FSJ Roadtrip-LONG LOTS OF PICS (Sorry dialup users)

[Tonka J200]

I was going to put this in the Ouray Invasion section, but I'd rather put it here. The Invasion was the catalyst for this trip, but it ended up being so much more.

After seeing the photos and reading the stories from Ouray ever since 2002, I've always told myself "MAN, I've got to get out there one of these years". Well, last year I decided I was sick of just wishing and told myself that if I was ever going to go, I'd just have to decide to make it happen and DO IT. So starting last July, I told anybody who mattered that I would be gone in the middle of July, 2008.

My son Ryan was more than eager to tag along, but my wife was not as excited, especially since my original plan involved getting my '67 J3000 ready for the trip. As you'll see, that didn't happen and we took my Grand Wagoneer, but that wasn't enough to change her mind.

So Ryan and I struck out west, while my wife took the same week and went to Pennsylvania with her Mom to visit family....everybody wins!

Since we had plenty of time to plan and talk about things, Ryan and I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to drive out there on two-lane roads and really see this country?" and our plan to head out on old Route 66 was hatched. We ended up not sticking stricktly to the old road, but we did a lot of it.

Here's a map of the route we took:

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/Map.jpg

The stars are where we spent a night, and the numbers in the stars represent which nights they were - ie, nights 4 through 7 were in Ouray.

4243.8 miles in 11 days.
Average gas mileage - 14.52 mpg. WOOOOHOOO! - That's way better than I expected.
Problems with the Waggy - NONE! In the entire trip, I added one quart of oil. Well, there was the flat tire in the mountains, but you'll read about that later.


So buckle up, and "let's roll like fish"...

SATURDAY, JULY 12, DAY ONE -
"Roll Like Fish?" Whuthehell does that mean, you ask?
I don't really know. It's something a friend of mine used to say all the time when we'd get ready to hit the road. "Let's roll like fish!" and away we'd go. Sometimes it was just cruising and sometimes it was more involved. "Hey, I feel like some Chicago style pizza. Let's go to Chicago!" (about 4 hours away) And we'd roll like fish...To this day, no one can remember how it started.

But here it is 30 years later and we still say it. Ryan asked me what it means and he now understands that it's meaning lies in the fact that it has no meaning. "How would a fish even roll?" Who knows...But we knew we needed a mascot for this trip and it had to be a rolling fish. We finally stumbled across the perfect rolling fish - it's a napkin ring from Pottery Barn. He got to see the entire trip from his perch on the dash; proudly leading the way.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/1RollingFish.jpg

Let's load up the wagon and head west! The Waggy had plenty of room for our stuff.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/1Packed.jpg

My Dad has always had a reputation of making it rain whenever he would go camping, so I had to get pic of the skys as we left. Apparently it's hereditary...
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/1PackedWalmart.jpg

An hour down the road, and the fish leads us out of Michigan.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/1Indiana.jpg

Ryan is actually my step-son, but I don't use the "step" word very often, as I've been around since he was 2. He had been spending two weeks with his Dad's family down south and they drove up and met me in Indianpolis. From there we turned and headed for St. Louis. Sounthern Indiana and Illinois were hot and humid, and we drove into a pretty spectacular thunderstorm a couple hours from St. Louis. The temperature dropped 20 degrees in 20 minutes and it got a lot more comfortable.

We rolled across the Mississippi into STL at about 6:00 and stopped at the Gateway Arch. I hadn't been since 1970, so I was looking forward to seeing it again. The crowds weren't too bad and we didn't have to wait long for the ride to the top. We parked on the street along the river and you can see where the grass is dead partway up the hill - that's the high water mark. Yikes!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/1Arch.jpg

The view from the top of the Arch is pretty spectacular, but leaning out over the windows can give you a bit of vertigo.
Can you spot my Waggy below?
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/1arch3.jpg

We spent a couple hours at the Arch and there was a beautiful rainbow behind it as we left.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/1arch4.jpg

Since it was raining, late, and so close to St. Louis, we opted for a hotel the first night in Pacific, MO.

I think I'll do one day per post instead of making this one REALLY long post, so stay tuned for day two...

[Geeeep]

Woo!-Hoo!

A FSJ serial novella, can't wait.

Oh, and now that you can make those long trips when will we see you at PA Jeeps? It's in PA so the wife an visit while you enjoy Jeeps :)

[JeepBountyHunter]

I'm staying tuned..
Heck if you go next year..lemme know..I might tag along...I'm always saying, if I had a Jeep done, etc...
Aaron

[Ristow]

great pics! man,i miss my old '91.......:(

[Tonka J200]

We got on the road at about 8:00 from Pacific, MO and stayed on the Interstate for a little while, but then found our way onto Historic Route 66.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/2signs.jpg

One of our missions on this trip was to find a dash-board hula girl. I figured I'd certainly be able to find one along old 66 somewhere. I found a bunch of them on ebay before we left, but I wanted to get one along the way.

Meremac Caverns seemed like the perfect tourist-trap kind of place to find one, especially with all the advertising they do.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/2Meremac.jpg

The caverns are a few miles off Old 66 so we took a little detour. It's pretty much what I expected. It's rumored to have been used by Jesse and Frank James as a hidout.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/2Meremac2.jpg

A thourough scouring of the gift shop turned up no hula girl, and the cost to tour the caves was a little pricey and would take more time than we wanted to spend, so we headed back to the highway.

