Our Trip to Colorado
After meetin for breakfast, Ed An I left Wichita About 6:30 am Thursday August 2nd. We arrived at Oasis Campground at about 4:30 pm. Jeff Cathy an Craig had arrived much earlier and were over to Del Norte wheelin with David Givens a former member of Wichita 4x4 Club. Our Friends Jim an Bonnie arrived later in the evenin.
Friday mornin we all met for breakfast at the Oasis an then headed to Mt. Blanca. We all handled the obstacles, Jaws 1thru 4, with not much trouble. Well cept for Jim’s front drive shaft fell out a couple times. It were jus funny. Didn’t hurt nuthin. Had 3 fellas from Fairplay in a GMC Jimmy catch up with us on Jaws 2.5. We all drove the road to the end at the upper lake. The one feller pointed out some Mountain Sheep on a ledge above us. Most of the hikers were friendly. Ed an I raced back to camp, Ed won. I had a dented L/F wheel, nuthin to worry bout for now.
The next mornin we headed to camp at the KOA at Coaldale. And after settin up we headed to the Independence trail system near Penrose. Ed’s tire carrier broke off at the hinge. Took it all apart and put everything in the back of his Jeep. After lookin at some of the trail an watchin a Bronco an Jeep things attempt to climb some ledges, push in the clutch an let it roll back, we went an started on Liberty. We hid Ed’s tire carrier in amonst some trees an brush. Also put a not on it sayin it was not an abandoned. After getting about .8 mile down the pitman arm broke plum slap into on Jeff an Cathy’s Jeep. Jim an Bonnie, Ed an Craig were ahead. Jim thought they could drive out the end. But it started rainin an when he an Ed got to the ledges they were so slick that they couldn’t walk up them. So after they got turned around Craig an I spotted them back up an then around Jeff’s Jeep. And Craig backing up an around Jeff’s rig was an impressive off camber ride also! I led them out. Then returned to spend the night with the Gerdes Family. They had gotten a fire started with some of the wood that Cathy an I had gathered.
What transpired with Ed, Jim an Bonnie. They returned to the campground an tried to remove the pitman arm from Jim’s Cruiser. It would not budge. So they drove to Buena Vista to get a spare arm at Jim an Bonnie's. Then they returned to Penrose about 4 am Sunday. We got back to camp about 8am. I was falling asleep while drivin back. I got bout 2 ½ hrs of sleep before we had to leave.
When I got up an around, I found out that Cathy had gotten something in her eye an they had already left, headed to the emergency room in Salida. We talked to them later in the KOA campground at Buena Vista As it turned out, something had scratched Cathy’s eye and was not lodged. Guess I’ll mention that wearin safety glasses or sunglasses at all times ain’t a bad idea. Ed an I went on a drivin tour of Buena Vista, saw the Colorado Midland train tunnels, elephant rock, an went up the mountain on C/R 386 Frenchman’s Creek.
On Monday Cathy had a follow up visit to an optometrist in Salida. I called Craig to see if he wanted to go on Iron Chest Mine road with us. After meetin at the Phillips station, Craig found his by-pass hose to be leakin. He got a new one at Car-Quest, but elected to ride along with me. While we were airin down a couple dirt bikes started up. I comented that this wasn’t a trail for dirt bikes an wonderd how far they would go before turning around. As we passed them on the way up, they were headed down, Craig says to em “You guys looking for a more challenging trail?”
Just after getting over the LARGE ROCKS my Cruiser made a Gawd Awful noise an defiantly had a drag about it. I at first thought a rock had gotten caught between the wheel an brake caliper, but the drain plug was gone from the front diff along with the gear oil. So I took the fill plug an put it in the drain hole, looked for an extra plug, didn’t have one, do now, put in the 2 ½ qt. of gear oil, an put a stick, that Craig picked up, in the fill hole. Continued up the mountain in 2 wheel lo. Had to engage the front axle to get over a rock up higher. Worked ok the rest of the week.
Spent time lookin over the mine an havin lunch. Went up to the Annie Belle mine then down to St Elmo before headin back. Bonnie fed us dinner, pork roast an all the fixin’s. Oh Yes! It was delicious. I had 3 helpins… Jeff an Cathy said it rained so hard, comin back from the appointment in Salida, they dang near had to stop on the hy-way. Just lightly rained up in the mountains.
