But if it is as good as their stools/chairs, I'll bet it is nice.whatcha ya talkin' 'bout... just take a college loan out... and....violla!! .... it's like free money!
All of my bragging about what good burgers they had would go unanswered this trip. Our friends suggested we walk a bit and see if something catches our eye. We came across a brewery that seemed to specialize in pizzas. We were in for a real treat and an amazing lunch. This was actually better than the burgers I was upset over missing. Made me realize that sometimes plans change and to go with the flow as you never know what is just around the corner from a well made plan.
It's a compliment to you Mike that it's impossible to tell the age difference between your two RV's just from outward appearance.The wife and I have been away on our annual Ouray, CO wheeling trip last week so I have quite a few pictures to share in the next several posts. This was our 17th annual Ouray trip and it did not disappoint. The heavy winter provided some breathtaking waterfalls and crossings as well as above average encounters with wildlife. There were still some snowdrifts and areas of packed snow due to the 2022/2023 winter but nothing like we experienced during our 2019 trip.
The earlier pictures from a week or so ago were of our friends whom we traveled with in our back yard kicked off our hop, skip and jump to Ouray. After departing from our home, we met up with them in Green River, UT and parked alongside them for the night and enjoyed an evening meal with them at one of our favorite restaurants in the area.
We were also informed during this trip that it will be the last in their Dutch Star. They will be putting it up for sale within the next couple of months and will be downsizing. We met this particular couple in early 2009, along with a rather large group who had been traveling together for 6 or 8 years prior to our arrival into the group. This couple had a 1999 Country Coach Magna that they purchased new in 1998 shortly after retiring. When they sold it in 2019 to take possesion of their new Dutch Star, the Magna had well over 220k miles on it and still in pristine condition. Many in the group had similar coaches with some being newer and a few older but all seemed to take care of their rigs and we were honored and privileged to be a part of the group in which we were so eagerly accepted into. Unfortunately, the group has been shrinking over the past several years as people have been hanging up the keys or worse, passing on. We have thoroughly enjoyed this entire group of RV'ers and had really hoped others would join our group as time went on. During the past 14 years as the wife and I have been the youngest in this particular group we have not had any more join nor really even want to. I foolishly thought that as others joined that the wife and I would someday be the more "seasoned" RV'ers and could share our adventures and destination suggestions with others but what we're finding is that people our age are not wanting to travel with others or be a part of anything bigger than themselves. This is so sad as we have made such great memories with this group as each member has so much to offer in one form or another. We have also been to places that really weren't even on our radar as far as destinations to visit. They've talked us into traveling to Texas multiple times as well as many other destinations throughout the western U.S. for various gatherings and rallies.
Here is our 2003 Monaco Dynasty parked alongside their 2019 Newmar Dutch Star.
Slides retracted and departing camp on our way to Ouray, CO.
Parked together in Ouray, CO for the week.
First day's trail revealed the large amounts of snow and runoff from the winter months.
We hit Governor's Basin and after breaking from lunch we saw this deer just above us grazing and it didn't appear to be bothered by us one bit.
At the junction, we waffled on taking the optional route back around Sidney Basis and opted to give it a try and hope it wasn't snow packed as much was on the north facing edge with a narrow shelf road. Turned out to be a good decision to take the route for two accounts, first it provided some beautiful views of the mountains and snow still present.......
and secondly, because it delayed us long enough to be able to view a bear crossing the road in front of us as we were descending the trail. Had we not taken the optional Sidney Basin route, we would have missed this sight.
He was eagerly enjoying his berries and didn't mind us stopping to take pictures.
Stay tuned for more pics.......
Awesome scenery in those photos. Great to see some scenic parts of your state.
mike.. ditto on the compliments! I (we) appreciate the time and effort spent to share with us!! THANK YOU!
Even having my son mow it mid-week it was still quite long and thick upon arriving home.
I’m with you 100% on dumb asses paying for the resources that are used to save them from themselves.So, while we're on the subject of Ouray/Silverton or just any off-roading for that matter. I wanted to express my extreme displeasure for those who don't follow the rules, who think they are above the rules and/or the rules don't apply to them. These are the people that ultimately ruin it for everyone and the ones I feel should be penalized by hitting them where it hurts, the wallet.
Now for a synopsis of why I am so upset this morning.
Last week while attending our annual RV'ing/Jeeping trip to southwest Colorado we watched the San Miguel County's website as well as other area information sites to learn when Black Bear trail would be open as it was the only trail still remaining closed when we had arrived, and Imogene Pass had only opened a few days before we had arrived. Black Bear is one of the most iconic trails of the area and while not very technical, it can be one of the deadliest in the area due to the severe drop-offs leading down into Telluride. Many people have died on this trail over the years from operator error, mechanical issues or simply misjudging or erroneously facilitating one of the switchbacks only to meet their maker as their vehicle rolls multiple times towards Telluride. There have been several videos shown over the years including one within only the last couple of years where a vehicle rolled down multiple times right past another Jeep who had a dash camera that caught the whole thing right out the windshield. To be honest, mechanical failures and someone having issues above me are the two things I worry most when on this particular trail, otherwise it is not that bad of a trail, until it is. Weather can change things as well as it makes the trail slimy and gooey which don't bode well to a narrow shelf road with a huge drop-off on the downhill side.