Just after getting back on Old 66, we came upon the "Antique Toy and Truck Museum and Gift Shop". They'll have a hula girl for sure!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/2ToyMuseum.jpg

Nope, no hula girl. The owner was a great old guy that convinced us to tour the museum. He even gave us a cheaper price to talk us into it. We spent an hour and a half looking at his stuff and hearing his stories. He has quite a collection, including many Jeep toys. If you find yourself in Stanton, MO, stop in and see him, but don't wait too long. He told me this was his last season and that he was selling off the collection and closing the museum. He wants to retire and none of his kids are interested in taking it over. Sad.

Back on the road, we went through Cuba, MO "The Mural City" and down the road a little farther, past the world's largest rocking chair. You just don't see this stuff from the Interstate.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/2rocker.jpg

The rest of the day was spent on and off the Interstate through Missouri. Once in Joplin, we cut across the corner of Kansas (just to say we were in Kansas) and into Oklahoma.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/2Oklahoma.jpg

Once in Oklahoma, the Interstate is a toll road, and the "free road" is old 66 and is still labeled as 66, so it's easy to follow. That is if you don't get lost as soon as you get into Oklahoma. We were trying to follow a Route 66 guide book that I had and ended up on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Thank goodness for GPS!

It seems that everytime we got off the beaten path in Oklahoma, we'd end up getting chased by a dog. More than once while on dirt roads, dogs would come hauling out of someone's yard and chase us down the road. We clocked one black lab at 35mph! I've seen plenty of car-chasing dogs, but never so many in one place.

In eastern Oklahoma, we also saw 4 or 5 solar car teams on the road. There must have been a competition of some kind going on. It's a good thing they were on the main road, because some of those dogs could have given them a run for their money!

I found a campground in a directory that I had and went about trying to find it using the directions in the book, then using the GPS. Not as easy as it sounds! After about a half hour of driving around on dirt roads and paved roads that had weeds growing in the cracks, we finally found it. It was at a place called Heyburn Park in Kellyville, OK. It was a nice, quiet campground with only 4 other campers besides us. After setting up the tent and getting some dinner, Ryan spent some time stargazing with his telescope, then we got a good night's sleep.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/2KellyvilleOK.jpg

[NVJEEPER]

This is cool!!! :thumbsup:

[Tonka J200]

Ooooooooooooklahoma where the wind comes sweepin' down the plaaaiinn...

Up and at 'em. First order of business is to find our way BACK from the campground. I don't think we took the most direct route back to Route 66, but we got there.

Old 66 goes all the way from the north east corner of OK to Oklahoma City. You go through all the small towns along the way and see a lot of the old diners, gas stations, etc. Most of it has been let go and is kind of sad, but a lot of the downtowns still have the flavor and feel of the road in it's hayday. I wish I had taken more photos of some of the buildings and signs through this part of the country, but I was too busy taking it all in while I was driving.

One famouse Route 66 landmark is the Arcadia Round Barn in Arcadia, OK. We stopped for gas right up the road and decided to stop for a look and take some pictures.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/2RoundBarn.jpg

The barn has been restored and is a marvel of craftsmanship and ingenuity. The original builder built it in the shape that he did so it would withstand the strong storms and tornados that this area is famous for. Inside there are displays of antiques and local history, and we were greated by "Mr. Sam" a lifelong resident of the area who gave us a tour. A natural story teller, we stayed for almost 2 hours as he told us of the local history, the history of the barn and it's restoration, and of his own experiences growing up in Oklahoma in the 1930's. This was one of the highlights of the whole trip and it was FREE! We did stuff a few bucks in the donation bin, but we got way more than our money's worth.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/2MrSam.jpg

Continuing on, we went through Oklahoma City. Once you get here, it's easier to get back on the Interstate. It's not a toll road anymore, and the old road runs right next to it most of the way. If you want to, you can get off and go into some of the small towns, but we were quickly finding out that it was taking much longer than we expected when we weren't on the Interstate.

One thing we saw a lot of out west were wind power genretors. We even saw some being built and parts of them being transported on trucks. These things are a lot bigger than they look!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/2OkWindMills.jpg

The rest of the day was spent making time going west. We were due in Ouray on Tuesday, and still had a ways to go.

Crossing into Texas, one of the first towns you come to is Shamrock. We stopped for gas and on the counter in the gas station was a picture from the movie "Cars" and a note saying that the Conoco station in town was used as the model for one of the buildings in the movie - Ramone's Paint Shop. We had to see this for sure, and it was just over the freeway and down a few blocks.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/3Conoco.jpg

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/3Conoco2.jpg

It's now used as kind of a local history museum and gift shop. A perfect example of an art-deco gas station. Cool!

There's not a lot to see in the Texas Panhandle - lots of grass and very flat! I was playing the song "Miles and Miles of Texas" as we went through here, and now I get it.

There was one place I had to see in Amarillo - The Cadillac Ranch. I've seen tons of photos of this over the years and wanted to see it in person.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/3CadRanch.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/3CadRanch2.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/3CadRanch4.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/3CadRanch5.jpg

Everybody that goes there spraypaints something on it and the paint had to be half an inch thick in places. While we were there, I was asked to take a photo of two guys from England. They held up a copy of an English music magazine and were going to submit it for publication. The magazine has a section every month where readers send in photos of themselves in different parts of the world holding up their magaizine. Fun stuff.

I had to leave our mark before we left. I wonder how long it took before it got painted over.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/3CadRanch3.jpg

Pressing on from there into New Mexico and more thunderstorms.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/3NewMexico.jpg

So we wimped out again and got a hotel.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/3NewMexico2.jpg

I learned a valuable lesson about my GPS. When you put in another city, it tells you how far away it is AS THE CROW FLIES. So I put in Ouray and it said it was 296 miles away. I later found out that it was 455 miles away to drive there. Live and learn.

The Waggy is still running great, and the mileage way better than I had planned for!