Tuesday we had all the rigs up an runnin. Went to run Chinaman’s Gulch. Looked at Carnage Canyon. I’ll do this one someday. Started to rain an kept it up till lunch time. Sure didn’t make the obstacles easier. Chinaman’s is a loop trail; the entrance-exit was muddy mess. Of course I had to drive through the 2 deepest pits. Got high centered in the second one. First Jim tried to tug me out forward, them Ed got me out goin backwards. My Cruiser quit runnin; the ballast resistor seemed to have gone bad. Replaced it in the rain. I also spent $20 warshin the Cruiser an it could have used more.
On Wednesday we went to Mary Murphy Mine an Pomeroy Lake, Jim had to go to work. After a stop in St Elmo, I noticed I was loosin antifreeze… The Gerdes family headed back to camp. They hadn’t gotten much sleep due to a leaky tent in the rain. Ed an I headed up to Tincup Pass. Talked to a family from Kansas, they were ridin quads an bikes. While just kickin back Ed noticed the u-joint cap was walkin out of the L/F axle. We shoved it back into place. An then determined that a c-clip had been lost. Of course on the way back down it came out again an hit the bolts that hold the unit bearing on, broke the cap. Made it back to Buena Vista with out really hurtin the axle, or so it appeared. I had terrible vibration, could only do but 50 MPH.
Thursday I got up early to work on the Cruiser, it still wasn’t runnin right; an try to figger out what was causin this terrible vibration. Also helped Ed load up his Jeep, he was wantin to get home an mow the grass anyway… I found the R/F tire was causin the vibration. Why? Well I took it to All Around Tire, They broke it down, it was full of mud!! An it had never deflated! Weird! The Gerdes family came by just as I was getting everthing back together. So we went an run up Mt. Princeton. Easy trail, Cruiser ran ok but the dadgum clutch wasn’t wantin to disengage. Man if it wasn’t one thing it was another. Went to dinner at the Gerdes Camp. The fella next to em had given em Trout an then they also fixed Beef an vegtables all in the campfire. Also had the corn Ed had bought. I ate enuf, I was bout to pop! Jim tried to get off work Friday but alas could not.
On Friday Team Gerdes an I headed up North of Leadville to go up Holy Cross City Road. There is not much parkin area left at the start. So unfortunately they had to turn the big trailer around an go unload back down the road. Everything went pretty well till we got to the crossin at French Creek. The Cruiser starts runnin poorly, again, an possible due to slippin the clutch to keep it runnin, I slipped off one rock an banged the left side into a BIG rock causing damage. Then I had to put in the 5 gals. of gas to get it to pick up an run. What the Hell? Anyway we made it to the town, looked around, had lunch, did 3 of the 4 obstacles above the town; the 4th one would have to be winched up, at least with our rigs, an back down. The Cruiser was Hot Hot by the time we got back to their tow rig. Filled it back up, it was bubblin, blown head gasket fer shure. Helped Jeff an Craig load up, Finally asked Cathy what she was callin me about on the way up from Buena Vista, Can’t hear nuthin with the doors off an sides rolled up. The brakes were hangin up on their pick-up. They looked ok now. I wished them good luck on their trip home an they did the same with me an my leakin head gasket. I made it back to BV, no problem.
On Saturday, Jim, Bonnie an I went to eat Breakfast, all ya can eat Flapjacks an Sausage, at the City Park. It was part of the Gold Rush Days Celebration. Then Jim an I headed to Loveland CO for the Land Cruiser swap meet an Show. We managed to get no further that Leadville before getting in trouble. While drivin down Main Street, Jim says “Nice Cruiser!” “ Yep! It’s for sale!” says I. around the block we go in his Oldsmobile, we get stuck in a little ditch, and it won’t spin the tires in reverse. I git out an push. “Better hit it harder!” “No I’ll go a different way.” Caught the Cruiser as it was leavin for a test drive, $10,000 was the askin price. That’s ok I really don’t like the musturd yella anywho! The rally was a ton a fun! I had ta borrow $15 bucks from Jim to buy my treasures, an then we had ta make a rush trip to find an ATM so Jim could buy a roller fairlead. Saw some folks I had only conversed with via computer, an others I only see once or twice a year. A couple rock buggies climbed atop one another. Got a free hat. Good time!
Thanks to Everyone that came along! It was a great trip. Hope we can do it next year. Later! Don P.
