as well continue as we probably wouldn’t come the next day. Many other stops occurred along the way – educational and photo stops and dog breaks – but we finally made it to the summit – or at least just short of it as the kids (and the wife) wanted to play in the snow! They each wrote their names in the snow with a rock (fortunately the youngest boy didn't have other ideas).
The dogs had been sleeping but as I retrieved the camera for this shot – they began to howl loud enough that I am quite certain everyone in the valleys below could hear them!
Next stop – 30 more feet – the summit…
Since they were awake – the dogs joined everyone in the pic!
However, within a couple of minutes of taking that shot, the sky opened up in a good way – BLUE!!!
So of course we changed our minds and rather than return to camp, we continued on…
We started watching the elevation continue to climb but we never broke through 13k. We found a path that might have but not safely. SO this is the highest we noted…
Around that bend, we also noted that those European and Australian bumpers we had seen photos of would definitely decrease the overspray seen here. Of course the real shot was of the switchbacks in the rear!
But of course the rains were never far behind, shortly after this shot the rains started again but at least were light.
Overeducated does not imply common sense (mine that is). Shortly after, my navigator suggested that we were awfully close to the GPS coordinates for a “shortcut” to Cinnamon Pass. Having the utmost confidence in her (as the ATV excursion was a blast earlier – I didn’t care!), we turned up a fairly steep and barely used path. It became very tough but as the Jeep had made it that far – I figured this wasn’t that much worse than the atv rocks and rut trail from earlier! As we continued to climb higher, I reached a point where I could no longer see in front of the Jeep and got out being unfamiliar with the area – I just didn’t have a good feeling. Darn good thing – it was a cliff – about 500 feet straight down!
As we returned we took the photo of the “shortcut” (that "thing" above the atv) that was awfully close to the GPS coordinates and proceeded to the correct ones per the Garmin!
At this point, we felt lunch was in order so another detour over to Animas Fork (a ghost town) was in order. After food and much sightseeing and phototaking, we returned to the trail…on to the next installment….
Next morning started with confusion as usual so the older boys headed to town to rent ATVs for Friday morning and we decided to head to Whitmore Falls to see what Engineer's Pass was like...
We have way too many photos and I’ll try to just pick those out that can give a bit of flavor to our usual!
After starting up – in the rain of course again…we made it to Whitmore Falls. Very beautiful and worth the trek down – although the dogs made it a bit more dangerous than it needed to be. As our luck would have it, the rain stopped as we returned to the Jeep and we were to decide whether to head back to the RV. It also meant the the now wet dogs were lovely to have in a nice warm enclosed Jeep.
Which meant, of course we were not heading back! We would continue on to check out what the trail maps meant by moderate! So we ventured onward. We came to a fork in the road and although the Garmin showed to bear right, my navigator said the path to the left looked much nicer. Turned out it was an ATV trail and after some hairy rock climbs and narrow tree passages (including some minor trail scars), we returned to the trail the Garmin suggested we should be on.
By this point the rains had begun again but we thought we were near enough to the summit that we might as well continue as we probably wouldn’t come the next day. Many other stops occurred along the way – educational and photo stops and dog breaks – but we finally made it to the summit – or at least just short of it as the kids (and the wife) wanted to play in the snow! They each wrote their names in the snow with a rock (fortunately the youngest boy didn't have other ideas).
The dogs had been sleeping but as I retrieved the camera for this shot – they began to howl loud enough that I am quite certain everyone in the valleys below could hear them!
Next stop – 30 more feet – the summit…
Since they were awake – the dogs joined everyone in the pic!
However, within a couple of minutes of taking that shot, the sky opened up in a good way – BLUE!!!
So of course we changed our minds and rather than return to camp, we continued on…
We started watching the elevation continue to climb but we never broke through 13k. We found a path that might have but not safely. SO this is the highest we noted…
Around that bend, we also noted that those European and Australian bumpers we had seen photos of would definitely decrease the overspray seen here. Of course the real shot was of the switchbacks in the rear!
But of course the rains were never far behind, shortly after this shot the rains started again but at least were light.
