Brandon
Well-Known Member
This trip was a running of the annual Dinosaur Run that was set up by Ed, @topgeek , but was to be his first on four wheels. A few of us suckers; @Ryanhockey21, @ZigsRig, @Wyatt and myself followed along to explore the NW corner of the state, enjoy good food, and remind Ed just how close he was to the edges.
The proposed route was based on avoiding pavement, previous runs, satellite images and maps. The different colors were for different days/segments.
The characters from left to right; Mike, Ryan, Ed, Wyatt, and Myself
Four of us met on Thursday morning in Empire for breakfast and to start the journey. @Wyatt was finishing up schoolwork and would join us on the road. We started up and over Berthoud Pass, and then gassed up, which would be the first of many times that I would be heckled for filling my extra gas tanks 'down the hill.' But, I wanted to make sure that my new mounts for the extra fuel would work prior to getting out in BFE and launching one through a window.
We made our way west and hit the dirt, stopped by an old homestead and got the history tour updates from Ranger Ed.
We jumped on a second segment of dirt trail and as we neared the end, there was a little water crossing/pond on the right side of the road. The first three of us drove through but the last of us made a big splash, which also pulled him slightly to the right and off the solid ground and onto the soft shoulder, and the shoulder kept sucking his tires which pulled him fully into the water which we later decided may have been a livestock sewage retention pond. Great news though, Ed needed to use his new winch! It was quick work to pull him out of the sloppy goodness, the water came RIGHT up to the corner of his tailgate.
We continued on and met up with @Wyatt who told us that his rig broke down, so he brought his sister's car since she was out of town. J/K, it was his new rig, with lots of mods, but the mods were at home waiting until after the trip. But the purple Grand Caravan of choice was there and ready for the trip... hold the ice, but thankfully the weather and trail choices cooperated.
We continued west with a destination for the evening being a nice yard in Craig where we would hang out with the crazies who were doing the Dinosaur Run on two wheels. We arrived in time for some good food, a quick few rain showers, and conversations about how soupy the trails will be depending on how much rain comes down.
In the morning, Ed woke up sleeping on the ground after his king size 14" self adjusting pillowtop mattress ended up killing the battery in his Jeep and slowly letting him sink to the earth. So after getting him jump started, we went to Walmart where he picked up an elderly friendly "easy up" tent as well as a new camping cot, but not before he caught some ZZZ's to make sure it would work for him.
After that was sorted out, we made our way towards the dirt two tracks that we watched get hammered with rain all night long. And surprisingly it was dry, thanks to some "all natural" chemical they apply to remove all the physical properties of real dirt. The area reminded us of Montana, huge views in all directions around every corner. Antelope would be the squirrels of the trip, they were everywhere.
Full 4g service... go figure.
The Canadian dancing in the streets...
During our stretch on these plains, we saw the regular livestock as well as elk and antelope. I got a lot of practice in with steering with my knee, focusing and adjusting the camera and getting the shot without driving off any cliffs.
And I was able to get some good shots with the new technique...
The antelope was originally on the left side and then found a fence, so Ed slowed down so it could cross and go on its way, which it did. Then it decided to get a little friendly competition and run alongside us. It reminded me of how dolphins follow the boats and play in the wake that the boats create. It continued running alongside us at a further distance for a good amount of time.
The proposed route was based on avoiding pavement, previous runs, satellite images and maps. The different colors were for different days/segments.
The characters from left to right; Mike, Ryan, Ed, Wyatt, and Myself
Four of us met on Thursday morning in Empire for breakfast and to start the journey. @Wyatt was finishing up schoolwork and would join us on the road. We started up and over Berthoud Pass, and then gassed up, which would be the first of many times that I would be heckled for filling my extra gas tanks 'down the hill.' But, I wanted to make sure that my new mounts for the extra fuel would work prior to getting out in BFE and launching one through a window.
We made our way west and hit the dirt, stopped by an old homestead and got the history tour updates from Ranger Ed.
We jumped on a second segment of dirt trail and as we neared the end, there was a little water crossing/pond on the right side of the road. The first three of us drove through but the last of us made a big splash, which also pulled him slightly to the right and off the solid ground and onto the soft shoulder, and the shoulder kept sucking his tires which pulled him fully into the water which we later decided may have been a livestock sewage retention pond. Great news though, Ed needed to use his new winch! It was quick work to pull him out of the sloppy goodness, the water came RIGHT up to the corner of his tailgate.
We continued on and met up with @Wyatt who told us that his rig broke down, so he brought his sister's car since she was out of town. J/K, it was his new rig, with lots of mods, but the mods were at home waiting until after the trip. But the purple Grand Caravan of choice was there and ready for the trip... hold the ice, but thankfully the weather and trail choices cooperated.
We continued west with a destination for the evening being a nice yard in Craig where we would hang out with the crazies who were doing the Dinosaur Run on two wheels. We arrived in time for some good food, a quick few rain showers, and conversations about how soupy the trails will be depending on how much rain comes down.
In the morning, Ed woke up sleeping on the ground after his king size 14" self adjusting pillowtop mattress ended up killing the battery in his Jeep and slowly letting him sink to the earth. So after getting him jump started, we went to Walmart where he picked up an elderly friendly "easy up" tent as well as a new camping cot, but not before he caught some ZZZ's to make sure it would work for him.
After that was sorted out, we made our way towards the dirt two tracks that we watched get hammered with rain all night long. And surprisingly it was dry, thanks to some "all natural" chemical they apply to remove all the physical properties of real dirt. The area reminded us of Montana, huge views in all directions around every corner. Antelope would be the squirrels of the trip, they were everywhere.
Full 4g service... go figure.
The Canadian dancing in the streets...
During our stretch on these plains, we saw the regular livestock as well as elk and antelope. I got a lot of practice in with steering with my knee, focusing and adjusting the camera and getting the shot without driving off any cliffs.
And I was able to get some good shots with the new technique...
The antelope was originally on the left side and then found a fence, so Ed slowed down so it could cross and go on its way, which it did. Then it decided to get a little friendly competition and run alongside us. It reminded me of how dolphins follow the boats and play in the wake that the boats create. It continued running alongside us at a further distance for a good amount of time.
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