I believe OG has a thread going as well, but here is my writeup.
For this year’s Colorado adventure, otherwise known as All-4-Fun, we once again found ourselves in the small town of Empire. This sleepy little community is about 40 miles West of Denver and sits right at 8600ft elevation. Several months back, I put the bug in OG’s ear about my yearly trek (since 1979!!) to this part of the country to attend the A4F event, and he submitted his registration and was accepted! Plans were made, vehicles were prepped, and the trip came to life…
We left Twin Falls around 8am on Wednesday, July 25th:
That afternoon we found ourselves in Dinosaur National Park, enjoying a nice little camping spot and soaking in the cool air after several hours in the rolling Casa de la Wilcox:
Thursday morning we eased out of the camping area and on up to the main visitors center and quarry to let the kids get a look at some real dinosaur fossils. I was excited to share this with my kids because my parents had taken me to Dinosaur NP back when I was my sons age. Pretty cool.
After leaving Dinosaur NP around lunch time, we headed East on US 40 and eventually stopped for the evening in Granby, CO at a beautiful campground overlooking Granby Lake, just South of the entrance to Rocky Mountain NP. If you ever have the opportunity to drive US 40 through this county, I highly recommend it, although perhaps not with a motorhome/trailer/Jeep…
Friday morning, after a leisurely walk along the shores and some breakfast, we continued along US 40 to finally reach our home for the week, Empire CO. Here we are patiently awaiting the dollop of Moss family to join us:
Saturday afternoon, OG and crew arrived and the game was officially on. My sister-in-law came up from Denver for the evening (that’s here Acura SUV), and my dad had come by camp for a quick visit. The white XJ lineup was quite amusing:
So, the way this event works is that each evening, you sign up for a run for the following morning. The runs are typically posted around 6pm, and there are about 10-12 runs to choose from ranging in difficulty from 2 through 8 (out of 10), with scenery designations from 4-8 (also out of 10), so you can mix/match your tastes for any given day. Jim and I have been wheeling literally our entire lives, so the difficulty factor wasn’t really what we were after – rather we wanted to take in the true experience and share it with our families. As such, we spent the majority of the week on 6-rated trails, with the notable exception being the Spring Creek trail, rated an 8, which we ran on Thursday. From here forward I will mainly post pics of the various days runs, with a few notable comments where necessary…
All-4-Fun 2012
All-4-Fun 2012
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...
Sunday, July 29th: Red Elephant Hill / Mill Creek / Bill Moore Lake
Jim tested our secret squirrel rocker protection: APPROVED!
Monday, July 30th: Kinston Peak
Tuesday, July 31st: Argentine Pass / McClellan Mountain
We came across a Dodge Durango that had apparently been stolen, joy-ridden, and then rolled off the trail several hundred feet above, landing here for no apparent reason:
Wednesday, August 1st: Kids Games / Vendor Day
Jim and I spent some time pondering the next round of upgrades to GGv2.0…
Thursday, August 2nd: Spring Creek
Shannon wanted to drive through this little rock garden area, so I hopped out and took some pictures of her doing her thang. And I have to say, she did extremely well…
After some lunch at the top, Gavin wanted his turn behind the wheel:
Friday, August 3rd: Jenny Creek / Yankee Doodle Lake / Moffat Tunnel
Jim had spit out a u-joint cap somewhere along the way, so we pulled a NASCAR-rivaling pit stop and swapped shafts in well under 5 minutes:
With the last trail day behind us, we sadly broke camp and headed for home on Saturday morning. The kids were wiped out after a full week of food, four wheeling, family, friends, and general fun. Shannon stole these pics about 4 hours into the road trip home Saturday afternoon:
To say the trip was epic may be cliché, but to be honest, it totally fits. We are already anxiously planning our return next summer, rumored to be somewhere outside the town of Leadville, CO…
Jim tested our secret squirrel rocker protection: APPROVED!
Monday, July 30th: Kinston Peak
Tuesday, July 31st: Argentine Pass / McClellan Mountain
We came across a Dodge Durango that had apparently been stolen, joy-ridden, and then rolled off the trail several hundred feet above, landing here for no apparent reason:
Wednesday, August 1st: Kids Games / Vendor Day
Jim and I spent some time pondering the next round of upgrades to GGv2.0…
Thursday, August 2nd: Spring Creek
Shannon wanted to drive through this little rock garden area, so I hopped out and took some pictures of her doing her thang. And I have to say, she did extremely well…
After some lunch at the top, Gavin wanted his turn behind the wheel:
Friday, August 3rd: Jenny Creek / Yankee Doodle Lake / Moffat Tunnel
Jim had spit out a u-joint cap somewhere along the way, so we pulled a NASCAR-rivaling pit stop and swapped shafts in well under 5 minutes:
With the last trail day behind us, we sadly broke camp and headed for home on Saturday morning. The kids were wiped out after a full week of food, four wheeling, family, friends, and general fun. Shannon stole these pics about 4 hours into the road trip home Saturday afternoon:
To say the trip was epic may be cliché, but to be honest, it totally fits. We are already anxiously planning our return next summer, rumored to be somewhere outside the town of Leadville, CO…
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...
So, from my perspective, "epic" falls short. Legendary might be better.
Toby already outlined the trips. . .so, I'll just add in some of my pics:
Toby's AC Clutch destroyed itself:
Del Albright's Jeep. He wheeled Red Elephant with us.
Uncle Ollie's CJ7:
One of Warn's Jeeps
View of Camp from the top of the hill:
Day 1 Group:
Camp Again. ALL the comforts of home. . .plus a few.
The "Rock House" on Kingston:
Jose, is that you?
First Liberty I've been with on the trail.
Loves me an exjay
While the weather was beautiful 98%, we had daily storms that kept things entertaining and kept the dust away. Perfect.
Last climb on Kingston before the "enchanted forest"
Argentine. Tops out at 13,500'
The lovely Mrs. W on top of the World. . .
Just amazing. I still can't believe we did this:
The switchbacks on Argentine were mandatory 3 pt turns. I'm NEVER scared in my Jeep. One of these changed that. . .
The Waldorf Mine. There were tons and tons of mines everywhere.
On top again. . .
The other side. . .the road is no bueno to drive, so it is up/back:
Poor Dave. . .I think he blew 2 radiators. . .
Why so serious?
Raffle Jeep. Jessy has tickets. . .
The nicest LJ I have ever seen. . .O may or may not have embarrassed him on the trail though. . .Heh heh. . .
Spring Creek is NO JOKE. GREAT TRAIL!!
Toby and I both walked this section like it was a freeway. . .there were some stunned dudes with $75k Jeeps. . .
Perfect Tire Placement kids. . .It is what the cool kids on little tires do.
How did those little XJs get here???
Discount Tire's TJ. . .silly kid behind the wheel:
Warn Night. . .I'd like to thank Warn Industries. . .really. I mean it.
TAKE THAT!
And where we parted ways in Odgen on the way home:
I wore out another ujoint on the way home so, the score:
1. CPS
2. Coil
3. Trailer Hub
4. Trailer Hitch Friction Pad (funny story here. . .but later)
5. Unit Bearing
6. Axle Joint
7. Driveline Joint
8. Shock mount (forgot about that one. . .stupid rock bit it)
9. Two rivets on the trailer
24 days on the road, 6 FULL days of wheelin'. . .the rest towing the trailer.
13 days in the trailer
11 days in hotels
2 full weeks 98% over 8500' in elevation
4500 miles
300 gallons of gas
3 Amusement Parks
1 National Park
Priceless doesn't even make a dent. I still can't believe that we did it and, now that we did, that it is over. If things fall in to place, we are going back to Colorado for A4F next year. YOU have until late winter to decide. . .
Yep, it was the trip of a lifetime when you roll the whole thing up together.
Toby already outlined the trips. . .so, I'll just add in some of my pics:
Toby's AC Clutch destroyed itself:
Del Albright's Jeep. He wheeled Red Elephant with us.
Uncle Ollie's CJ7:
One of Warn's Jeeps
View of Camp from the top of the hill:
Day 1 Group:
Camp Again. ALL the comforts of home. . .plus a few.
The "Rock House" on Kingston:
Jose, is that you?
First Liberty I've been with on the trail.
Loves me an exjay
While the weather was beautiful 98%, we had daily storms that kept things entertaining and kept the dust away. Perfect.
Last climb on Kingston before the "enchanted forest"
Argentine. Tops out at 13,500'
The lovely Mrs. W on top of the World. . .
Just amazing. I still can't believe we did this:
The switchbacks on Argentine were mandatory 3 pt turns. I'm NEVER scared in my Jeep. One of these changed that. . .
The Waldorf Mine. There were tons and tons of mines everywhere.
On top again. . .
The other side. . .the road is no bueno to drive, so it is up/back:
Poor Dave. . .I think he blew 2 radiators. . .
Why so serious?
Raffle Jeep. Jessy has tickets. . .
The nicest LJ I have ever seen. . .O may or may not have embarrassed him on the trail though. . .Heh heh. . .
Spring Creek is NO JOKE. GREAT TRAIL!!
Toby and I both walked this section like it was a freeway. . .there were some stunned dudes with $75k Jeeps. . .
Perfect Tire Placement kids. . .It is what the cool kids on little tires do.
How did those little XJs get here???
Discount Tire's TJ. . .silly kid behind the wheel:
Warn Night. . .I'd like to thank Warn Industries. . .really. I mean it.
TAKE THAT!
And where we parted ways in Odgen on the way home:
I wore out another ujoint on the way home so, the score:
1. CPS
2. Coil
3. Trailer Hub
4. Trailer Hitch Friction Pad (funny story here. . .but later)
5. Unit Bearing
6. Axle Joint
7. Driveline Joint
8. Shock mount (forgot about that one. . .stupid rock bit it)
9. Two rivets on the trailer
24 days on the road, 6 FULL days of wheelin'. . .the rest towing the trailer.
13 days in the trailer
11 days in hotels
2 full weeks 98% over 8500' in elevation
4500 miles
300 gallons of gas
3 Amusement Parks
1 National Park
Priceless doesn't even make a dent. I still can't believe that we did it and, now that we did, that it is over. If things fall in to place, we are going back to Colorado for A4F next year. YOU have until late winter to decide. . .
Yep, it was the trip of a lifetime when you roll the whole thing up together.
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