Overeducated does not imply common sense (mine that is). Shortly after, my navigator suggested that we were awfully close to the GPS coordinates for a “shortcut” to Cinnamon Pass. Having the utmost confidence in her (as the ATV excursion was a blast earlier – I didn’t care!), we turned up a fairly steep and barely used path. It became very tough but as the Jeep had made it that far – I figured this wasn’t that much worse than the atv rocks and rut trail from earlier! As we continued to climb higher, I reached a point where I could no longer see in front of the Jeep and got out being unfamiliar with the area – I just didn’t have a good feeling. Darn good thing – it was a cliff – about 500 feet straight down!
As we returned we took the photo of the “shortcut” (that "thing" above the atv) that was awfully close to the GPS coordinates and proceeded to the correct ones per the Garmin!
At this point, we felt lunch was in order so another detour over to Animas Fork (a ghost town) was in order. After food and much sightseeing and phototaking, we returned to the trail…on to the next installment….
Last edited by AZToad; 08-01-2007 at 06:27 PM.
08-01-2007, 10:10 AM
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JK Super Freak
On to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison after checking out the local fishing holes with many brown trout! Neatest thing (aside from some truly breathtaking photos and the fishing) was the 16% grade into the canyon where it of course rained and hailed and the thunder about made us all deaf!
08-01-2007, 10:35 AM
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Last Day at Lake City...
OK - part three will hopefully paste into here!...
Part 3
Having survived the morning including a couple of interesting detours, we headed up to the return portion of the Alpine Loop – Cinnamon Pass.
The kids were still playing around in the back and the dogs were still being good. So good in fact that we stopped and checked on them regularly to make certain everything was ok! The wife took this at the summit of Cinnamon Pass (12640) before heading back to camp.
Turned out there were many cyclists and atvs on the trails. Before we knew it though, we started seeing more and more wildlife that was darting between the cycles! This one appeared to be enjoying some of the local faire….
But the scenery was beautiful and worth every minute – around each bend we never knew if there’d be more rain or a scene like this…
I’m going to keep this one short as this is a good break point before our last day…part four to follow...
Part 3
Having survived the morning including a couple of interesting detours, we headed up to the return portion of the Alpine Loop – Cinnamon Pass.
The kids were still playing around in the back and the dogs were still being good. So good in fact that we stopped and checked on them regularly to make certain everything was ok! The wife took this at the summit of Cinnamon Pass (12640) before heading back to camp.
Turned out there were many cyclists and atvs on the trails. Before we knew it though, we started seeing more and more wildlife that was darting between the cycles! This one appeared to be enjoying some of the local faire….
But the scenery was beautiful and worth every minute – around each bend we never knew if there’d be more rain or a scene like this…
I’m going to keep this one short as this is a good break point before our last day…part four to follow...
Last edited by AZToad; 08-01-2007 at 06:29 PM.
08-01-2007, 10:39 AM
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08-01-2007, 11:32 AM
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Part 4 - the last day...
Continuing here...
Part 4
The last day started out uneventful enough. My eldest daughter was discussing current events with the locals…
And as usual, no one knew exactly what we were going to do because the rains were looking very ominous. Mine tours and Nellie's Creek Trail sounded good so off we headed….Stopped at the mine tour but the crew we had would have taken too long to get through so off we headed to Nellie's Creek. It was listed as a moderate 4x4 trail so after the previous day – this should be a breeze!
Turned out it actually was pretty fun although the rain did make it a bit more challenging in areas due to the road being washed out and the river being a bit higher for the crossing and the mud being quite slippery in some of the climbs!
What we realized afterward is that thanks to the rain and mud and water and forest – we didn’t get any trail pics. Figure we’ll remedy that for next year as even the navigator said she wished she had some photos of the climbing turns with all the water rushing down – even if just out of the windshield. She was bouncing so much that she was more worried about getting stuck than getting photos – fortunately her attitude has now changed!
She did take one while we ate lunch at the bottom though!
Just after that photo, the rains started getting heavier and the summit was the goal for Xmas photos for both families. The older kids decided that they were tough and the cold and wet weren’t that big of an issue until we got to the top of course…
Huddled next to the Jeep – had the heater cranked with my window open. They said it was like standing next to one of those big commercial heaters…
They needed one by the sign…
But then something strange happened, when my daughter removed her poncho, her hair began sticking straight up. At first we thought it was pretty funny blaming it on the poncho and the helmet…
Then the wife said we HAD to get the Xmas photos but since the dogs were still asleep (they were really great on this trip), they stayed in the warm Jeep! Not certain as I think we took about 20 but this (or three others) might be the one…
Shortly after the above photo, the clouds began to descend upon us VERY fast, so much so that all the ladies’ hair was sticking out like the above photo. With just one – we figured it wasn’t an issue that we could have dismissed but 4 women/girls all had their hair sticking out!!
