Need me some Elevation ... (3 Viewers)

[Fireman]

Got a picture from them from Marshall Pass this morning.

 

[JCBELWOOD]

We made it over and down Tincup, had to check into the KOA in Buena Vista so we could do laudry and wash our nasty asses. Gotta figure out where we're off to next. So far 9 passes, only 3 of em on pavement, been sleeted on twice, nearly blown away yesterday..............and all the fish left Colorado when we got here

 

[wardfoto]

so jealous!!!! and i woulda done the same thing to get me some glass insulators. glad to know i'm not the only one!!!!

 

[Bodean]

How much beer yall drank?

 

[Bossman]

So far 9 passes, only 3 of em on pavement

WTF - what happened to parking beside some lake and not toolin' around the country? Sounds like you guys are having a great time!

 

[KOWBOY]

Rolled into The 3X's 'bout midnight yesterday ... 775 miles away from the camp in the aspen trees we left yesterday mornin'.

Gonna take all day to clean-up and then fly back to work tomorrow. Got us lots of pics and I'll start writin' up a trip report when I get to work.

 

[Fireman]

Glad ya'll had a good time. Too bad you had to come back though. Now lets see some pics.

 

[KOWBOY]

Day 2:

So after a luxury stay at the Townsman Motel ... it was on the road again.

Just in case y'all always wanted to know what the Oklahoma panhandle looked like ... here's a scenic view.

Nothin' ... and a whole lot of it.

 

[KOWBOY]

But we made it to the border ... and fought off all the tourists for the classic cheesy photo.

Eased on up the road to Springfield and saw this cool tank at the VFW hall that had a very faded sign proclaimin' beer and whiskey.

Had to compare my equipment ...

 

[KOWBOY]

... and Josh had to compare his.

 

[KOWBOY]

Cut across 160 into Trinidad where we hit the Super Wally World for grub, beer, and fishin' licenses.

Jumped on scenic highway 12 to get up into the mountains ASAP.

The first mountain lake you see on a Colorado trip is always special ... in this case North Lake.

Then up and over Cucharas Pass at 9941 on a twisty paved 2-lane. Second gear was all Rubi would pull but that matched the 30 mph speed-limit just right. This was a taste of what was to come ... need a hemi ... or at least a turbo to pull the 1800 lbs of dead weight.

 

[KOWBOY]

The goal for the night was a campground at Bear Lake once we got over the pass. But also a taste of what was to come was the fact that the roads to the lakes are VERY well maintained and the campgrounds are packed out with the sites way too close together anyways for our tastes.

But we found us this here lil' road headin' up away from the lake with a nice lil' campsite that fit our needs well.

 

[KOWBOY]

Some flat ground ... ample firewood ... and the threatin' rain never fell.

Time for steaks ... taters ... and beer.

 

[KOWBOY]

Damn happy to be in Colorado ... and quite a few beers at high elevation made for a good night's sleep ... till 0330.

Havin' camped and backpacked in the high country all my life I knew to put all food/garbage/smelly stuff in the trailer to keep the lil' critters out. But I didn't give my stainless steel, latched Coleman cooler much thought ... until 0330.

I heard the ice chest fall over and spill and hollered out to ask if'n it was Josh ... who hollered back it weren't.

Damn coon pushed it over ... which popped the latch ... spilled the entire recently bought food stores ... and made off with a whole package of sandwich meat.

Cooler was stored in the trailer the rest of the trip.

END OF DAY 2.

 

[KOWBOY]

Day 3:

Up at at 'em and pack our s*** ... head on down highway 12.

Damn purdy valley.

Here's a rock ridge with some erosion problems ...

and the second pic's a feature named the Devils Stairsteps.

 

[KOWBOY]

At the bottom of the valley is the town of La Veta.

We stopped for gas and asked the Fella behind the counter where a grocery store was. He told us to cut over to Main Street and there was one there. Simple enuff. But when we turned onto Main Street there was Folks sittin' in chairs. Next thang we know we're behind a wagon with a farm animals on it!

IT'S A FRIGGIN' PARADE!!

Folks was lined up on the street lookin' at us ... wavin' at us ... and clappin'.

... so we start wavin' back at 'em!!

Josh and I was laughin' our ass off. The lady with the microphone that was announcin' the entrants didn't seem to amused tho and we got our way outta town.

We ain't got no pics ... but alot of townsfolks do.

It was a day that neither of us will forget for a very long while.

Got back on 160 and slowly made our way over La Veta Pass at 9400 feet and down into the San Luis Valley.

Here's the view of the beautiful Sangre De Cristo Mountains taken between Ft. Garland and Blanca ... and the Happy Camper behind the wheel.

 

[KOWBOY]

Turned up 150 and headed to the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

I've been here many, many times with my Folks as a young'un and later as a backpacker ... but it's been damn-near 20 years. It was literally a flood of memories. Some made me happy ... and some made me very sad.

We paid our 6 bucks to get in and visited the Visitor's Center. Then it was off to the trailhead for the Medano Pass Primitive Road.

The sign for the horse trailers caught Josh's fancy.

 

[KOWBOY]

This is a well-traveled road that damn-near any kinda 4WD can go up ... and the deer barely even give us a second glance as we ease on by in Rubi with her Kamper.

 

[KOWBOY]

Drivin' by them Dunes sure made me think of havin' my Cruiser there!

But reality is that these Dunes are strictly forbidden to drive on since they're a National Park ... my carb would need ALOT of re-jettin' to even run at that elevation ... and them damn dunes would stop most sandrails they're so big!

The road is soft sand for a good ways and signs warn of $400 wrecker fees if'n ya get stuck.

We aired the Dick Cepek's down to 12 lbs on Rubi and the Kamper and floated on the top barely even leavin' tracks. The Mud Country's seem to be a very nice selection for this type of rig.

Anyways ... here's a nice shot up the road with the dunes in the background.

The second pic is lookin' ahead to Medano Pass we were headin' up ... and the pendin' storm. Afternoon rain storms are a daily thang ... and ya best be geared up to handle 'em. My commercial grade 10' x 12' EZ-UP canopy proved well worth it's weight and bulk in dealin' with the elements.

The third pic is one of the 9 crossings of Medano Creek that it takes to get to the top.

 

[KOWBOY]

Last time I was in the area, once you left the National Park on your way towards the Pass you were in National Forest and could camp wherever you wanted. Now the adjoining property is a National Preserve and you can only camp in designated primitive campsite areas.

But back then the road was a very rough two-track and now it's a very easy road and heavily traveled. I'd hate to think of how ugly the area would be if it wasn't regulated. Prob'ly be as nasty as the Con out in Kali.

We were lucky to find a very nice site off the road a bit and got the canopy up 'fore the rains hit ... and Josh cooked up some damn-fine chops with beans and mac and cheese.

END OF DAY 3.

Stay tuned ...