[yoslvr442]

this is better than any book ive read!!

[fulsizjeep]

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/3CadRanch3.jpg
WOOT! :thumbsup:

[Lindel]

Great story so far! Next time you come to Chicago, let me know!

[AlsChopShop]

great story and pics! it gives me the itch for a big road trip, but then i think about gas prices and start to cry....

Al

[Tonka J200]

On to Ouray!

We had stayed in Tucumcari, NM last night, and went into town before getting back on the highway. Downtown Tucumcari has a lot of cool old motels, restaurants and diners. There's a lot vintage neon and signage still there. For Route 66 flavor, I thought it was some of the best.

New Mexico is pretty, but we were getting anxious to get to Ouray, so we didn't stop much. We drove on I-40 to Albuquerque, then I-25 north to 550 toward Duango. Just outside Albuquerque we got our first damage to the Jeep. We caught a small stone in the windshield and got a little stone star. Oh, well, that's what insurance is for.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/4NewMexico.jpg

The terrain really starts to change in New Mexico, and we were getting excited about finally getting into the mountains. Finally, we found the sign we'd been waiting for!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/4Colorado.jpg

Heading up through Durango, the traffic got heavier and it took a while to get through town. Most of our time spent in traffic was behind a rust-free, but well used early Scout. I was continually amazed by the amount of rust free old iron out here.

When we finally got through Durango and started heading toward Silverton, I was pointing out the railroad tracks next to the road to Ryan. "I think that's the Durango-Silverton narrow guage railroad". I no sooner said it when we spotted this coming at us.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/4Train.jpg

I would have liked to take a ride on it but we didn't work it in. Maybe next time.

Being a newbie to mountain driving, I thought I was a lot closer to Ouray than I actually was, time-wise. After a good wait for some road construction north of Durango, we made it into Silverton. I figured it would be a good idea to stop for gas before heading the rest of the way to Ouray, so we stopped. In the gas station lot was a really clean Commando and a yellow Waggy that looked like it had been sitting a while, but was still pretty nice. Up until this point, I had only seen 3 other FSJ's the whole way there (2 J-trucks and one W/T Chero). Suddenly, there's three of 'em. I recognize Phil's Chero (there can't be two of 'em like that) and give 'em a wave as we head out.

Red Mountain Pass between Silverton and Ouray schooled me on mountain driving in a big hurry. I had heard about the effects of altitude on how your engine runs, but I wasn't prepared for how little power I'd have at over 11,000 feet. I had it right on the mat and could only manage 35 mph. But no hiccups, or vapor lock and it only ran a little warmer than I'd like while climbing. I stabbed it down into second for the coast down the other side and into the town of Ouray. I couldn't believe we were finally there!

Ouray is a cool little town, but I was ready to find the KOA, get checked in and settle down for the evening. It was well into the evening when we arrived and the first thing I did was wander around and say hello. Meeting for the first time, people that I've "known" for years.

We got the campsite set up, got some vittles and settled in for the night.
Ready to get at it tomorrow morning...

[cttandy]

My wife and I have been wanting to take a long road trip for sometime now. Money and time has been keeping us. Maybe one day we can actually do it.

[Tonka J200]

Let's do it!

We got a good night's sleep and I got up early. I'm normally an early riser, and since my head was still mostly on eastern time, I was wide awake as soon as it was light.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/4KOA.jpg

Having us all camp together in one area was great.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/4KOA2.jpg

Flint had been kind of polling everyone about what they'd like to do and where they'd like to go. I wasn't shy about telling him that I had absolutley no idea. I didn't know what I was doing, and had no clue as to what the trails were like. "Point me at the bunny hill" was the best I could come up with. I talked to a few people and Ralph told me he was going to go around to Telluride and come over Imogene from the other way. He planned on stopping and poking around the TomBoy mine and said the trail to that point wasn't too bad, so I figured I tag along with him and then I cound turn around at that point if I didn't feel I could get my stock Waggy (and newbie skills) over the rest of the trail.

Ralph, Casey (firecaptain13) and I headed out late morning for the drive around to Telluride.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/5Ouray.jpg
A stop for fuel when got there, meeting Hiemeken over there and it was off to the trailhead (or end, depending on which way you're going). The trailhead is right in town and we had to double back to find it.

Once we got there, I went down to 4WD Low and up we went. I did my best to hang with these guys, but they don't waste any time!

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/5Trail.jpg

Pictures don't do a good job of showing how steep and narrow these trails are. I know now that this area is REALLY tame compared to other trails, but for my first time out there, it was really exciting.

We got about 20 minutes or so up the trail and came to a corner, then a switchback, followed by another fairly steep climb. I looked ahead of me and watched Hieme's "Cat" run up the hill and was marveling at how cool it looked, when I heard "POW! HSSSSSSSssssssss.....". My head instantly told me "You just cut a tire, nucklehead. But the other side of my head said, "No, that can't be what that was!".

Guess which half was right...
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/5Tire.jpg

I grabbed the CB, and said, "Hey guys, I think I'm done".
Casey backed back down to make sure I had everything I needed, which, thankfully, I did, so I told them to go on ahead. I'll change the tire and head back down to Telluride.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/5Trail2.jpg

We were on a wide corner on the trail, so people could get by. The drop off behind me while I jacked it up was a little freaky, but the view was awsome. That's Bridal Veil falls and Black Bear Road:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/5BlackBear.jpg

While we were there, two runners came down the trail, one mountain bike came down (right on the ragged edge of control), as well as a couple baby Jeeps and an XJ. EVERYBODY that passed us asked if we needed any help. Good people all of them.

