Colorado Trip 1 of 2

On July 25th, Craig, Wade, Clint and I headed to the mountains of Colorado for eleven days of camping and riding the jeep trails. We visited Villa Grove, Crested Butte, Ouray, Silverton, Durango, and ended up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Although we came back with lumps, bumps, and bruises, there were no broken bones.





The first three nights we stayed at a cabin owned by a friend of Clint’s. While there we went over Hayden and Ute Pass and visited the Colorado sand dunes.






Hayden Pass was a killer because of the steep terrain and the loose rocks. There were several spills on this pass and it took us better then two hour to go the first two miles; however, the sun was shining on top. ...and the spills...nothing that a garden rake wouldn't fix.



From Villa Grove we drove to Crested Butte and set up camp. We camped out for three nights in the national forest and enjoyed the "spring" flowers in full bloom. I got a little fly fishing in at Sugar Creek and we rode the bike through some beautiful areas.

Craig had checked to see if his cot would fit in his tent before he left home. Unfortunately he had not taken the cot out of the storage bag; however, he had a back up plan.

There was still snow at the higher altitudes. This made sleeping pretty comfy. Evening temperatures where in the 40's. Back home in Texas it was in the 100's.





From Crested Butte we packed up and headed to Ouray (Little Switzerland). We camped a few miles outside of town and had a blast racing the three miles into town costing with our engines off. It was our own little soap box derby.


While in Ouray we drove up Yankee Boy Basin. Like most of our other adventures, this one did not disapoint. This fellow managed to high center his SUV.

After this photo was taken we passed up a husband and wife riding their four wheeler up the basin. A short time later Craig announced that while looking down the mountain on one of the hair pin curves he saw the four wheeler rolling down the mountain. Riding back down to where they went over the edge I found both of them in pretty good shape. The last I saw them they were heading to the hospital. I shall remain mum as to which of the two was driving the four wheeler.

After two nights in Ouray we drove the Million Dollar Highway south to Silverton and then on to Durango. If you have never made this drive you are missing one of the best drives in Colorado. The steam train runs between Silverton and Durango. As a side note that you can't live without, I remember as a young boy my parents bought me my first fly fishing reel while passing through Silverton.

Outside of Durango while riding along an 'interesting" trail, Craig's inside foot peg hit a jutting rock. The result was that his back tire went over the edge of this narrow trail. The back tire was down in the dark area below where his tire is now sitting. For some reason this made him excited.

The last night we spent in Santa Fe before heading back to Texas. Years ago while on a business trip to Santa Fe, Erika had the "Worlds Best Coconut Cream Pie." I have only heard about it for...well years. So, doing what any good respectable husband would do, I bought her a piece and kept it on ice until I got home. It survived and she was happy so I was happy.

So what's next? Interesting you should ask. Life has been pretty boring lately. I got home from Washington, D.C. tonight and deserve a break. Fortunately I have tomorrow night to pack beeeeeeeecause Thursday night after work I'm going to back to Colorado for another week. This time it is for a more serious matter. I'll be stalking the elusive trout. Huh? Well it is serious. I could slip and fall in them waders. aaaaaand what about those sharp fishing hooks? See I told you it was serious.

Which brings me to another serious discussion; on the flight home tonight I was reading the fine literature in the back of the seat in front of me. While flipping through the AA magazine I came upon the crossword puzzle. Well me no dummy so I got out my pen and decided to kill some time. I started with the across questions first. There were questions like, rhymes with orange. Or “what is the third ingredient in my grandmother’s favorite recipe.” Errrwowzer who does these things? Ah ha you thought I got skunked didn’t you? No sir. I got one right three up from the bottom. It was….get ready…..”Fluff from the dryer is called?” Hmmmm what is it? Well I aint telling cause only us smart people can do those crossword puzzle things. I’m beginning to think that people just fill them in with any letters just to look smart. I bet if you really looked their letters wouldn’t spell a thing.

Which brings me to another head shaking point. You ever see those big wedges that they sell that you blow up and put in your lap so you can lean against to sleep while your on an airplane? Can you imagine what the person seating next to you would do if you pulled it out of your bag and started blowing that thing up? I recond I’ll leave those ponderments to another night.