Everyone quickly got into their vehicles and the kids took off on the atvs. Within a couple of minutes – the entire summit was being struck by lightening! I was driving rather fast out of there so didn’t get any really neat shots that I wish I would have tried. I think a photo of multiple strikes in the summit would have been very neat!
The trip down became somewhat clouded by a mishap with some trees. Bottom line, injuries occurred that were not life threatening and although everything is getting fixed, we learned some very valuable lessons.
Finally back at camp – driven hard and put away wet...
Really strange thing was that a lifted Rubi parked right next to me yesterday - we stilled haven't washed or cleaned ours in any way thanks to everything else going on but something really hit me when I saw how clean that other Rubi was. Sure it looked nice but after knowing what we've already done with ours - I think I like ours just the way it is and I'm thinking that dirty is a nice color too!
I'll get to the other cameras and videos hopefully in the next weeks but while everybody is ok - there will be at least one surgery this Friday and several doctor's appointments between now and then so I have to shut down for a bit...
Part 4
The last day started out uneventful enough. My eldest daughter was discussing current events with the locals…
And as usual, no one knew exactly what we were going to do because the rains were looking very ominous. Mine tours and Nellie's Creek Trail sounded good so off we headed….Stopped at the mine tour but the crew we had would have taken too long to get through so off we headed to Nellie's Creek. It was listed as a moderate 4x4 trail so after the previous day – this should be a breeze!
Turned out it actually was pretty fun although the rain did make it a bit more challenging in areas due to the road being washed out and the river being a bit higher for the crossing and the mud being quite slippery in some of the climbs!
What we realized afterward is that thanks to the rain and mud and water and forest – we didn’t get any trail pics. Figure we’ll remedy that for next year as even the navigator said she wished she had some photos of the climbing turns with all the water rushing down – even if just out of the windshield. She was bouncing so much that she was more worried about getting stuck than getting photos – fortunately her attitude has now changed!
She did take one while we ate lunch at the bottom though!
Just after that photo, the rains started getting heavier and the summit was the goal for Xmas photos for both families. The older kids decided that they were tough and the cold and wet weren’t that big of an issue until we got to the top of course…
Huddled next to the Jeep – had the heater cranked with my window open. They said it was like standing next to one of those big commercial heaters…
They needed one by the sign…
But then something strange happened, when my daughter removed her poncho, her hair began sticking straight up. At first we thought it was pretty funny blaming it on the poncho and the helmet…
Then the wife said we HAD to get the Xmas photos but since the dogs were still asleep (they were really great on this trip), they stayed in the warm Jeep! Not certain as I think we took about 20 but this (or three others) might be the one…
Shortly after the above photo, the clouds began to descend upon us VERY fast, so much so that all the ladies’ hair was sticking out like the above photo. With just one – we figured it wasn’t an issue that we could have dismissed but 4 women/girls all had their hair sticking out!!
Everyone quickly got into their vehicles and the kids took off on the atvs. Within a couple of minutes – the entire summit was being struck by lightening! I was driving rather fast out of there so didn’t get any really neat shots that I wish I would have tried. I think a photo of multiple strikes in the summit would have been very neat!
The trip down became somewhat clouded by a mishap with some trees. Bottom line, injuries occurred that were not life threatening and although everything is getting fixed, we learned some very valuable lessons.
Finally back at camp – driven hard and put away wet...
Really strange thing was that a lifted Rubi parked right next to me yesterday - we stilled haven't washed or cleaned ours in any way thanks to everything else going on but something really hit me when I saw how clean that other Rubi was. Sure it looked nice but after knowing what we've already done with ours - I think I like ours just the way it is and I'm thinking that dirty is a nice color too!
I'll get to the other cameras and videos hopefully in the next weeks but while everybody is ok - there will be at least one surgery this Friday and several doctor's appointments between now and then so I have to shut down for a bit...
Last edited by AZToad; 08-01-2007 at 06:30 PM.
08-01-2007, 02:53 PM
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Great trip report, hope all injurys can be taken care of. I have spent quite a bit of time where you were at on Engineer pass, good time until it starts to storm then all bets are off. I'm glad you and your family enjoyed Colorado, I know that there is more to see and do then i can dream of.
