While not the most recent off-roading trip, it is definitely the most recent off-roading adventure. We are currently planning another trip to this area and I know a set of COOPER DISCOVERER STT PROS would make for one less thing to worry about.
I was working at a really bad place…to spare the details it was bad enough to cause problems at home because of the stress and long hours. After my employment there was done I was without a job for a few months. I was found by my current boss, interviewed with them and got the job on the 12th and the start date of 8/25/2014 was set. My parents were planning a trip to Ouray, CO the week of the 18th. We were talking about how much we would love to take a trip before I started as we knew there would not be any time off for a while.
We had one of these why not moments and my wife ask her boss for the next week off. Mind you that this is on Thursday….
Luckily her boss approved and we were thrown into the last minute details of determining where we wanted to go and where to stay. We decided on Pike’s Peak and then onto Ouray, CO to run some trails with my parents in the San Juan Mountains.
AND WE’RE OFF…
We drove straight from Dallas to Colorado Springs, CO and stayed in town with a great view of our next day’s conquest. We noticed we had no idea of what trails we wanted to run once we arrived in Ouray just a couple days from them. So, a quick stop by a Barnes and Noble to buy a trail guide. We ended up grabbing the Funtrek’s Guide as I recognized the name and heard only good things. (Highly recommended guide, if you are in the market). We sat at the Red Robin in Colorado Springs and started thumbing through the pages looking for what we wanted to conquer.
The next day was an early start as we headed up Pike’s Peak for some coffee and donuts. Awesome views and donuts are a great way to start clearing your head. After some time on Pike’ Peak we point our FJ west and headed toward Mosquito Pass to get a little dirt on the tires. My wife had not had the privilege to this point of driving on a mountain pass. While Mosquito Pass is not difficult there are a few spots where the ledge gets narrow as you navigate around larger rocks which had rolled down from above. She was doing really well until we got to the switchbacks on the Leadville side of the pass and it started to rain and hail a little bit. Once into Leadville it was right back out again to the highway as we headed to Montrose, CO for the night.
The next morning was an early start as we headed to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park for a little sightseeing before heading to Ouray. This is a beautiful national park and it is worth stopping at each of the lookouts if you have time. Each one provides a different perspective and view of the canyon. We drove down to the bottom on the canyon for a quick walk around and then headed south to Ouray.
WHAT’S THAT SMELL…
We got into Ouray in the early afternoon and checked into our hotel room at the Hot Springs Inn. We had some daylight left so we decided to do a quick run to Yankee Boy Basin before dinner. We had just pulled off of the Million Dollar Highway on the start of Imogene Pass and I decided to pull over and air down to smooth out the ride. I started on the left front tire and as I bent down I noticed the unmistakable smell of gear oil…a quick peak around the tire and I could see the aftermath of oil being slung around the under carriage. Immediately, the worries start to flow; is there oil left in the diff, had we driven all the way from Texas leaving a trail of oil and the biggest of all…NOW WHAT. We eased back to our hotel and called the parents who were just getting back in town from running trails and started on to come up with a game plan. We had the most of the tools, except the 35 mm for the hub, but needed seals and oil. So the wife and I jumped in the back of my parents FJ and back to Montrose we went in search of parts or a shop to replace the seal. The first stop was the Toyota/Chevrolet ??? dealership in Montrose. Their shop could not do the repair as they had one bay and the mechanic was in the middle of rebuilding an engine. Again ?????
The next stop was the local Napa. I noticed that they had a Napa Car Care Center right next door with a SAS’d Toyota with exo-cage out front. I knew immediately that they could change a seal. We went in and explained our situation. They could work on it the next day and we could drop it that night. We went back to Ouray to pick our FJ and caravanned back to Montrose, quite nerve racking given we had no idea how much oil was in the front diff. We got it dropped and headed back to Ouray for dinner and a much needed rest.