With the ugly old spare mounted up, we got turned around and crawled back down to Telluride.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/5Tire2.jpg

I'm really glad I made sure the spare was aired up before we left.

Back down the trail we went without incedent and back around to Ouray. A stop for some grub in Ridgeway before heading back perked us up a bit, and by now it was raining pretty steadily. Once we got back to the campground, I grabbed a rain poncho and walked over to Flint and Krista's site, where Ryan (Gambler68) was sitting by himself. Seems he had some issues with his Qtrac and was sidelined for the day. We sat and shot the bull for at least a couple hours, and by then the rain had let up and some of the other Jeeps were starting to trickle back.

From talking to everyone after they came back, it was probably a good thing that my tire let go when it did because with all the rain, it got pretty sloppy on the trail, and I may have gotten myself into trouble up there with my street treads. There's a reason for everything!

The evening was spent hearing tales of daring and adventure, and still meeting more people. Some of the names I've know for a long time, (Tad, Cole Trickle, KennyH) etc. others were newer. People talked about me getting the "Iron Butt" award for how long we drove to get there, but I think it should go to Green Goat and Cole Trickle for driving all the way from Houston in a stock geared, stock seated soft-top M715 - that takes some stones!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/5M715.jpg

After sitting around the fires, we turned in and planned what to do tomorrow about getting my tire replaced.

[Dmntxn77]

That looks like a lot of fun... Too bad I wasnt back to TX already, or I would have let you stay with me in Amarillo...


I will go check on that sticker sometime.. :thumbsup:

[Tonka J200]

Montrose seemed to be my best bet for getting my tire replaced, so Ryan and I set off fairly early. We needed to pick up some things for the pot-luck anyway, so Wal-mart seemed like as good a place as any to check on tires. Besides, if I get the road hazzard warranty, there's Wal-marts everywhere.

Now don't give me any crap, but this waggy is all stock and it's going to stay that way, so I had to have white walls.
"White walls say, "Here I am! Look at me! Love me!" -Luigi from "Cars".

These tires have about 40 to 45 thousand miles on them and I had thought of replacing them before I left, but figured I'd get the last few thousand miles out of them then replace them this fall or next spring. So I might as well just get four new ones now, that way they'll all match.

But, no whitewalls at Wal-mart in my size.
I saw a Goodyear dealer in town.
Nope, no whitewalls there either.
There's a Discount Tire in Grand Junction that has some, but that's another 60 or 70 miles away.
I'll check with "Big O" tires.

"Can I help you?"
"I hope so, I need four 235-75-15 whitewalls."
"Sure, no problem. Let's have a look. Ooooo...looks like I've only got 3 in stock, but another one will be here at 1:00 or 1:30."

The price was OK, so I told him we'd go kill a few hours and come back.
We went to Wal-mart for our pot-luck supplies, went to the car wash and then took a look at the map.

"Hmmmm...The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is just a few miles away. Let's go check it out."

This was a GREAT way to spend some time. Easy drive, spectacular views.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/6BlackCanyon4.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/6BlackCanyon2.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/6BlackCanyon.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/6BlackCanyon3.jpg

We knocked off about 2 hours up here, taking pictures and marveling at how close to the edge of the canyon you can get. Firm believers in allowing natural selection up here.

When we finally got back into town to the tire dealer, we still had a two hour wait to get everything taken care of. But they were nice folks and took good care of us.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/6BigOTire.jpg

While we were waiting an older gentleman pulled in in a really nice '76 Olds Cutlass Supreme. I was admiring his car and struck up a conversation. I told him that his car came from my home town in Lansing, and he said that his parents were from Marshall, Michigan - about 20 miles from where I live now. Small world. He liked to talk and turns out he was the former mayor of Montrose. A politician that likes the sound of his own voice. Go figure...

That night back at the KOA was the pot luck. Pam and Alan and their family were camped next to us and the smell of the BBQ brisket as they warmed it up was heavenly. THAT was some good eatin'!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/6Potluck4.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/6Potluck3.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/6Potluck2.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/6Potluck.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/6Potluck5.jpg

There was plenty to go around and we all stuffed ourselves and heard more trail stories and FJ jokes. The other news was that Black Bear had opened that day, and there was a lot of talk about who was planning on giving it a go.

Ryan and I figured the best plan for tomorrow would be to drive around to Telluride again and drive up to Bridal Veil Falls. It's another "Bunny Hill" trail that would let us get a little taste and then we'd watch some people come down Black Bear from there.

Then we'd check on the ne715 clan and see if they got they're mechanical problems taken care of and maybe head to Animas Forks with them in the afternoon.

Good plan.
Let's sleep on it...

[The PIG Smith]

An hour down the road, and the fish leads us out of Michigan.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/1Indiana.jpg

Hey!
That's I-69 South and Angola, Indiana.
Just 50 miles south of there is Fort Wayne.
I know you went right past Exit 102, of which I only live about 3 miles from.
The next time you are this way, feel free to stop by!

[Tonka J200]

Ryan and I got up fairly early again and after our Cocoa Crispies, headed around to Telluride again.

It was nice sunny morning and the scenery on the way was breathtaking. We made a nice easy drive of it, and a slow cruise through Telluride. We found the road up to Bridal Veil falls and made our way up. This trail is pretty easy and there were a few other "less capable" 4x4's heading up when we did. There were also a few people walking up and they were very polite as we crept by.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7BridalVeil3.jpg

The drive was easy, but we still did it in 4WD low. We were a little leary of sharp rocks today, but really didn't have much to worry about.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7BridalVeil4.jpg

The falls are beautiful up close and we spent some time climbing around a taking some photos.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7BridalVeil2.jpg

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7BridalVeil.jpg

It got to be about 11:00 or so and we still hadn't seen anybody coming down from Black Bear yet, so we headed back down to the parking lot at the bottom of the trail.

