Day 133 - Engineer Injures Jethro

Jethro injured his left hind leg (severed his LR shock absorber mount) and is hospitalized. You can send cards and/or flowers to:
Standard Tire & Service Center
412 Tomichi Ave
Gunnison, CO 81230

Yeah...I guess Jethro got a little too excited on the descent today. As we were trotting down a steep boulder run, he screamed and then started limping badly. I pulled over to check out the ruckus and he kept shouting, "It's my leg!...it's my leg!!!" The clattering could be heard all over the mountains from Lake City to Ouray. I laid down and took a look and thought he'd thrown a rubber muffler mount. The rattle was so severe, it was nerve wracking listening to him beller and holler.

Fortunately we had already crested Engineer Pass and were beginning our 30-mile descent. Ole Jethro's a trooper. He hobbled all the way over some of the roughest terrain we had all day and made it to emergency care at Lake City. Unfortunately, they were all booked, but did crawl under him and found he'd throwed a shock. Once the Jeep blacksmith removed the offending part, the noise subsided and Jethro quit crying so loudly. From Lake City to Gunnison we held him to a canter. After arriving here, he was diagnosed as critical and has been hospitalized. They are flying in fresh organs from Utah overnight, but it is likely the surgery will take a couple of days.

Jethro at his best...pre-injury. You go, Jethro!!

I had to slap Bart Beemer around a little; he thought Jethro's plight was funny. Those snooty Germans have no respect. So, while Jethro has surgery and recovers, I guess we'll just tool around Gunnison on Bart.

Here's the rest of the story of an amazing day.

Today began like most...very early. Liz and I, however, slept in a bit. It was after 7:00 by the time we were packed and ready to head into Silverton and have a huge green-chili burrito. Heavens, you'd have thought we were Jerry and Jamie or Rob...anyone but Lizzy and Lenny! We knew it would be several hours before our ascent of Engineer Pass and our arrival into Lake City and a chance to re-fuel. So eat up we did!!

The beginning climb up to Engineer Pass via Colorado-2 was, like yesterday, reasonably benign. For today's blog, however, we decided to capture as much of the different road surfaces as we could remember to do. So...up we go!

Smooth gravel run up a green meadow for starters...

...before long, annoying bolders start to protrude...

...things get a bit more uneven as Jethro climbs higher...

...occasional twists and turns keep you alert...

...pretty soon it just settles in and becomes what ever it wants to be...

We find the Jeep's ride to be acceptable because of the harsh road conditions. Certainly, we'd find alternate routes if he rode this rough around town, but the scenery just seems to smooth whatever surface confronts you. Then, before you know it...you are confronted with an amazing view that just seems to go on forever!

The Payoff!  Now that's a horse of a different color. What bumpy roads??

Soon you realize it's time for the more serious portion of the adventure. As they say, "No pain, no gain!" Unless you just get totally lazy, you're not likely to butt your head on the Jeep's roll bars as you're thrown about. I sure am glad, however, somebody thought to add padding to them.

Before long the climb becomes steeper and the road surfaces command your attention...

...hang on, Lizzy, we're going for the top...

...is there no end to this road??...

...some switchbacks are more casual...others are a sharp 180 degrees...

...giddyup, Jethro...

As with most steep ascents, you can't continue to make long. leisurely, laid-back turns. At some point you run out of real estate and tight, twisty turns become the norm. You have no trouble understanding when it's time for 4WD LOW.

...it's always a treat to look to the left or the right!...

...here's one of those 180 deg. switchbacks with a nice change of road surface thrown in...

...so take a look at where we came from!...

...some of the high altitude corners are really special, right Lizzy??...

...sure hope there's a road around the corner...

...made it...the top of the world!!

Kinda redefines the term "vast!"

But wait!! There's more climbing to be done

For a moment you can be whomever you like. I choose Captain America!!

This is it folks! Engineer Pass

Every good climb deserves an equally awesome descent!

As I've commented previously, the descents can be the trickiest part.

Sorry, but we must leave you here. Just below this hill, Jethro sustained his injury. We were too sad to continue shooting snaps amidst his moans and groans.

We sincerely hoped you enjoyed you trip up and over Engineer Pass!!

Day 132 - Alpine Loop.1

If you're at all like me there must have been times in your life when you've wondered why the crazies jump into their Jeeps and crawl along the mountain ledges. I mean...if you're going to do everything in this life, let's leave this at the end of the list with hand-gliding, or base-jumping or climbing Everest, perhaps. Well, even in our golden years, hopefully, there's room for the infusion of new thoughts. I gotta tell ya', our days in the mountains with Jethro have been among our favorites since way back to March 26 when we left home. It's one thing to drive along I-70, climbing to 11k'+; or cruising along 141 down toward Gateway; or carving canyons on your Beemer via 92 among the Black Canyon of the Gunnison; or just cruising 550, the Million Dollar Highway. All are cherished memories. It is another thing all together to actually climb rocky roads up the peaks of the Million Dollar Highway and crawl along the edges of their majestic mountain meadows. It's also one thing to drop into 4WD Low to ascend a tight, high ascent. And, it's altogether another to require 4WD Low just to keep your speed under control going down from 12,600' back to 9,000'. Fun stuff - all!