That being said, while we were there last week Black Bear was one of the trails the people we were with really wanted to run. We generally run Black Bear down into Telluride (driving through Telluride as quickly as possible to get the hell out) and then return to Ouray via Imogene Pass. It makes for a decent day with only a few vehicles, but I've led as many as about 16 Jeeps over it and it becomes a bit chaotic trying to spot everyone over the couple of obstacles and can quickly turn into a much longer day running both trails back to back. The obstacles on Black Bear are not that difficult but to those less experienced they can be a mindscrew, the waterfall at the top of the switchbacks in particular. The waterfall is plenty wide and relatively even but the surface tips the vehicle slightly downhill to the driver's side, so people have a tendency to want to drive further to the passenger's side which only exacerbates the angle and several have rolled right there as the passenger's side climbs the ledge and tips the vehicle. By staying just driver enough to clear the ledge on the right it is a walk in the park and you still have 6+ feel on the side, but again, it's a mindscrew.
Black Bear remained closed last week but people were posting erroneous information on social media (Facebook in particular) stating that it was open despite the county informing people that it was NOT open as the snow drifts were still quite deep and the county had some road repair in a couple of places to mitigate still before opening. Black Bear is usually the last or one at least one of the last trails opened each year due to its northern facing sections which after a harsh winter can take a lengthy bit of time to melt.
Well, a couple of days ago despite the county's closed signs, closed warnings on the website and the closed gate at the top of the one-way section of the trail there was a group that decided those rules didn't apply to them. I read that they spent many hours digging through the snowdrift AFTER negotiating their way around the gate only to make it only a short distance before one of the vehicles slid off the trail getting stuck on the edge of a steep ledge and several others stuck to the point that they couldn't self-recover. This necessitated the county Sheriff's office to be called out to assist and put their own lives and equipment at risk. All because a few thought they were above the law and rules.
One of the reports I read mentioned that children were involved (not sure about the validity of this report) and how irresponsible it was to the point of possible criminal charges for child endangerment. The San Miguel Sheriff's report just stated that the vehicles had now been cleared off the trail as of 7:15pm Monday night and that the trail is still NOT open regardless of what these "*** clowns" posted on social media.
This is the kind of behavior that infuriates me because it seems like no matter what we do as responsible off-roaders these few end up screwing **** up for all of us. I think they should be fined for the county personnel's time, equipment and just fined for being dumbasses in general to the point that it hurts and send a message to others. Unfortunately, I doubt very much anything will be done to them and they'll go home laughing and joking with a story to tell and no punishment.
Sorry, I'll get off my high horse now. But please, please, please don't be one of "those" people when out on the trail and if any of your friends are contemplating such behavior discourage it. It is our own responsibility to know the rules, laws and the area rather than do what we want and claim ignorance afterwards. Unfortunately, that seems to be the way society behaves these days.
I like the way you’re thinking about shifting your focus from side work to projects, I’m deeply considering that very same path myself.Alex, I agree that for a one-time project renting one would be sufficient. However, with as many vehicles that we have in our fleet (between us and my son we are at 7 now, not including the RV) which are all aging, my fear is that upon a breakdown incident I would have to scramble to obtain a trailer and lose valuable time doing so while one of my loved ones and their vehicle sat alongside a roadway waiting for me.
I have never been without a trailer until a few years ago and this has continued to be in the back of my mind and cause me worry. Probably worrying for nothing but it's still a worry and cause for concern. I also would like to get back to obtaining, fixing, refurbishing and then selling a few vehicles here and there and a trailer would be needed for such tasks. That way I can work on my own time schedule vs. working around others when doing side work.
I also had mentioned to the wife that with our next trip coming up being more of a sightseeing one and not planning on doing any off-roading that if we had a trailer I may be tempted to load up the Camaro and hook the trailer up behind the coach and take it with us rather than flat-towing the Jeep. This is purely speculation at this point but it would be an option that I currently do not have.
As for stacking the trailers, I have never mentioned that as even being something I was entertaining. Someone else had mentioned it as a way to save space but at our currenty residence I have plenty of room to park both a 20' car hauler trailer and our 10' utility trailer without issue. I wouldn't even want to mess with the idea of stacking them as that seems like a waste of time and effort that is not warranted.
I appreciate the thoughts and hope you will stay tuned for when I do decide to commence the trailer build, although I don't think it will be in the very near future yet. At this point I'm merely bouncing ideas around in my head and getting things pretty dialed in on how I will be going about it and finishing it out but like most of my other projects, I generally adjust the plan and make alterations as it is unfolding.
