SW Colorado Tour 12JUL2020 - 19JUL2020
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:54 pm
With most other 2020 plans having been foiled by the pandemic, new ones were hatched that would allow us to spend time social distancing at significant elevation, far away from the bustling cities that are brimming with the virus... Suitable accommodations were secured, a travel route was (loosely) planned, and sites to see were similarly loosely planned. The only thing for certain was that the time for launch could not arrive soon enough!! The cast of characters included a full dollop of Wilcox, Lenzke party of 3, and dos Moss.
DAY 1, 12JUL2020
With prep complete and outfits loaded, the group met at the Albertsons in Richland around 0700hrs:
We promptly headed out like a herd of turtles, hitting the cruise button at the magical 63mph which is the optimal point on the towing fuel economy hockey stick:
Soon enough we were in the greater Boise, Idaho area and stopped for a quick bite to eat:
It was at this moment we realized that the cheesy poofs had not made the packing list, so Boyscout stepped into action and made a last minute procurement:
With crisis averted, we again pointed the steeds Eastward and ended our travel day in Ogden, Utah. We chose this spot specifically for the mexican resuraunt in the parking lot, which is incredibly handy after a long day on the road:
Dos Moss had a slightly altered travel schedule, and after supper they loaded back up and continued South for another few miles. We would meet back up with them at the rental house Tuesday afternoon...
DAY 2, 13JUL2020
The Wilcox and Lenzke crews headed South on Monday morning at a very leisurely pace, with the day's final destination only a few hundred miles away in Grand Junction, Colorado. A pitstop was made in Price, Utah for some grub:
As we rounded the bend from Highway 6 onto I-70, the wind was absolutely howling. It's nearly impossible to capture on still camera, but I tried by shooting this blowing dust off in the distance:
We eventually reached the Colorado border, and eased into G-Jct for the night:
DAY 3, 14JUL2020
The rental house wasn't available for czek in until 1600hrs, so we had some time to kill as it was only about 200 miles from G-Jct to the house. We decided to stop in the scenic little town of Ouray, CO for some lunch, and to take a hike in the Box Canyon area:
Leaving Ouray, heading South, you find yourself on Hwy 550, otherwise known as the Million Dollar Highway. This is a shelf road with no, I repeat, no edge barriers and a shear cliff on the side. And the cliff is legit, meaning it's a one way ride to the bottom with absolutely zero chance of survival should you run out of talent... As luck would have it, coming around one particularly tight corner, we were face to face with a snow plow. Yep, snow plow in July. They outfit them with rubber skids to push the fallen rock off the roadway. Good times:
Promptly at 1600hrs, we arrived at the rental house and unloaded our junk after a 1,000 mile journey. The weather was perfect and the place looked fantastic - it was going to be an epic week:
DAY 1, 12JUL2020
With prep complete and outfits loaded, the group met at the Albertsons in Richland around 0700hrs:
We promptly headed out like a herd of turtles, hitting the cruise button at the magical 63mph which is the optimal point on the towing fuel economy hockey stick:
Soon enough we were in the greater Boise, Idaho area and stopped for a quick bite to eat:
It was at this moment we realized that the cheesy poofs had not made the packing list, so Boyscout stepped into action and made a last minute procurement:
With crisis averted, we again pointed the steeds Eastward and ended our travel day in Ogden, Utah. We chose this spot specifically for the mexican resuraunt in the parking lot, which is incredibly handy after a long day on the road:
Dos Moss had a slightly altered travel schedule, and after supper they loaded back up and continued South for another few miles. We would meet back up with them at the rental house Tuesday afternoon...
DAY 2, 13JUL2020
The Wilcox and Lenzke crews headed South on Monday morning at a very leisurely pace, with the day's final destination only a few hundred miles away in Grand Junction, Colorado. A pitstop was made in Price, Utah for some grub:
As we rounded the bend from Highway 6 onto I-70, the wind was absolutely howling. It's nearly impossible to capture on still camera, but I tried by shooting this blowing dust off in the distance:
We eventually reached the Colorado border, and eased into G-Jct for the night:
DAY 3, 14JUL2020
The rental house wasn't available for czek in until 1600hrs, so we had some time to kill as it was only about 200 miles from G-Jct to the house. We decided to stop in the scenic little town of Ouray, CO for some lunch, and to take a hike in the Box Canyon area:
Leaving Ouray, heading South, you find yourself on Hwy 550, otherwise known as the Million Dollar Highway. This is a shelf road with no, I repeat, no edge barriers and a shear cliff on the side. And the cliff is legit, meaning it's a one way ride to the bottom with absolutely zero chance of survival should you run out of talent... As luck would have it, coming around one particularly tight corner, we were face to face with a snow plow. Yep, snow plow in July. They outfit them with rubber skids to push the fallen rock off the roadway. Good times:
Promptly at 1600hrs, we arrived at the rental house and unloaded our junk after a 1,000 mile journey. The weather was perfect and the place looked fantastic - it was going to be an epic week: