CR 31 & FR 825

CR 31 & FR 825 are easy trails that parallel Highway 550 south of Ouray. CR 31 takes you by a number of old mines/buildings and FR 825 gives you panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and valleys...

Colorado Full Sized Trails

Colorado now has "Full Sized Trails" that require vehicles such as Jeeps and SUVs to display an Off Highway Vehicle Permit. Here's an excerpt from Stay The Trail Colorado:

"In addition to the many miles of Off-Highway Vehicle trails and ‘roads open to all vehicles’, there are a number of Full Size Trails open for recreational travel in Colorado. Although these trails allow for full width vehicles, they differ from most BLM and U.S. Forest Service roads as they are designed for recreational, motorized use rather than simply for transportation. A Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Permit is therefore required on any licensed/plated vehicle that is used for recreation on these trails. This $25.25 permit must be displayed on any full size vehicle traveling these trails even if that vehicle has a currently registered license plate from Colorado or any other state."

Click here to see a list of trails that require a permit.

Ophir Pass

John, Sharon, Bill, Ken, Faye

Alta Lake

Corkscrew Pass

Bill, Ken and I took the jeeps up over Corkscrew Pass in the San Juan Mountains south of Ouray, Colorado...

EBT Card

I've got to get me one of those Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. Last winter in Lake Havasu, I watched a lady pay for her items with an EBT card and then walk outside and get into a new Cadillac Escalade. Today, the lady in front of me used her EBT card and then got into a late model Mercedes-Benz. Does anyone know if you can choose which luxury automobile you get with your card or do you just have to take what they give you?

Unique Rock Crawler

After reading the following trail rating for Blag Flag at Area BFE,

• Expert trail. No Exceptions
• Do not attempt without a day to spend and at least three vehicles.
• You must winch anchor yourself at the last ledge at the top for YOUR SAFETY. If you roll, you could die. Drive at your own risk!
• Min. 40″ tires, Lockers, Winch, spare parts, SPOTTERS and 3 Vehicles – Do not attempt alone!

I started looking at YouTube videos of extreme rock crawling machines that could complete such a trail. Here is a video of a custom built vehicle with a design that I have never seen before. What makes it so unique is its ability to adjust its wheel base from 100 to 136 inches while climbing...

Update (6/4/17): If I thought the above vehicle was unique, take a look at this beast...

Area BFE

Keith, Punkin, Charlie and I rode the RZRs over Strike Ravine to Area BFE, an area known for its extreme rock crawling trails. Fortunately, my RZR 900 XC made it look easy... <grin>

There were a few obstacles I decided to save for next year...

They even post a politically incorrect sign to let you know when you have left the property...

Day Canyon

One of my favorite signs in Moab is "Rockcrawling: an all day five mile trip". I think they must have had Day Canyon in mind when they wrote it. Although it is only five miles down to the overlook of the Colorado River, it takes the better part of the day to do it round trip.

San Rafael Swell

Sunny, Stormy and I drove our jeeps over to the San Rafael Swell to do some exploring and hike Little Wild Horse Canyon, a narrow slot canyon. Knowing that once we left Green River finding a gas station would be harder than finding an honest politician, we filled-up our vehicles which gave me the opportunity to photograph this sign...

Sure "sign" you are in the western states

We had to fire our guide as he kept getting lost. If Sunny did not have expert map reading skills, we would probably still be there. We did, however, stumble into some interesting sights/sites...

Ancient pictographs 

Old uranium mine

On the way to the slot canyon, we passed some awesome rock formations north of Goblin Valley...

Unfortunately, we were prevented from hiking Little Wild Horse Canyon by deep water...

Next time I will bring my bathing suit & water wings

Fruit Bowl Part Deux

The last time we visited the Fruit Bowl, no one was there. Today, the slackliners were out in force and doing amazing, if not frightening, things...

Here's Stormy's video of the young lady above jumping off the cliff...

Drone Crash

Last week I crashed my drone at the bottom of Gemini Bridges. It was in a location that I thought only someone who could rappel from the top could get to so I chalked it up as being lost and left it. Now the story of its recovery is a case of truth being stranger than fiction...

Stormy went online to a drone forum and left a post regarding my crash. This week another individual, who had lost his drone in the same area, saw Stormy's post and contacted him to say that they had found my drone while looking for his. He also mentioned that he had hired someone to rappel down and pickup up his drone.

Yesterday, Sunny & Stormy rode out to the Bridges to watch the recovery effort. As fate would have it, the man that was hired to pickup the drone was late and another separate group rappelled down and found the drone. After confirming with the rightful owner that he had not hired those individuals, Stormy raced to the bottom of the canyon and retrieved the drone from the group.

He then met with the drone owner and they exchanged machines, a win/win for everyone. Unfortunately, my drone was damaged beyond repair. Here's the video of its last flight and crash...

Many thanks to Bart Davis and Stormy for their efforts in recovering my drone.

Rainbow Terrace

Leyman led a group of three jeeps over Rainbow Terrace, a scenic trail north of Moab...

Most of the ride was quite easy, however, there was one section that made use of the jeep's four wheel drive low and lockers. Here's a Stormy Weathers School of Rock Crawling video that makes it look easy...

Here's my dash cam video of the climb...

Poison Spider / Eagles Dare

I led a group of side-by-sides up Poison Spider and then over to Where Eagles Dare. These two trails together have a rating of 7 which makes it an "entertaining" ride...

Poison Spider Arch

Overlook where we had lunch 

The "Unusual Suspects" at Where Eagles Dare

The descent from Where Eagles Dare

Back Way To Sego Canyon

We drove the jeeps over to Sego Canyon via several remote BLM roads north of Crescent Junction. The ride had a little bit of everything...

Unique rock formations

Panoramic vistas

Old buildings

Ancient pictographs

Classic cars
(Stormy says he can have this vehicle up & running in no time - covering up the bullet holes may take longer)

Strike Ravine

Stormy and I took his jeep down Strike Ravine this afternoon. Although it has a trail rating of 6, we made it with no problems in a stock vehicle; careful tire placement and a slow, steady pace was all that was required.

Fins N Things

Sunny has put together an excellent video of our Fins N Things ride...

Be sure to visit her blog at www.dawsongang.com

Educational Video

One way to learn how to navigate difficult obstacles in a Jeep is to watch videos of highly skilled, professional drivers...

Footage courtesy of the Stormy Weathers School of Rock Crawlers

Tower Arch

While Sunny and Stormy were giving family from NC a guided tour of Arches National Park, I went exploring in my Jeep. I took Willow Springs Road (BLM 378) to the Tower Arch and then Salt Valley Road (BLM 145) back to Highway 191. There was just enough rock crawling and deep sand to make it interesting.

Tower Arch

Moab Car Show

The Moab Car Show featured an eclectic collection of classic and highly customized vehicles. Here's a small sampling of the ones I found interesting...

Stormy almost traded his Jeep Rubicon for this Buick rock crawler

It appears the owner could not make up his mind as to what he wanted

The perfect vehicle for clearing out those pesky "trail pluggers" ahead of you

Way too many gear shifters

Tusher Tunnel / 3D / Spring Canyon

Jack led a caravan of four jeeps over "3D" to the Tusher Tunnel and then Spring Canyon...

Intrepid explorers

Light at the end of the tunnel

Stormy testing the limits of the Rubicon

View from 3D overlook

Spring Canyon

Here's a five minute video of the drive down the canyon...