Unlike Corona Pass near Winter Park where we encountered hundreds of tourists and dozens of vehicles of every ilk, the Alpine Loop connecting Ouray, Silverton and Lake City featured only Jeeps and OHVs (the rentable 4-wheelers) with a few adventurous dirt bikers. The terrain, while mild in some parts, is incredibly rocky and rough in many others. There are places where oncoming fellow climbers sit and wait 1/4 mile ahead to allow you room to pass. While it's no place for those with acrophobia, it's not really death-defying either. Best of all, it's truly worth overcoming your inhibitions and just "going for it!"

The southern half of the Alpine Loop begins a couple miles south of Lake City. It is County Road 30 and is initially a completely benign, lovely asphalt road.  As it turned into gravel we encountered all manner of vehicular traffic descending the road including a Mazda Miata. Initially, we thought, wow...so much for giving Jethro a workout. The area has its share of homes, farms and ranches, some of which are for sale; we didn't inquire at Sotheby's.

This beautiful farm's for sale!

Crusin'down the boulevard...

Heading' up

Climbing higher...

In just a few miles a steep rocky tree-tunnel turn telegraphed that things were about to become more treacherous. From that point on we saw no more roadsters. In fact, we only saw one pickup truck. Sometimes it seemed as if the rocky surface implanted with boulders ranging from one or two inches above the road surface to 10 to 12 to 18 inches high would never cease. Patience proved to be a virtue. When one rough surface subsided another entirely different challenge replaced it. Today, for sure, variety was, in fact, the spice of life.

I might add...Jethro was in "heaven." As we took a quick break he whispered for me to come over next to his grill and headlamps.
"Sup?" I queried.
"Hey, Len," he said with a smile. "You know...up in Maine where I'm from...I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever see stuff like this! This is what I was raised for, man!! I thought the closest I'd ever come to rocks and shit like this was that salt they pour on the roads up in the northeast. I'm much obliged to you and Miss Lizzy for liberating me! I promise to do everything in my power to ensure this trip and many more are as fun for you as they are for me!!!"

As Jethro stopped, sighed and took a deep breath. I assured him that our fondness for one another was mutual. After a few cursory pats to his fiberglass fender flares, we both regained our former composure and carried on like everything was normal. Jethro's cool!

Tip-toeing up a verdant valley.

The scene of my chat with Jethro

It's nice up here...

While not the girth of a mammoth male moose, a Bighorn was on Lizzy's bucket list.

Certainly, I've overused the phrase, "you just had to be there," but as those of you that have made this trek or a similar one can attest, words and pictures just can't replicate the grandeur of this amazing landscape.

The day was almost too perfect. By that I mean crystal, clear, blue skies are not the best for photography. Even the majestic mountains deserve a little fluff from mother nature to frame them with the perfect vignette. That said, we did hit the trail in time to capture some of the lush, early morning light. Here are a few of the shots that we'll remember from this awesome day.

It just goes on forever...well...almost

Nuther verdant valley

Etc...ho-hum...

It seemed as though we rode around one canyon, then another for a couple of hours. Then the roads became much narrower and the ascents much steeper. Liz talked to me a lot during the ride. Most of her comments I'll not share. Oh...she was quiet a lot as well. All's well that ends well!!

Going up?!

 He-he...now that's a corner

Hello! Hello!! Is anybody "commin' round the corner??"

Next thing you know you're on top of the world! The fun's just starting. The downhill, at least for me, is the tricky part. I go immediately to 4WD low. If it's in 1st gear the tranny alone will greatly assist in the descent. Our 2012 Jeep is nothing like the higher compression Miata and certainly not like a Beemer. Using low gears in 2WD will not slow a descent for this heavy duty Dude. I've talked to Jethro about it and he remarks, "Hey, man, I'm doin' the best I can with what I've got. Just shove me into 4WD low and we'll get along just fine!"

So be it!

Jethro gets a break 

Where the elk spend their summers

Lake Lizzy - I named it after her!

Almost to Cinnamon Pass - 12,600'

Next thing you know, we're in Silverton. We left Gunnison before 7:00AM and arrived here in Silterton at 12:30PM. That's a total of 99 miles in 5.5 hours. The first 55 miles took one hour; the last 44 miles took 4.5 hours.

We're staying in a tiny motel in Silverton; Triangle Motel has maybe 10 rooms. Jethro is excited because he's sharing the parking lot with 5 other Jeeps, like him, all covered with mud and dust. They appear to be telling tall tales. I hope we're faring well during the conversations about their respective captains.

Colorful Silverton

Silverton is a cool enough town...kinda like a Telluride wannabe. We spent our first couple of hours walking town, eating lunch at the Handlebar Saloon and sitting in the hotel bar while we waited for the owner of the Triangle to arrive from his "other job." Silverton is really quite expensive, gas being $3/gal and a pint of Hagen Das @ $6.99.  Now you know why the motel owner has at least two jobs. We were exhilarated to exhaustion from our morning and a bit languid from the realization that this glorious trip is reaching a conclusion. 

Tomorrow, however is another day!! We'll rise and shine and trek back over the Million Dollar Alpine Valley Loop, this time over Engineer Pass! We decided to take it last since it's touted to be a bit more difficult and blissfully more scenic.

In case you're either worried or wondering (or both) about Bart Beemer...we enjoyed a Bart Beemer bonding bonanza blasting our way from Steamboat to Gunnison. He spent the night there, and get this... he's in the owner of the Long Holiday Motel's personal parking spot. He's grazing and being watched over until tomorrow when we return there. Then...I'll mount the black stallion once again as we head for Cuchara, then Amarillo and home! He' pumped and he's fine!

Day 128 - Moose Mecca

Funny how things work out sometimes. I can't tell you how many time Lizzy and I have purposefully foraged for meese. We've traveled to Walden, specifically, too may times to count. Then...as though it was just our time in the bucket, Paul and Rosie call for a last lunch visit in Walden. We talked last night about how early we wanted to begin our journey because Walden is...well...meese haven. We agreed that we'd rise early and spend the morning in the Arapaho Wildlife Refuge and meet P&R at noon thereafter.

At 5 minutes to five I awoke and whispered to Lizzy, "You awake?"
"Huh?"
"Wanna go early or just wait and rendezvous for lunch?"
"Let's just do lunch."
"OK...snore!!"

So...at 8:30AM we left the Boat, casually stopped by Starbucks (see...I told you Steamboat was the greatest) and slowly made our way over Rabbit Ears Pass en route to Walden. At gravel CR-34 we turned east and headed cross-country toward Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge.

Just off Hwy 125 a little north of Rand Colorado. Put it on your bucket list!

We crested the gravel hill at the entrance and made a right turn onto Moose Goose Trail. We had gone no further than 300 yards when I looked left and saw Marvin Moose lying in the grass not 40 yards away. Whoa!! How cool is that??

At first Marvin ignored me thinking I was just another dumb tourist. Ha!

Then he looked over as if to say..."Scram, buddy, can't you see I'm trying to get some rest here?"

Next thing you know I've got the window down and my pathetic replica of Wildlife Willie's "Big One" pointed out the window directly at Marvin. He was like..."Enough is enough!"" and stood up as if to say, "See, I'm bigger than you...get the hell outta here!!"

I think Marvin Moose is trying to tell me something

He's very persuasive...he's got my attention!

The last thing we wanted to do was get into an argument with a moose. So...we dropped ole Jethro into drive and slowly crept along the gravel hoping to find another cooperative photo subject. Bingo! It's Melvin Moose, Marvin's big brother!

Can you say...chill?

Melvin is flicking a few flies. He's a real dude!!

Well, about that time we were spotted by some other free-loading, freelance, photo freaks. I swear, no matter where you go and at what expense, there's always someone else there ready to hog your space. This planet is just becoming entirely too small. 

Oh well...we courteously yielded our box seats to the newcomers and even paused to roll down the window and talk wildlife-talk as though we were park rangers. Then we did an about face and went back to check on Marvin.

Marvin has little patience.

Marvin has had it...he's on the move.

Well...I must say...for a late morning chance happening, this one ranks way up there. It's like the frog says, "Time's fun when your'e havin' flies!" And boy, were we havin' flies!! When I think of how many other times we've planned...and strategized... and plotted to be at just the right place at just the right time. But, that just goes to show you, "If at first you do not fricassee, then fry and fry a hen!"

All the while we are listening to a 150-hour history book all about the Civil War. I'm fascinated about how folks could share seats in the senate one day, and look at each other down a musket barrel the next. So...we paused for another chapter or two while we waited for the 12 0'clock rendezvous with Paul and Rosie. We enjoyed a great lunch and said our adieux until...in Boerne later this year, perhaps.

On the way home, we forewent the main highway and climbed back on the gravel. Here's why:

Whodathunk that when I was playing football in high school that I'd become a sucker for beauty?

For us...it just doesn't get any better.

As we've said many times before...we're so glad that you've chosen to ride along with us. It's much more fun when you can share your experiences with others. Unfortunately, we'll be leaving the "Boat" on Sunday. But, we've got some special things planned for the ride home. Until then...let us hear from you!  We look forward to seeing many of you once we return to Big-D!