We hung out down there watching the trail above, when vehicles started to appear. After a while there was a bumper to bumper line coming down the zig-zag. You really get a good feel for how high that is when you see the little brightly colored specs moving along. There was an older couple standing there looking at the falls and I pointed out the trucks coming down and it was several minutes before they could even see them.
But when they finally saw them, they were stunned at how small they were. It's pretty deceiving how far away they are up there. I just wish I could have seen Kenny and Casey coming down!

We grabbed some lunch in Telluride and drove back around to Ouray. I figured we'd stop at the KOA and see if Alan and Pam and their crew were still there, and if not, we'd just head up to Animas ourselves.

Our timing was perfect, because they were just leaving as we pulled in.
"You wanna tag along?" they asked.
"You bet!"
So Alan and Pam in their white Waggy, Ryan (Gambler) and Mikki in Mikki's truck, Alan's son Eli and his family (including their baby Libby and Ruby the Mastif) in their Nissan and Ryan and I headed out for Silverton to get to the trail to Animas Forks.

The road to Silverton is being worked on and is down to one lane. We must have waited for half an hour before they let our lane go.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7Anamas.jpg

The road to Animas Forks starts as a paved road, then a dirt road, then one lane dirt, then rocky trail. It's pretty open most of the way, and if I had aired my tires down a little more, the going would have been pretty smooth and quick. But as it was, my tires were still pumped up hard and we felt every rock. The weather was starting to get a little gloomier too, but the scenery was still spectacular.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7Anamas2.jpg

Once up to Animas Forks, we poked around the old buildings and took a lot of photos. We all took the opportunity to air down to help smooth things out. The weather got even gloomier still, with wind, rain, sleet and cold temps. The thermometer in my Waggy read 45 degrees at one point, and that was with a strong wind and driving rain! I'm from Michigan and that kind of weather usually doesn't bother me. Just not in JULY.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7Anamas3.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7Anamas4.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7Anamas5.jpg

Ryan(Gambler) took this photo of me while we were up there.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7FrankAnimasForks.jpg

It got pretty cold and we all were back in the Jeeps to keep warm and Alan got out his map and we decided to head back on part of the Alpine Loop trail, instead of going back the way we came. The first parts of it were the same as the trail to Animas. Fairly wide and smooth, but starting to climb a bit. We followed it around past where you'd turn off for Engineer Pass and came to what was called the "Alpine Meadows".

WOW! The weather had cleared up and it was breathtaking. We stopped for a break and got out and walked around. According to Alan we were at over 12,600 feet, and I was feeling a little dizzy from the altitude.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7Anamas6.jpg

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7Anamas7.jpg

I could have stayed there for hours, just taking it in.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7Anamas8.jpg

The trip down from there was the highlight of my time on the trails. The trail got narrower, rockier and steeper. There were several spots where I had to carefully pick my way over the rocks, and banged my frame a couple times and drug my trailer hitch alot. But I made it through! I think I even suprized myself. We joked later that my "Country Gentleman" Waggy was getting in touch with it's inner beast. The real Jeep that lies within.:D

Ryan and Alan hopped out to spot me a couple times, and I really appreciated their help!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7Frankontherocks1.jpg

A clear spot in the trail provided a spot to play. Alan and Ryan both tackled this hill, and Ryan and Eli took a run at a mud pit. Following Ryan driving Mikki's truck was a blast. He was going out of his way to go over some of the bigger rocks, plow through some of the snow and generally take "the road less traveled".
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7anamas10.jpg

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/7Anamas9.jpg

There were a few tight squeezes going down, but we all got through just fine. Right before we got back to the highway, we met up with Phil's group as they waited for one of theirs to change a flat.

Once back on the highway, it was a quick run back to the campground for some eats, and more campfire sitting and story telling.

I was so geeked to have actually gotten some real trails. I know the stuff I did was pretty tame, but in my stock waggy, it felt pretty serious.

THE LEAGUE OF WOODGRAIN AND WHITEWALLS CONQUERS THE ROCKIES!WooHoo!:fsj:

I appreciated Alan's concern for my "pretty Jeep", but we came through unscathed!

I sleapt REALLY good that night.:o

[Tonka J200]

Time to head out.:(

I wasn't in any hurry to get up and going this morning, but I was still up at 6:30. At least I got a shower before the crowd showed up.

We kind of lazily started packing things up and taking things down. How did I have all this stuff arranged in here?

Eli and his family rolled out earlier than anybody, and Pam was apologizing for "Libby the Alarm Clock", but I didn't even hear her.

I really didn't want to leave. It fealt like we had just gotten there, that we'd barely had a chance to talk to everybody. But that just means I'll have to come back. Yep, no question about that.

I wandered around and tried to catch everybody one more time before we hit the road.

The rest of the day was spent heading toward the Denver area (Longmont actually) to visit my cousin. She moved from Michigan to Colorado in 1974 and I usually only get to see her every few years. We made our way up 550 then 50 west toward Colorado Springs. I even honked at Ted (Serious Johnson) as we flew by his house in Salida.

The Blue Mesa area was really nice, and we finally saw a Bighorn Sheep here.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/8Colorado.jpg

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/8Colorado2.jpg

As we ran up 25 through Denver, my thermometr read 103 degrees - 24 hours after we were in the 45 degrees and sleet in Animas Forks.

We cought up with my Cousin and her husband for dinner and then grabbed a hotel in Loveland.