After meetin for breakfast, Ed An I left Wichita About 6:30 am Thursday August 2nd. We arrived at Oasis Campground at about 4:30 pm. Jeff Cathy an Craig had arrived much earlier and were over to Del Norte wheelin with David Givens a former member of Wichita 4x4 Club. Our Friends Jim an Bonnie arrived later in the evenin.
Friday mornin we all met for breakfast at the Oasis an then headed to Mt. Blanca. We all handled the obstacles, Jaws 1thru 4, with not much trouble. Well cept for Jim’s front drive shaft fell out a couple times. It were jus funny. Didn’t hurt nuthin. Had 3 fellas from Fairplay in a GMC Jimmy catch up with us on Jaws 2.5. We all drove the road to the end at the upper lake. The one feller pointed out some Mountain Sheep on a ledge above us. Most of the hikers were friendly. Ed an I raced back to camp, Ed won. I had a dented L/F wheel, nuthin to worry bout for now.
The next mornin we headed to camp at the KOA at Coaldale. And after settin up we headed to the Independence trail system near Penrose. Ed’s tire carrier broke off at the hinge. Took it all apart and put everything in the back of his Jeep. After lookin at some of the trail an watchin a Bronco an Jeep things attempt to climb some ledges, push in the clutch an let it roll back, we went an started on Liberty. We hid Ed’s tire carrier in amonst some trees an brush. Also put a not on it sayin it was not an abandoned. After getting about .8 mile down the pitman arm broke plum slap into on Jeff an Cathy’s Jeep. Jim an Bonnie, Ed an Craig were ahead. Jim thought they could drive out the end. But it started rainin an when he an Ed got to the ledges they were so slick that they couldn’t walk up them. So after they got turned around Craig an I spotted them back up an then around Jeff’s Jeep. And Craig backing up an around Jeff’s rig was an impressive off camber ride also! I led them out. Then returned to spend the night with the Gerdes Family. They had gotten a fire started with some of the wood that Cathy an I had gathered.
What transpired with Ed, Jim an Bonnie. They returned to the campground an tried to remove the pitman arm from Jim’s Cruiser. It would not budge. So they drove to Buena Vista to get a spare arm at Jim an Bonnie's. Then they returned to Penrose about 4 am Sunday. We got back to camp about 8am. I was falling asleep while drivin back. I got bout 2 ½ hrs of sleep before we had to leave.
When I got up an around, I found out that Cathy had gotten something in her eye an they had already left, headed to the emergency room in Salida. We talked to them later in the KOA campground at Buena Vista As it turned out, something had scratched Cathy’s eye and was not lodged. Guess I’ll mention that wearin safety glasses or sunglasses at all times ain’t a bad idea. Ed an I went on a drivin tour of Buena Vista, saw the Colorado Midland train tunnels, elephant rock, an went up the mountain on C/R 386 Frenchman’s Creek.
On Monday Cathy had a follow up visit to an optometrist in Salida. I called Craig to see if he wanted to go on Iron Chest Mine road with us. After meetin at the Phillips station, Craig found his by-pass hose to be leakin. He got a new one at Car-Quest, but elected to ride along with me. While we were airin down a couple dirt bikes started up. I comented that this wasn’t a trail for dirt bikes an wonderd how far they would go before turning around. As we passed them on the way up, they were headed down, Craig says to em “You guys looking for a more challenging trail?”
Just after getting over the LARGE ROCKS my Cruiser made a Gawd Awful noise an defiantly had a drag about it. I at first thought a rock had gotten caught between the wheel an brake caliper, but the drain plug was gone from the front diff along with the gear oil. So I took the fill plug an put it in the drain hole, looked for an extra plug, didn’t have one, do now, put in the 2 ½ qt. of gear oil, an put a stick, that Craig picked up, in the fill hole. Continued up the mountain in 2 wheel lo. Had to engage the front axle to get over a rock up higher. Worked ok the rest of the week.
Spent time lookin over the mine an havin lunch. Went up to the Annie Belle mine then down to St Elmo before headin back. Bonnie fed us dinner, pork roast an all the fixin’s. Oh Yes! It was delicious. I had 3 helpins… Jeff an Cathy said it rained so hard, comin back from the appointment in Salida, they dang near had to stop on the hy-way. Just lightly rained up in the mountains.
