Paradise 2 Pavement

[volcomsurfer]

So I typically leave him in the van if I'm going indoors somewhere. Most of the outside places allow dogs and I actively seek out dog-friendly places when I get into a town. BringFido is a GREAT app that I pretty much live by to find dog parks. I typically go there first and make conversation with locals on where to go and what to do. He is classified as a service dog and I have his card in my wallet. I've taken him into places and even on the gondola for that pondskim thing. You can kind of tell if they want dogs in there or not. If it's not busy and I know he'll be good I usually ask if I can bring my service dog in. Asking goes a long way compared to just bringing them in. Two dogs is going to be a lot harder than one though, so YMMV. For instance, this was in Dillon 2 nights ago. The bartender was stoked to play with the pup.

 

[volcomsurfer]

Update #6 Pikes Peak

So I ended up staying in Salt Lake City until after Easter. I had to force myself to leave because I knew I would have gotten sucked in. That town is awesome. Really easy to get around, tons of mountains in close range, really cool people, I could go on for a while. So because I was talked in to staying in SLC a bit longer, I talked a friend into going back to powder mountain for one last hurrah. It dumped about 14" the day before. Powder country was closed, but it was okay. There was powder all over the mountain. It was a bit heavy and slow, but still fun none the less.

Saw this guy... I need to get my gear game in check.

And this thing.

It was snowing and the viz wasn't good at all so we didn't even bring the gopro on the slopes.

I had a little bit of down time on Easter so I made a little mod to the grey tank.

Then I finally left.... I headed back to Steamboat Springs for a night at my friends house again.

There's a little bike trail that I walk tigua down to. He's obsessed with that area because it gets covered so well in snow.

Then I started making my way south. I headed to Dillon for a couple nights and hit up Keystone one last time. I timed the drive right in between storms, but it still wasn't the greatest.

I brought as little gear as possible, because it was my last snowboard day of the season and I wanted to shred. The snow was perfect, about 2-3 inches of fluffiness and the sun trying to peak out occasionally. I might have went the fastest I've ever gone on a snowboard this day. I did manage to get one pic.

 

[volcomsurfer]

So off I went to conquer Pikes Peak. Now, being from Florida, mountains have always blown me away. But this place left me speechless. What better place to get blown away than America's mountain. There were so many things that excited me about making the drive to the top. To check out the 'racetrack' first hand, to see how the van does, to see the sights at the top, etc. The drive wasn't too bad, but there's no way I could imagine trying to go flat out on that climb. I'll let the pictures do the talking, but they don't do it any justice; as cliche as that might sound. I really wish I had a better camera.

 

[volcomsurfer]

Saw some deer at the gas station on the way out

So I made it back to my summer gear. I should be heading out to the Great Sand Dunes NP tomorrow in route to Moab. I'm not sure how much internet I'll be able to pull in the near future, but I'll try to stay on top of it. Meanwhile, my "garage"

And I found a nice park, with a dog park and was able to make a home cooked meal for a change.

Until next time... Oh it's so nice to be out of the cold...

 

[toyotech]

Thanks for the dog tips. I have two lap dogs so going the service dog route won't work lol. Really enjoying your photos. Definitely living the life !!


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[IIVIIoonshiner]

I loved following your build! and you trip is great to watch! I would love to do a scaled version of your van for my rock climbing adventures. Jealous bro!!! have fun!

oh and does anyone have the build thread for that crazy 4runner in previous pics?

 

[Acheateaux]

Headed down the East side of Baja in a couple weeks. Wanna roll with?

 

[volcomsurfer]

Update #7 Great Sand Dunes National Park

So I left off in Pueblo. I thought all the dirtbike shops would be closed on the weekend but they're actually all closed sunday and mondays. So I timed that horrible. After a bit of frustration I just bailed and went south to The Great Sand Dunes National Park. The drive was pretty cool. Getting further away from highways I'm starting to understand the true allure of roadtripping across America. The sights were amazing and everyone I talk to says just wait to see where you're going. Some sights going from Pueblo to the NP.

Mount Blanca

The first view of the dunes.

So it was late in the afternoon when I arrived. They wanted $20 for a campsite, but no water or showers so I didn't see the point. I got some good information from a park ranger about some sights close by. So off we went and found this..

Yeah, I'm gonna keep my $20... lol So I ended up staying here a few nights. The first day I got to use my new cast irons in typical morning fashion.