My Cousin's husband is a Corvair collector and currently has pared his collection down to 8, only a couple of which run. The more we talked, the more we found in common. We both have the same disease, just different strains.

[Tonka J200]

At the hotel in Loveland, I figured I'd better get in and check my email. Besides all the spam to clean out, I didn't want to leave any of my customers waiting to long for a response from me.

I let Ryan sleep in and went down to the business center and got to my email. Yep, about a hundred or so spam messages to get rid of.

But tucked in with all the crap was an email from my Dad.
He and my Step-mom had gone to Billings, Montana for the National Folk Festival the week before I left. He had no real itinerary for where they were going from there, and this email was just to let us know where they were headed next. From Billings, they went to west Yellowstone and were making their way toward Mount Rushmore.

Ummmmm....Ryan and I were heading toward Mount Rushmore too.
I called his cell phone and left a message that we were heading to that area, and would they call me back and let me know when they would be there. How cool is that?

We got going kinda late, but I wanted to let Ryan sleep a while. Once on the road we went up through eastern Wyoming (lots of grass...) and up to Custer, South Dakota.

My Dad called me back around lunch time and said they'd be in Rapid City that afternoon. "Me too!" So he told me where they were camping and we arranged to camp with them that night! So we end up seeing each other 1100 miles from home, completely unplanned!

Before heading to Rapid City, we stopped at Crazyhorse. I hadn't seen it since about 1980.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/8Crazyhorse.jpg
It doesn't look that much different, except the face is done. I asked Ryan if he thought it would be done in his lifetime. He's not holding his breath...

We found the campground and met up with my Dad and Step-mom. I camped with my Dad ALOT when I was growing up and it fealt just like old times. We sat around talking out side and Ryan got out his telescope again and was showing my Dad all kinds of things. We had a great view of Jupiter that night.

Dad and Barb retired to their trailer, while Ryan and I hit the tent.
Mount Rushmore tomorrow.

[Tonka J200]

We got up and got around pretty early again and went out to breakfast with Dad and Barb.

Of course, my Dad insisted on paying, but I got him back when we got to Mount Rushmore. There's a $10.00 parking fee per car, and since Ryan and I were heading out right from there, we drove two cars. I got in line first and paid Dad's parking fee.

The weather was PERFECT. Sunny, light breeze, cool temps.
It's hard to take a bad photo here.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/9Rushmore2.jpg

Here's my Dad, my Step-mom Barb and Ryan.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/9Rushmore.jpg

Mount Rushmore has changed alot since I was there last. Well, not the mountain itself, but the visitor center and the area around it. The trail that you can take to the bottom of the slag pile is pretty cool. Ryan was trying to figure out where they shot some of the scenes in "National Treasure 2".

We hung out until about noon and figured we better get driving.
A quick goodbye to Dad and Barb and we were on our way east. Heck we'll see them again in just a few days, they only live 15 minutes from me.

Next stop: Wall Drug.
I'm sure to find a dashboard hula girl there! That place is the Mecca of kitschy tourist crap!

Wall is just a little ways down the road from Rapid City, so we stopped and checked it out. We spent about and hour, got a Wall Drug bumper sticker, a sticker for each state we'd been through - you know the ones that every one used to put on the back window of their camper.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/9WallDrug.jpg

But no hula girl.
I even asked if they had them.
I asked several people at several places.
Nada. Zilch. I wonder what the Hawiian word for "nothing" is...

This was my last great hope and I came up empty.
So the fish is officially our solo mascot. He doesn't have to share any of the glory with a plastic polynesian.

From there, it was onto 90 east toward home.
We made it as far as Mitchell, South Dakota, home of the famouse Mitchell Corn Palace.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/9CornPalace.jpg

Another Cheeseburger and another hotel, and then one more push for home...

[Tonka J200]

We weren't sure if we'd try to get all the way home today or not. We'll just drive and if we get too tired we'll stop.

Ryan did a lot of the driving in this last part of the trip.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/9Ryan.jpg

We didn't stop much, except for gas and Twizzlers. Minnesota and Wisconsin look a lot like Michigan, so it was starting to look like home long before we got there.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/9Minn.jpg

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/9Wisc.jpg

We just kept driving and neither of us talked about stopping, so we just pressed on.

Ryan wanted to see downtown Chicago all lit up at night, so we went that way and went through there at about 10:00 pm. It really is beautiful, but I told Ryan that I was more nerveous driving there than I was when I was hanging off the cliffs in Ouray!

Push on, we did. We rolled into our driveway at about 2:45 Wednesday morning. 845 miles from Mitchell, South Dakota.

Ahhhh...my own bed. My dog and cat are both OK.
4243.8 miles without a hitch.

This has been our home for the last week and a half:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/9Interior.jpg

You know, when you plan a vacation, the anticipation is often better than the vacation itself. Even with your family, there comes a point in most trips where you're just about ready to kill each other. Those times are usually short lived, but almost always come up at least once.

Not so on this trip.
It was far better than I could have imagined. And believe me, it was pretty cool in my imagination.

Ryan and I got along GREAT the entire way. He's such a great kid. We like the same music, the same food, we have the same sense of humor. I told him as we sat in the driveway when we got home that there was no one in the world that I would have had a better time with on that trip than him. Not any of my old friends, not my Dad, not even Mom. Just him.

At one point on this trip; the night we were camping with my Dad. We were sitting outside and a shooting star went across the sky and I thought, "Quick, make a wish"
".....Uhhhhhh....ummmmmm.... hmmmmm.....Huh."
I couldn't come up with anything.
At that one moment I HAD IT ALL!

So here we are back at home. Back to "real life"; which is pretty dern good as it is.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/9Home.jpg

And as far as Ouray goes; you haven't seen the last of me. I'll be back as often as I can.