Tuesday we had all the rigs up an runnin. Went to run Chinaman’s Gulch. Looked at Carnage Canyon. I’ll do this one someday. Started to rain an kept it up till lunch time. Sure didn’t make the obstacles easier. Chinaman’s is a loop trail; the entrance-exit was muddy mess. Of course I had to drive through the 2 deepest pits. Got high centered in the second one. First Jim tried to tug me out forward, them Ed got me out goin backwards. My Cruiser quit runnin; the ballast resistor seemed to have gone bad. Replaced it in the rain. I also spent $20 warshin the Cruiser an it could have used more.
On Wednesday we went to Mary Murphy Mine an Pomeroy Lake, Jim had to go to work. After a stop in St Elmo, I noticed I was loosin antifreeze… The Gerdes family headed back to camp. They hadn’t gotten much sleep due to a leaky tent in the rain. Ed an I headed up to Tincup Pass. Talked to a family from Kansas, they were ridin quads an bikes. While just kickin back Ed noticed the u-joint cap was walkin out of the L/F axle. We shoved it back into place. An then determined that a c-clip had been lost. Of course on the way back down it came out again an hit the bolts that hold the unit bearing on, broke the cap. Made it back to Buena Vista with out really hurtin the axle, or so it appeared. I had terrible vibration, could only do but 50 MPH.
Thursday I got up early to work on the Cruiser, it still wasn’t runnin right; an try to figger out what was causin this terrible vibration. Also helped Ed load up his Jeep, he was wantin to get home an mow the grass anyway… I found the R/F tire was causin the vibration. Why? Well I took it to All Around Tire, They broke it down, it was full of mud!! An it had never deflated! Weird! The Gerdes family came by just as I was getting everthing back together. So we went an run up Mt. Princeton. Easy trail, Cruiser ran ok but the dadgum clutch wasn’t wantin to disengage. Man if it wasn’t one thing it was another. Went to dinner at the Gerdes Camp. The fella next to em had given em Trout an then they also fixed Beef an vegtables all in the campfire. Also had the corn Ed had bought. I ate enuf, I was bout to pop! Jim tried to get off work Friday but alas could not.
On Friday Team Gerdes an I headed up North of Leadville to go up Holy Cross City Road. There is not much parkin area left at the start. So unfortunately they had to turn the big trailer around an go unload back down the road. Everything went pretty well till we got to the crossin at French Creek. The Cruiser starts runnin poorly, again, an possible due to slippin the clutch to keep it runnin, I slipped off one rock an banged the left side into a BIG rock causing damage. Then I had to put in the 5 gals. of gas to get it to pick up an run. What the Hell? Anyway we made it to the town, looked around, had lunch, did 3 of the 4 obstacles above the town; the 4th one would have to be winched up, at least with our rigs, an back down. The Cruiser was Hot Hot by the time we got back to their tow rig. Filled it back up, it was bubblin, blown head gasket fer shure. Helped Jeff an Craig load up, Finally asked Cathy what she was callin me about on the way up from Buena Vista, Can’t hear nuthin with the doors off an sides rolled up. The brakes were hangin up on their pick-up. They looked ok now. I wished them good luck on their trip home an they did the same with me an my leakin head gasket. I made it back to BV, no problem.
On Saturday, Jim, Bonnie an I went to eat Breakfast, all ya can eat Flapjacks an Sausage, at the City Park. It was part of the Gold Rush Days Celebration. Then Jim an I headed to Loveland CO for the Land Cruiser swap meet an Show. We managed to get no further that Leadville before getting in trouble. While drivin down Main Street, Jim says “Nice Cruiser!” “ Yep! It’s for sale!” says I. around the block we go in his Oldsmobile, we get stuck in a little ditch, and it won’t spin the tires in reverse. I git out an push. “Better hit it harder!” “No I’ll go a different way.” Caught the Cruiser as it was leavin for a test drive, $10,000 was the askin price. That’s ok I really don’t like the musturd yella anywho! The rally was a ton a fun! I had ta borrow $15 bucks from Jim to buy my treasures, an then we had ta make a rush trip to find an ATM so Jim could buy a roller fairlead. Saw some folks I had only conversed with via computer, an others I only see once or twice a year. A couple rock buggies climbed atop one another. Got a free hat. Good time!
Thanks to Everyone that came along! It was a great trip. Hope we can do it next year. Later! Don P.
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One of these summers I really want to go to Colorado with you and Golden; you always seem to have lots of great adventures on your trips, but live to tell about them! Glad you had a good trip even tho I wasn't there. BTW, how's retirement treating you?