POTATO LAUNCHER
TLCA #6928
It's that time of year for the annual pilgrimage out of the South East Regions to a much needed cool down in the San Juans. Those of you planning to travel to Ouray through the Texas Panhandle we have a Convoy of Cruisers that will gather here on my property August 2nd for an evening of food, drink and prep for the journey up. Folks are welcome to camp onsite or get a hotel nearby. We will leave Saturday morning August 3rd and begin our heard of Classic Toyota Awesomeness. There are enough of us driving old rigs with experience that gas stops will be frequent and repairs can be addressed along the way.
For the last several years we have camped on BLM Land just South of the Great SandDunes NP, some of us went over Medanno Pass in route. Then on Sunday we would travel to Classic Cruisers In Poncha Springs for a little stop and lunch then over Monarch Pass on Hwy 50 to Montrose. It is a real cool experience to say the least and has become tradition. This route would involve many extra miles to an already long trip with the convoy.
However, this year one of the main bridges between Gunnison and Black Canyon on the Blue Mesa Reservoir is closed due to structural maintenance. As of this posting the bridge is one lane with timed access via pilot car. They are saying light vehicles, pickups and suvs can cross but no trailers at this time. There is a bypass on maintained dirt available.
This seems like a huge bottleneck for one vehicle let alone a convoy of folks traveling to their destination. We will be avoiding this route for our convoy this year.
There are multiple routes out of Amarillo that will get you to Ouray. I-40 to Albuquerque then HWY 550 North will take you directly to Ouray. Hwy 287 to I-25 will take you to Walsenberg CO. then West on HWY 160 over Lavita Pass to the San Luis Valley is the route the Texas Convoy will be using this year. Once in Alamosa there will be a gas food stop at the City Market shopping center. Those that are towing Cruisers or highway campers will want to contenue on HWY 160 towards Pagosa Springs and Durango. Those up for an adventure can head up Hwy 149 from South Fork and follow the Rio Grande to an area North of Creed for a BLM overnight. On Sunday August 4th we will pack up camp with two options for travel. One is to do Stoney Pass to Silverton wich we did year one with 6 Cruisers. It was extremely rough and took at least 6 hours to complete. Not recommended for novice drivers and or questionable skills. Option two is continue up Hwy 149 over Slumgullion Pass to Lake City then over Cinnimon Pass to Animas Forks. From there on to Silverton or depending on time California Pass, Hurricane Pass then California CorksScrew to Hwy 550. Either route will be a memorable experience, Cinnimon Pass will be the least aggressive approach to Ouray.
If you are planning to attend the Convoy Party and travel with us please respond here and we can have a better idea what to expect once we get to the rough stuff.
Thanks, Casey..
Joining the Convoy
@BombCity
@CenTXFJ60
@POTATO LAUNCHER
@reddog90
@SoTexCruiserDoc
@BigHighBlue
@samc2447
@thatcabledude
@OlYellr
@kmj64
@RevISK
@cornboy
@BluegassBoy74
@Hokie LX
@HemiAlex
@The Phoenician
For the last several years we have camped on BLM Land just South of the Great SandDunes NP, some of us went over Medanno Pass in route. Then on Sunday we would travel to Classic Cruisers In Poncha Springs for a little stop and lunch then over Monarch Pass on Hwy 50 to Montrose. It is a real cool experience to say the least and has become tradition. This route would involve many extra miles to an already long trip with the convoy.
However, this year one of the main bridges between Gunnison and Black Canyon on the Blue Mesa Reservoir is closed due to structural maintenance. As of this posting the bridge is one lane with timed access via pilot car. They are saying light vehicles, pickups and suvs can cross but no trailers at this time. There is a bypass on maintained dirt available.
This seems like a huge bottleneck for one vehicle let alone a convoy of folks traveling to their destination. We will be avoiding this route for our convoy this year.
There are multiple routes out of Amarillo that will get you to Ouray. I-40 to Albuquerque then HWY 550 North will take you directly to Ouray. Hwy 287 to I-25 will take you to Walsenberg CO. then West on HWY 160 over Lavita Pass to the San Luis Valley is the route the Texas Convoy will be using this year. Once in Alamosa there will be a gas food stop at the City Market shopping center. Those that are towing Cruisers or highway campers will want to contenue on HWY 160 towards Pagosa Springs and Durango. Those up for an adventure can head up Hwy 149 from South Fork and follow the Rio Grande to an area North of Creed for a BLM overnight. On Sunday August 4th we will pack up camp with two options for travel. One is to do Stoney Pass to Silverton wich we did year one with 6 Cruisers. It was extremely rough and took at least 6 hours to complete. Not recommended for novice drivers and or questionable skills. Option two is continue up Hwy 149 over Slumgullion Pass to Lake City then over Cinnimon Pass to Animas Forks. From there on to Silverton or depending on time California Pass, Hurricane Pass then California CorksScrew to Hwy 550. Either route will be a memorable experience, Cinnimon Pass will be the least aggressive approach to Ouray.
If you are planning to attend the Convoy Party and travel with us please respond here and we can have a better idea what to expect once we get to the rough stuff.
Thanks, Casey..
Joining the Convoy
@BombCity
@CenTXFJ60
@POTATO LAUNCHER
@reddog90
@SoTexCruiserDoc
@BigHighBlue
@samc2447
@thatcabledude
@OlYellr
@kmj64
@RevISK
@cornboy
@BluegassBoy74
@Hokie LX
@HemiAlex
@The Phoenician
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