I just gotta get the Waggy more ready for the trails.

Now, where do I start?:D
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/9Cut.jpg

[Tonka J200]

Thanks to all of you who've come along for the ride.
I wrote all this stuff more for myself than anything else. I had to get it all down while it was still fresh in my mind, and since some of you were a big part of it, I figured this was the best place to do it!

And I think I'll work on my truck instead of the Waggy for next time.:thumbsup:

:fsj: Let's roll like fish...:fsj:

[AlsChopShop]

great story frank! reminds me of a family cross country trip we took, in the family pickup with 5th wheel in tow. went from the left coast to the right, and back... in about 6 weeks. wall drug, rushmore, they all bring back great memories for me. we made it out to DC, florida (disney world) and so many places in between too. someday when i have a family i'll make a trip just like it.

"where the heck is wall drug?" :D


Al

[krek]

Awesome adventure! :thumbsup:

[FSJ-Earl]

HOLY CRAP!!! THAT IS AN EPIC VACATION!!!!!! ONCE IN A LIFETIME TRIP!!!!! THAT WAS AWESOME!!!! I AM SOOOOOOOOO JEALOUS!!! AMAZING!!!!!!! THANKS FOR THE STORY AND THE PICTURES!!!!!!

[Battle_Wagon_NJ]

AWESOME :thumbsup:

[firecaptain13]

Thyanks for sharing your trip with us. It was great to meet you and look forward to going on Imogeen again:D
Casey

[ne715]

Great story of your trip Frank. Some day I too would like to make a long trip to just go somewhere for the sake of going. And to travel with family and friends would be the icing on the cake. It would be nice to just be able to do a trip with no particular place to go and no set time to get there or leave. It was my pleasure to me you and Ryan and we will definatly have to wheel again. Yes I was worried about any damage to your vehicle as slowly the very nice Grand Wagoneers are fading into the sunset. Thanks for explaining the fish thing...I asked myself several times what was up with that but kept forgetting to ask you. If I ever get up to the Michigan area I'll give you a call. Hope your Grand rolls down the road with a smile on it's grill knowing that every once in a while it gets to get out and stretch it's legs on some unpaved roads.
Alan and family

[billyrb]

Awesome story and pics Frank. One suggestion: print out the pics and narrative and put them into an album, and give it to Ryan when he gets married / has kids. It will be something he'll treasure for the rest of his life, and hopefully he'll repeat with his own kids one day.

[Bill Lawton]

Thanks for sharing, what a beautiful trip. Wish I could have gone to Ouray this year maybe next.

[cu4whln]

Ahhhh - :fsj:

You are a trooper !

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with others.

I especially like your appriciation of the time spent with your son.

Kudos to you for recognizing what is really important in this world - People !

[jeepdad56]

In search of America..jeep style...what a great thread...thanks for sharing! :thumbsup:

[Millerluck]

Thanks Frank.

Your pictures are the first I've seen of Ouray. I was supposed to go in 2002 but needed to re roof the house instead. I have never looked at any posts or pics in the Ouray invasion section.

Just holding on to a dream of doing a road trip of our own someday. This rekindles that dream.

Thanks for sharing .

Larry

[fulsizjeep]

Thank You for the inspiring story and pictures Frank! It was a great pleasure to have met you and Ryan. The inner Jeep will pull you through, even total stock Waggy! :thumbsup: I followed a total stock FE up Engineer to Animas during the Big Invasion in 02 - that is the way ya'll came down. The receiver hitch is great for saving the rear bumper! It will be even a greater pleasure to have you share the trails in Ouray with your Jtruck! :drivin: :cool:

[Mack_T]

Nice story & pics! I'd be carefull with that sawzall though ;)

Clay

[HOOT]

Nice trip :thumbsup:

No pictures of those bright pink dangling thingys:confused: Kenny is slipping in his old age.
Looking forward to next year and maybe crossing paths with you to and or from Ouray.
I really miss being out there this year.:banghead:
Here's to 2009 get ready fellow Jeepers. :drivin:

[Sambo]

frank that was an awesome write up! glad you and your son had a blast!
i hope to do this with my son soon! he's 11 now and a pretty good co pilot as well

[The PIG Smith]

i hope to do this with my son soon! he's 11 now and a pretty good co pilot as well
My son, Nathan, is 11 years old and we've gone on several Jeep Adventures.
But, nothing to the extent of what Frank and Ryan has been on...yet....

Nathan was with me when I went to pickup my Diesel Donor Van
http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/normal_DieselDonorNathan.JPG (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:;)

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=73803

Frank, thanks for sharing this adventure.
I agree about writing down all the events as soon as you can.
I've done this a couple of times with trips that Nathan and I went on.

[Bev25]

Oh Frank! What a wonderful storyteller you are! I was mesmerized and I am envious you saw so many incredible things!
It was like being there the way you told it though!
Nice NICE job - what a wonderful time!

[Tad]

Inspiring

I don't know what else to call it.
Thank You

[FSJ Guy]

A great story! But I'm bummed that you didn't let the Colorado FSJ Assoc. (CFSJA) know that you were coming through!

I'm real close to Loveland/Longmont and we've got a huge group of us in Denver/metro area as well as northern Colorado. Heck, we even have trails up here! Just not as nice as Ouray.

Next time, don't be a stranger!

[ob1jeeper]

SWEET... Thanx Mucho for the sharing... Brought HUGE smiles to my face...:D :D :D :thumbsup: ;)

[turtlejoe]

Wow, and thank you for sharing that with us Frank. This was an adventure both of you will remember for the rest of your lives. It reminded me of similar adventures with my dad, and with my own family. :fsj: Always brings a smile, and an itch to go on another one.

