Heading North

After the rally, we headed up 550 from Silverton and stopped to get a temporary fishing license so Holly and Rosemary could fish in Wyoming on the way back to Montana. We drove through Grand Junction, CO and, at the time, I didn't know that my nephew would be coming here from Germany as an exchange student. I would have checked out the town more.

From I-70 we took the scenic route up 139 through NW Colorado and found a nice place to boondock off a dirt road near Douglas Pass - more BLM land. We kept hearing an animal noise coming from up the hill, but couldn't spot anything with our binoculars. Holly thought it might be a mountain lion calling to her cubs, but we also thought it might be a young elk calling for its mama.

Sportsmobile Rally 2006

Our base camp is at beautiful Molas Lake and there are 100 rigs and about 200 people participating. Fat City Catering out of Moab, UT is providing meals again, but unfortunately Roger is retiring and this is his last gig catering for the rallies.

Lined up at Molas Lake before the trail rides

This year I'm riding with Holly and Rosemary instead of driving my own van on the trails. Some of the drop-offs on these rough, narrow roads are nerve-wracking for the passenger who has to look at the 1,000 foot drop just a couple of feet away from the tires.

Rosemary gets dizzy and nauseated from this kind of scene, so I'm navigating for Holly. I did these trails when I first started traveling in my Sportsmobile, so it's great to be able to enjoy the scenery this time.

A group returning from the Cinnamon Pass tour

Beautiful wildflowers near Cinnamon Pass

Some of the terrain on the Alpine Loop reminded me of the Arctic. A sign indicated that the tundra here is similar to that found in the Arctic. It made me feel nostalgic for my Alaska trip last month.

Silverton, CO

Silverton used to be a big mining town north of Durango. The town has been gussied up for tourists and is a now a favorite destination for 4x4 rides through the beautiful San Juan Mountains.

I drove up to Molas Lake to check out the campground where the Sportsmobile Rally will be held starting tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'm boondocking on BLM land at Mineral Creek. Holly and Rosemary came down from Montana in their SMB and met me here today. We'll camp together at the rally too.