I took the short hike to Zapata Falls. It's the first frozen waterfall I've ever seen. Blew me away when I turned the corner.

He wanted to go up there so bad. I was nervous he'd fall through some where. No way in hell I was getting in that water, he'd be a goner. lol I love him, but not enough to go in freezing water.

 

[volcomsurfer]

So I tried to go out to the south Zapata Lake. Made it to the first creek crossing and it was getting way too icy. I didn't have any spikes and I wasn't about to fall off a cliff to see a lake that's too cold to swim. But the hike that I did was still pretty cool. I wish I could've made it all the way.

On the way back a storm rolled in real fast. It went right where the trail was heading, so good thing I didn't keep going. I wasn't prepared enough for that.

The dunes off in the distance.

Made some dinner right before a huge dust storm rolled through. It was shaking the van quite a bit. Rocked me to sleep. The next day called for clear skies and light wind so the plan was to wake up and hit the dunes.

There goes that gorgeous view

The next morning.....

I wanted to go back to the falls in the morning before people get there so I could try to get some drone shots inside the waterfall. The parking lot at the trailhead provides some nice views of the dunes.

Here's a little video I did. I was flying it next to me in between steps. It was SUPER icy and I didn't want to break my ipad/controller by falling. It was pretty gusty in the cave too which made it a bit hairy at times because there's no much space in there at all.

https://youtu.be/cfSsytkei74

Then off to the dunes. I stopped for a couple more pics while I had the drone out.

 

[volcomsurfer]

The sand was rough on his paws after a while so we stopped for lunch about 3/4 of the way up. I actually ended up having to carry him the last half of the way back to the van because he kept laying down. I felt bad for pushing him.

He was passed out before I even finished my first beer.

That afternoon I was going to drive to Durango, but I wasn't planned to get there until like 9 so I pulled into the first town I came across once it got dark. Some amazing road along the way. No point in driving at night if I'm doing this trip for the sights...

Came across another killer waterfall right at sunset. Check out my instagram for a little video. https://www.instagram.com/paradise2pavement/

So the next morning it was off to Durango.

I broke down and got a motel so I could shower and do the dishes, laundry, etc.

I tried to update it yesterday, but tigua thinks he's a cat sometimes...

So I should get my tires for the dirtbike today, spend another night here and head up to Silverton...

 

[toyotech]

Love the frozen waterfall. I haven't seen one in person. I been using cast iron a lot more at home and love how it cooks. Gonna be shopping for some for my camping kit.


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[volcomsurfer]

Update #8 Million Dollar Highway

So I left Durango and headed up north towards Montrose. The million dollar highway. It was an amazing drive, nothing too hairy. There wasn't a lot of traffic which was nice. I'm really enjoying taking my time on some of these drives. I stopped in Silverton for a few beers and to watch a bit of the masters.

Started getting back in the snow again :\

There was quite a bit of fallen rock and chunks of ice in the road, mixed with a bunch of cool runoffs. It was cold, but warm enough to ride with the windows down. It was nice hearing waterfalls the whole ride.

Chute still looked bombable..

 

[volcomsurfer]

Some parts were a bit hairy. Thank god it wasn't windy.

There were a bunch of amazing turns on this road. I would love to rip this on a bike.

Some goats or rams?

Ouray. I took the drone out to cascade falls, I'll have to upload those later.

And now I'm in Montrose. I'm going to do the black canyon of gunnison and take the bike out somewhere for a bit. I might head out to moab today maybe. I finally got knobby's on the bike so I'm dying to see what this thing can do off-road where it belongs.

 

[unkamonkey]

Nice write up.

Welcome to Colorado, you are in a fun part of the state.

An old saying around here is that we used to have guard rails but the tourists took them all out.

 

[volcomsurfer]

Update #9 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

I ended up spending the whole day out there just going from lookout to lookout. This time of year must be perfect. There was probably 10 cars I saw all day. I wanted to fly the drone and get some good shots, but it got windy before I found a good spot to fly it. Good thing I didn't too because at the lookout I was going to do it at, as I was walking back a ranger pulled up to check on things. :\

I'm going to try to remember which lookouts go to the pics. No guarantees. I should have took pics of the signs

Tomichi Point

Pulpit Rock, I love these things...

Cross Fissures View