Who needs Europe or anywhere else, when there's so much to discover right here at home?:thumbsup:

[crispyboy]

Nice story Frank! Reading it was like actually being there.

I have had the privilage of doing this several times with my father and brother. We have relatives in Montana and friends in South Dakota so I have made the trip a few times in a 78 narrow track, 77 CJ7, two different XJ's and a Grand Cherokee. Plan on taking the trip with my GW and Airstream in tow sometime in the future. I'll have to take a swing by Ouray on one of these trips.

[Rainman]

Good work on the story telling.

I've done nine long trips (2 with a FSJ) and only wrote anything down for the first one, a 31 day, 10k mile cross country and back, in 2000. I've told many stories and have pictures from all of them but never took the time to write stories to share. Shame on me!

[azwagoneer80]

Awesome story, felt like I was riding in the back with you guys. I really want to take my son up next year and hang out with everyone. Kudos for taking your Jeep on a 4,000 mile journey and only getting a flat tire, while seeing a lot of the country.

[RiverRat]

Thanks for sharing, great story!

[Tonka J200]

Thanks for all the nice comments!

I really enjoyed meeting everybody in Ouray and can't wait to see you all again!

I keep calling this a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip, but I really hope it wasn't. :drivin:

[SkylinePCG]

Great story... reminds me of road trips with my Dad and younger brother. We covered a lot of ground, saw a ton of stuff, but just like what youre getting at, the company you have is what really makes the trip.

Thanks for the great post!

[chr1s]

Great story!
Reminds me of being a kid and doing that stuff with the family.
I hope to do the same someday in the Wag, very, very inspiring.
:thumbsup:

[Ronson]

I have no doubt that your son will remember this trip forever!
98% of my memories with my dad are camping, fishing and Jeep related.
We had a falling out in my twenties and we hardly spoke for a few years.
Then we both got into Jeeps at the same time.
Jeeps became the greatest connection we ever had.
We became so close, he started introducing me as his best friend and then his son!http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa249/tommyd1963/2_17_TJRON_Lauging.jpg

I always seek out the back roads and have explored much of Route 66 out here in the west. The Grand Canyon Caverns are very similar to the ones you stopped at! I have family in Chicago, Tennessee, Florida, and upstate New York and I keep threatening to do a mooch off family tour! Maybe I can talk my fourteen year old daughter to go with me if I agree to listen to her music too...

My dad spent a lot of time in Moab and Colorado and took some awesome pictures! I don't know where in Colorado this was taken but it sure is cool...http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa249/tommyd1963/colomill1.jpg

[ryanroo]

On to Ouray!

We had stayed in Tucumcari, NM last night, and went into town before getting back on the highway. Downtown Tucumcari has a lot of cool old motels, restaurants and diners. There's a lot vintage neon and signage still there. For Route 66 flavor, I thought it was some of the best.

New Mexico is pretty, but we were getting anxious to get to Ouray, so we didn't stop much. We drove on I-40 to Albuquerque, then I-25 north to 550 toward Duango. Just outside Albuquerque we got our first damage to the Jeep. We caught a small stone in the windshield and got a little stone star. Oh, well, that's what insurance is for.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/4NewMexico.jpg

The terrain really starts to change in New Mexico, and we were getting excited about finally getting into the mountains. Finally, we found the sign we'd been waiting for!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/4Colorado.jpg

Heading up through Durango, the traffic got heavier and it took a while to get through town. Most of our time spent in traffic was behind a rust-free, but well used early Scout. I was continually amazed by the amount of rust free old iron out here.

When we finally got through Durango and started heading toward Silverton, I was pointing out the railroad tracks next to the road to Ryan. "I think that's the Durango-Silverton narrow guage railroad". I no sooner said it when we spotted this coming at us.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/TonkaJ200/Ouray%20Trip/4Train.jpg

I would have liked to take a ride on it but we didn't work it in. Maybe next time.

Being a newbie to mountain driving, I thought I was a lot closer to Ouray than I actually was, time-wise. After a good wait for some road construction north of Durango, we made it into Silverton. I figured it would be a good idea to stop for gas before heading the rest of the way to Ouray, so we stopped. In the gas station lot was a really clean Commando and a yellow Waggy that looked like it had been sitting a while, but was still pretty nice. Up until this point, I had only seen 3 other FSJ's the whole way there (2 J-trucks and one W/T Chero). Suddenly, there's three of 'em. I recognize Phil's Chero (there can't be two of 'em like that) and give 'em a wave as we head out.

Red Mountain Pass between Silverton and Ouray schooled me on mountain driving in a big hurry. I had heard about the effects of altitude on how your engine runs, but I wasn't prepared for how little power I'd have at over 11,000 feet. I had it right on the mat and could only manage 35 mph. But no hiccups, or vapor lock and it only ran a little warmer than I'd like while climbing. I stabbed it down into second for the coast down the other side and into the town of Ouray. I couldn't believe we were finally there!



you drove right past me. i live just east of durango in bayfield. your pictures made me do a double take
Ryan

[COLOFIREMAN]

Now I'm really depressed that I wasn't able to go this year. :mad: :D

Great story, thank you for sharing.:thumbsup:

[FSJ Guy]

My dad spent a lot of time in Moab and Colorado and took some awesome pictures! I don't know where in Colorado this was taken but it sure is cool...http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa249/tommyd1963/colomill1.jpg

That is what is popularly known as the Crystal Mill. Located just outside of Marble, CO. Next to the Maroon Bells, probably the most popular image of Colorado.

It's a VERY rocky 4WD only drive from Marble.