Jeepers Creepers: Mountains Speak, Wise Men Listen

Last September the mountains began their annual speech to us. You know the one, about how cool it is up there in the higher elevation and how hot and dry it must be in Texas! And about how the leaves are changing color, that annual journey from green to yellow and orange and how beautiful the mountain passes are and how soon the snow flakes are going to fly and close off the mountains from exploration. And the plea to hurry before it's too late! So, if you're a wise man you learn to listen to that far off call and make the trip to where the mountains meet the clear blue sky. It all began in late September, 2013 when we loaded up the Jeep and headed out to what has become our favorite past time, the discovery of both new and old haunts where the air is cool and the pine trees fill the air with that fragrant, familiar scent.

This time we took a little extra time so we could explore what has become a favorite stop, Red River , New Mexico. It's always been a great stopping off place but we wanted to learn more about the town plus just relax after a long drive. They were having a big Aspen Day celebration that weekend so the town was busy. The skilift was open so we rode to the top, looked around and enjoyed the scenery from a beautiful viewpoint. We ate good food, walked along the river and enjoyed the cool temps.

We had arranged to meet our California friends, Jerry and Terry in Ouray for a few days of offroading. Our favorite place to stay is the Rivers Edge Motel, right next to the Animas River. A couple of years ago a bear visited us one night during one of it's dumpster diving trips. Beverly always hopes to see another bear and her luck held this year! The managers told us that they had been seeing a bear nearby. That afternoon we found a mama bear and her two cubs sleeping through the day under a tree not 50 yards from us. Of course we had to go see it but were thankful that they were so full of apples that they had little interest in us!

We were also happy to learn that another local couple, Bubba and Shirley, were in Ouray. We all met for dinner that night at Obrien's Pub. Good food! The next day we all took Last Dollar road over to Telluride. The trees were beautiful. We rode the gondola up to Mountain Village. Talk about a beautiful place! It's fun to see how the other half lives!! The ride is the only free thing I know of in Telluride! The remainder of the time we explored Yankee Boy and Stoney Pass near Silverton. Of course, we had to eat at Handlebars in Silverton. It's a tradition!

Leaving Ouray, we went over to Lake City on the way home, another favorite place. This year we came back through Creede. It was a great trip with good friends and we look forward, God willing, to another one, or two this year.

From Red River it was just a short day's drive over to Ouray. Upon arriving, during the afternoon Beverly got a chance to see a bear and her two cubs! The bear didn't want to be bothered but as Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing!"

One of the first things you see on Last Dollar Road is an old homestead, the sight where the first part of the original True Grit movie with John Wayne was filmed. There have been a number of westerns filmed in the area so we took a photo opportunity before heading on to Telluride.

Dave and Chad, owners of Rivers Edge, highly recommended the hamburgers with home made fries at the Cimmaron Cafe in Ridgeway. Boy, they weren't kidding! They were soooo good. The perfect end to a great day!

Let me explain this picture. That's not something growing out of the top of Jerry's head. He just happened to be standing in front of those poles they use to mark the roads during the spring when they plow out the snow. It does make for an interesting picture!!