PLAN B
What do you do when you FJ is in the shop 45 minutes away and you’re in what is arguably the off-roading capital of Colorado? You rent a Jeep of course. We stopped by the Riverside Inn & Cabins and after the obligatory insurance company calls and paperwork and hit the trails in a Jeep JK. It didn’t take us long to drop the top so that we could take in the scenery the area has to offer. My parents joined us for the day’s adventure. We started by heading up Imogene Pass with a quick stop by Twin Falls. At one point we stopped to take some pictures and we picked up a young guy who was new to off roading and was running the pass in his Jeep. The three of us made our way up to the summit of the pass. We reached the top of Imogene and we had a plan to cap of the last year of turmoil and frustration. We wrote our wedding vows out and left them in the mailbox on top of the pass. We both had teary eyes with the greatest amount of love for each other we headed down into Telluride. We had a quick lunch at Steamies and headed back around on the highway to Ouray. The downside of a rental Jeep is that you need to return it clean…We capped off the evening with a run to Montrose to pickup the FJ which was back in fighting shape.
BACK IN THE TOYOTA
The next morning we split of my parents and headed down the Million Dollar Highway and around to Animas Forks Ghost town. This should be on your list if you like history It is such a well preserved town and you can only imagine the what it would have been like to live in the amazing valley. As we had gotten off to a slow start we didn’t have time to run the entire Alpine Loop. We decided to go with a greatest hits medley. From Animas Forks we headed up Cinnamon Pass to see the view and then back down and over to Engineer’s Pass to meet my parents who were working their way around the loop. After a quick pit stop with them we headed down the pass and over to California Pass and down Corkscrew to the Million Dollar Highway. Once back into Ouray we had lunch at Goldbelt Bar & Grill. (Very good pizza by the way).
BACK TO REALITY
The next morning we started our journey back to Texas. We headed down the Million Dollar Highway toward Silverton and were getting comfortable for the long ride back to Dallas. Of course, if you are driving from Ouray to Texas, either direction, you need to stop by the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Yes it is a big pile of sand, but it is a really high and cool pile of sand. The history of the park is something to behold. After an overnight stop in Amarillo we finished the last of the drive to Dallas and we entered a new chapter, being my new job, with a sense of relaxation and appreciation for everything life has to offer if you open your eyes. Even though we faced uncertainty from lack of planning, failed parts and wheeling in an unfamiliar vehicle; I wouldn’t have changed a thing and would greatly faced those speed bumps again and again as the result was a trip that we will remember for a lifetime. To the magnitude that I am thinking of getting a tattoo to commemorate the trip and everything learned.
I was working at a really bad place…to spare the details it was bad enough to cause problems at home because of the stress and long hours. After my employment there was done I was without a job for a few months. I was found by my current boss, interviewed with them and got the job on the 12th and the start date of 8/25/2014 was set. My parents were planning a trip to Ouray, CO the week of the 18th. We were talking about how much we would love to take a trip before I started as we knew there would not be any time off for a while.
We had one of these why not moments and my wife ask her boss for the next week off. Mind you that this is on Thursday….
Luckily her boss approved and we were thrown into the last minute details of determining where we wanted to go and where to stay. We decided on Pike’s Peak and then onto Ouray, CO to run some trails with my parents in the San Juan Mountains.
AND WE’RE OFF…
We drove straight from Dallas to Colorado Springs, CO and stayed in town with a great view of our next day’s conquest. We noticed we had no idea of what trails we wanted to run once we arrived in Ouray just a couple days from them. So, a quick stop by a Barnes and Noble to buy a trail guide. We ended up grabbing the Funtrek’s Guide as I recognized the name and heard only good things. (Highly recommended guide, if you are in the market). We sat at the Red Robin in Colorado Springs and started thumbing through the pages looking for what we wanted to conquer.
The next day was an early start as we headed up Pike’s Peak for some coffee and donuts. Awesome views and donuts are a great way to start clearing your head. After some time on Pike’ Peak we point our FJ west and headed toward Mosquito Pass to get a little dirt on the tires. My wife had not had the privilege to this point of driving on a mountain pass. While Mosquito Pass is not difficult there are a few spots where the ledge gets narrow as you navigate around larger rocks which had rolled down from above. She was doing really well until we got to the switchbacks on the Leadville side of the pass and it started to rain and hail a little bit. Once into Leadville it was right back out again to the highway as we headed to Montrose, CO for the night.
The next morning was an early start as we headed to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park for a little sightseeing before heading to Ouray. This is a beautiful national park and it is worth stopping at each of the lookouts if you have time. Each one provides a different perspective and view of the canyon. We drove down to the bottom on the canyon for a quick walk around and then headed south to Ouray.
