I needed to start this trip off right, so I stopped at King Soopers while the guys got diesel fuel:
My husband had recently raised his truck, so it’s now 9.5″ higher. One of my sons also has a truck.On the days that we have free together, my husband has been trying to surprise me with new places to see.Yesterday was another one of those days. This time he picked Roosevelt National Forest nearEstes Park, Colorado. The original trail that he hadpicked ended up being closed due to flooding, so I got on the phone with an ATV place and asked them what other trails were in the area. We were pointed in the direction ofHighway 36 to Pole Hill.
Following are images of our experience:
We pulled off several times to enjoy the scenery:
My son is having fun:
I kept getting asked if I was enjoying myself. My answer each time was, “As long asneither of us leaves here with damage, I’ll be enjoying myself.”
I was sliding all over the place each time I got out of the truck, so I changed into my boots:
At first, my husband was in the lead. After a while he let my son lead. He stopped to check out the condition of the road:
Right around this time we drove by a guy who was camping. He waved and said hello. We had a short conversation. At the end of the trip we all discussed how it was kinda weird talking to the guy in the middle of no where and he was holding an ax! I had originally taken a picture of his tent on our way in, but it was blury since we had been driving by, so I just deleted it. Kicking myself thatI didn’t ask him if I could take his picture while we were talking to him!
Did I have fun? Yes! Nothing got damaged, the scenery was absolutely beautiful, and being off the beaten track was pretty neat in itself. This will not be the last time!
Oh, and because I had originally thought we were going hiking, I drank TONS of water! I literally made everyone stop 5 times before we got to our destination! 2 – grocery stores, 2 – port-o-potties, 1 – gas station LOL
What a beautiful place and such a cool experience! Your photos are spectacular. I felt like I was following the whole journey!
Thank you so much! All my journeys are like that!
This is something we’ve wanted to do for awhile, explore off road. But none of our cars are 4 wheel drive. We are planning on renting a jeep in Sedona AZ (my favorite place) around November before actually buying one! Can’t wait. Your photos did nothing to persuade me otherwise.
It was fun! We went yesterday too, in a much more secluded area. I’ll blog about it soon. Water was involved this time. Trails where there weren’t any. Hope you guys have a blast! Look forward to seeing your pics!
I can’t wait!
Very adventurous!
Gotta love nature! And big trucks! Crazy road.
One of my friends goes off-roading quite a bit. Much like you, he says it’s a blast long as you don’t break (damage) anything. He found out the hard way about the importance of scouting out a trail/non-trail you’re driving by breaking part of his suspension on his truck – he was actually driving on a wider foot path through the forest.
Oh no! That’s my big worry. We’ve only done it twice, and although my husband is a literal professional driver and could do it blind-folded, it still scares me!
My friend says stopping at the Ranger’s office helps. The maps are free, you pick-up bits of information where to go or where to stay away, cell coverage for just in case situations, etc. On the broken suspension, his wife made him take a second job to cover the repair costs. His paycheck from the good-paying, primary job runs the household/family budget. He said the whole incident made him a better off-road driver and do a better job of scouting off-road locations.
Good tips! He goes really slow and he has an after market lift and suspension. Fingers crossed!