We recently made what has become our annual trek to the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado for a week of off-roading over the mountain passes in the Ouray-Silverton-Telluride area. We discovered this entertaining hobby later in life than some, but it has become sort of a passion for both of us. For years we rented Jeeps from outfitters in the area but this year we got to take our own, fondly referred to as “The Beast.”
We found this Jeep this summer. It seemed to us that it was meant to be since this Jeep was built for off-roading by MIT Drivetrain Specialist in El Cajon, California which happened to be the same people that built our friends Jerry and Terry’s Jeep and our Albuquerque jeeping leader Guy’s Jeep. It is a 1994 Jeep Wrangler YJ and only had 22,000 miles on it. It had all of the things done to it that we wanted including ARB lockers, a Warn winch, 35 inch tires, springover lift, CB radio, on board air compressor, and everything else you would need to climb anything from mountains to the red rock in Moab. We even got a Exiss aluminum trailer to haul it on!
We headed out to Colorado and stopped the first night in Red River, New Mexico. This is one place that we want to re-visit since it is so beautiful and cool, literally! We met up with Terry and Jerry in Durango and headed to Ouray. If you have never traveled this highway, the Million Dollar Highway, you need to experience it. It’s a little nerve racking in the best of weather, especially when pulling a trailer, but I can’t imagine how it would be in the winter.
Once in Ouray, we hooked up with Guy, our unofficial trail leader. Guy has been over every highway, road, trail, and rabbit path in the area and serves as a trail leader in Moab during the Jeep Jamboree. The first day we went over Corkscrew, California, Hurricane and then down to Silverton for dinner at one of our favorite places, Handlebars Saloon. Danny had the bison burger and Bev had a great taco salad.
The next day was a day that we both looked forward to and dreaded at the same time. We decided to go over Black Bear Pass to Telluride. Black Bear is one of those passes that rental companies won’t let you take their jeeps over and it has built up a reputation as a “booger bear”, no pun intended! It takes you over some rough, narrow shelf roads, tight switchbacks and some sharp, steep step downs. We met a couple from Oklahoma that joined us so we had Jeeps from California, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma all in a line that day. It was a good drive- a little intimidating, but not as bad as it is hyped-up to be. The water falls, especially Bridal Veil, were beautiful and there was already a lot of ice.
The following night, Beverly had a visitor during the night. About 2:30 a.m. Beverly woke up to what she thought was someone tearing up all of the cars at the motel. Upon investigation, we discovered a huge black bear right below our room going through the dumpster looking for a little late night snack. The next morning we also discovered from other guests that another bear was in the tree directly behind our room, not 15 feet away from our window.
The next day was spent going over Imogene Pass, the second highest vehicle pass in Colorado. It is a little over 13,100 feet in elevation and there was quite a bit of snow. At the top you can see forever. You can see the LaSalle Mountains across the way in Utah, near Moab. The descent takes you to Telluride also and from there we took a beautiful drive back to Ouray via Last Dollar Road.
We enjoyed jeeping with Guy and Jerry and Terry for these first three days. Jeremy and Annie joined us Thursday night and stayed for three days. Jeremy got to try out the Jeep one day when we went up to Yankee Boy and Governor’s Basin. We met some hunters near the top and stopped and talked to them for a while. They were checking out some mule deer bucks up on the side of a mountain and they let us take a look at them through their spotting scopes.
The next day we took a drive down to Silverton and spent the morning just looking and shopping. The Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge train had just pulled into the station and it was fun to see it. We found some good jerky to eat, too. Later in the day, we took them over Last Dollar Road to Telluride for an afternoon of sight seeing. We bought a few apples that were grown in the area and then took the long way back over to Ridgeway and then to Ouray. We drove around the town of Ouray late that evening and spotted our own “big buck” content to be grazing in someone’s yard! We ate at O’Briens that evening and were pretty tired when the bed time came.
We had a great time and enjoyed having our own Jeep with us rather than renting. We enjoy the area and look forward to getting to go back.
Beautiful trees- they would make great Christmas trees!
Friends Jerry and Terry- our traditional coffee stop in Durango!
Beginning the trip up Corkscrew- near Ironton Park. The trees were really nice.
Airing down the tires- we deflate the tires to about 10 pounds of pressure.
Getting ready to head out the first morning.
The top of Hurricane Pass, windy and cold.
It was a little chilly at the top of California Pass.
The "Beast" coming up Corkscrew Pass.
Our group eating dinner at Handlebars in Silverton.
Do you see the image of the black bear in trees as you look at the distant mountain?
Black Bear Pass- we made it!
The switchbacks coming down Black Bear- overlooking Telluride from Imogene Pass.
The caravan- representing Texas, California, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
On top of Imogene Pass- the LaSalle Mountains in Moab, Utah in the background
Pretty good mule deer- a "front yard" shot from the porch!
Jeremy and Annie in Ouray- beautiful flowers were everywhere!