WHAT’S THAT SMELL…
We got into Ouray in the early afternoon and checked into our hotel room at the Hot Springs Inn. We had some daylight left so we decided to do a quick run to Yankee Boy Basin before dinner. We had just pulled off of the Million Dollar Highway on the start of Imogene Pass and I decided to pull over and air down to smooth out the ride. I started on the left front tire and as I bent down I noticed the unmistakable smell of gear oil…a quick peak around the tire and I could see the aftermath of oil being slung around the under carriage. Immediately, the worries start to flow; is there oil left in the diff, had we driven all the way from Texas leaving a trail of oil and the biggest of all…NOW WHAT. We eased back to our hotel and called the parents who were just getting back in town from running trails and started on to come up with a game plan. We had the most of the tools, except the 35 mm for the hub, but needed seals and oil. So the wife and I jumped in the back of my parents FJ and back to Montrose we went in search of parts or a shop to replace the seal. The first stop was the Toyota/Chevrolet ??? dealership in Montrose. Their shop could not do the repair as they had one bay and the mechanic was in the middle of rebuilding an engine. Again ?????
The next stop was the local Napa. I noticed that they had a Napa Car Care Center right next door with a SAS’d Toyota with exo-cage out front. I knew immediately that they could change a seal. We went in and explained our situation. They could work on it the next day and we could drop it that night. We went back to Ouray to pick our FJ and caravanned back to Montrose, quite nerve racking given we had no idea how much oil was in the front diff. We got it dropped and headed back to Ouray for dinner and a much needed rest.
PLAN B
What do you do when you FJ is in the shop 45 minutes away and you’re in what is arguably the off-roading capital of Colorado? You rent a Jeep of course. We stopped by the Riverside Inn & Cabins and after the obligatory insurance company calls and paperwork and hit the trails in a Jeep JK. It didn’t take us long to drop the top so that we could take in the scenery the area has to offer. My parents joined us for the day’s adventure. We started by heading up Imogene Pass with a quick stop by Twin Falls. At one point we stopped to take some pictures and we picked up a young guy who was new to off roading and was running the pass in his Jeep. The three of us made our way up to the summit of the pass. We reached the top of Imogene and we had a plan to cap of the last year of turmoil and frustration. We wrote our wedding vows out and left them in the mailbox on top of the pass. We both had teary eyes with the greatest amount of love for each other we headed down into Telluride. We had a quick lunch at Steamies and headed back around on the highway to Ouray. The downside of a rental Jeep is that you need to return it clean…We capped off the evening with a run to Montrose to pickup the FJ which was back in fighting shape.
BACK IN THE TOYOTA
The next morning we split of my parents and headed down the Million Dollar Highway and around to Animas Forks Ghost town. This should be on your list if you like history It is such a well preserved town and you can only imagine the what it would have been like to live in the amazing valley. As we had gotten off to a slow start we didn’t have time to run the entire Alpine Loop. We decided to go with a greatest hits medley. From Animas Forks we headed up Cinnamon Pass to see the view and then back down and over to Engineer’s Pass to meet my parents who were working their way around the loop. After a quick pit stop with them we headed down the pass and over to California Pass and down Corkscrew to the Million Dollar Highway. Once back into Ouray we had lunch at Goldbelt Bar & Grill. (Very good pizza by the way).
BACK TO REALITY
The next morning we started our journey back to Texas. We headed down the Million Dollar Highway toward Silverton and were getting comfortable for the long ride back to Dallas. Of course, if you are driving from Ouray to Texas, either direction, you need to stop by the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Yes it is a big pile of sand, but it is a really high and cool pile of sand. The history of the park is something to behold. After an overnight stop in Amarillo we finished the last of the drive to Dallas and we entered a new chapter, being my new job, with a sense of relaxation and appreciation for everything life has to offer if you open your eyes. Even though we faced uncertainty from lack of planning, failed parts and wheeling in an unfamiliar vehicle; I wouldn’t have changed a thing and would greatly faced those speed bumps again and again as the result was a trip that we will remember for a lifetime. To the magnitude that I am thinking of getting a tattoo to commemorate the trip and everything learned.