It's still pretty colorful!

We took the Blue Mule out today to enjoy the Colorado sunshine and the fall colors. The storms predicted for this past weekend didn't really materialize, so the leaves are hanging on.

- Ellen

Thanks for the memories!

- Ellen (m38MuM) and Mike (m38Mike)

One last ride... and lots of good byes

The crowd dwindle down to a few hardy souls today. They took one last ride up to St. Elmo. The weather is changing, and the day was cloudy and very windy. Once again, it feels like Fall.

I have no pictures to share for today, but will add any if anyone would like to send some for the ride. It was sad to see the Thirsty Dirt Ranch so empty.

I want to thank everyone so much for all their contributions to making this a great Fall Color Tour!

- Ellen (m38MuM)

Aspen Ridge at last but certainly not least!

The highlight of the CFFC Fall Color Tours is the Saturday Aspen Ridge ride. The group stopped first for some gas at Centerville before heading down Highway 285 towards Salida.

Gassing up!

From the north side of Salida, they headed up past Spiral Mountain and the big Salida "S". The route took them past the old marble quarries. Then the steep climb to the lookout area which has become a tradition and a test for each jeep and driver. This spot has become very special to the Fall Color Tour, as this is where Allen Boyd's family spread his ashes to the Colorado winds.

On 'Boyd's Hill'

The jeep trail winds through aspen and openings with views across the valley until reaching Bassam Park. Here the trail becomes a maintained county road, and the pace picked up a bit until the group reached Futurity. This little ghost town is truly a ghost town, as no one resides there any more.

Futurity

From there the group looped around some hills and aspen stands before reaching The Castles. These rocks can be seen from Highway 24 on the way down from Trout Creek Pass. At The Castles, the group turned west to head around Bald Mountain and into Bald Mountain Gulch. The gulch is a dry, finely graveled creek bed popular with ATVs and dirt bikes. The curving banks are a blast to drive in an old jeep, too!

A Smiling M38Mike

The jeepers were hot and dusty when they arrived back at the Thirsty Dirt Ranch. We put on a great potluck, with Steve's Chili the highlight of the meal. Everyone pitched in and I really am thankful that so many hands made light work of the evening.

The Arkansas River

Today's pictures are compliments of an old high school buddy of m38Mike's--his name is Mike, too!

- Ellen

Rocks and Whoop-t-doo's!

I haven't heard much about the camp out, but they did return... and had fun on the way back down. There are some videos posted at the C2JA Fall Color Tour forum of their adventures down Bald Gulch. Watch for the airborne jeep and for the airborne tire!

Greeting the morning atop Aspen Ridge

After the campers arrived back at the Thirsty Dirt Ranch, the day's Fall Color Tour was organized. They headed out for the Four-Mile area. One of the first treats was travelling on the oldest freight road in the area down into Chubb Park. From there they circled around into the original Four-Mile area.

It's hard to eat lunch when there's so much to talk about.

Nice rocky place to take a break and view the scenery

All lined up at the end of the trail

Other than a flat tire and a plugged fuel line, things went really well. I can't say smooth, as some of the road was a bit rough along the old freight road.

Today's pictures are from m38mike.

- Ellen

Winfield and Vicksburg all dressed up for fall

Looking over my list of families and jeeps, I know we are set for record attendance. We have people from Washington, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Virginia, and Illinois. Sadly, a few had to depart this morning, but in their place came just as many more! The grand total, so far, is 19 jeeps and 35 people!

After a late start (had to get the Blue Mule's throttle cable fixed), the Fall Color Tour for today was up in the Clear Creek area. Two town sites remain from the booming silver and gold days: Vicksburg and Winfield. Vicksburg is privately owned, but the home owners have a mining museum, and allow people to stroll up and down their beautiful, aspen and cottonwood lined street. Winfield is further up the valley, and just a few old buildings remain, including the tiny 1 room school house.

The group is using SPOT today to track their trip. This personal locator device records a spot every 10 minutes using GPS. Here is a clip of the satellite imagery based recording for their stop at Vicksburg.

SPOT satellite imagery with todays "footprints" at Vicksburg

Todays photos are from m38mike and m38mum of the CJ2A forum. Several other members of the forum have posted photos at the Fall Color Tour's CJ2A forum.

Lined up and Ready to Roll at Clear Creek Reservoir

Mainstreet Vicksburg

Look at that gold!

Jeeps grazing at the Thirsty Dirt Ranch

- Ellen (m38mum)

Mike finally gets out of the office!

Today the Fall Color Tour swung through Salida and picked up Mike at his office. They all went for an early lunch at Patio Pancake before heading out on the trail.

The group of 12 jeeps started up Poncha Pass, then turned off at the O'Haver Lake/Marshall Pass road. This road is an old railroad grade. O'Haver Lake is a popular camping and fishing spot.

The Jeeps hanging out at O'Haver Lake

Fishing Platform at O'Haver Lake

Marshall Pass is at 10,000 feet. They checked out the winter cabin up there before taking an alternate route back to the highway. On the way home, the group all stopped for some ice cream in Poncha Springs.

They couldn't resist having ice cream on the way home!

When they got back to Thirsty Dirt, we heard a few tales of troubles, like a broken throttle cable, but otherwise, a very successful ride.

These photos were taken by of JPet of the CJ2A page. More of his photos can be found at the Fall Color Tour's CJ2A forum

- Ellen

Moose on the loose at the pass

Moseying on up South Cottonwood

Yesterday's CFFC Fall Color Tour took the group to South Cottonwood Creek to Cottonwood Lake and the mines beyond. Then the group went up North Cottonwood Creek to Cottonwood Pass.

The weather was wonderful... blue sky all day. Too bad there was a haze from the fires in Washington State that affected the view, but up close and personal, the pictures look like the group had lots of fun.

I heard a few tales of "in-the-field" repairs, but for the most part, everyone ran pretty well, even at 12,000 feet. The combined knowledge base and collection of spare parts among the 11 jeeps did the trick!

Cottonwood Creek

Winding up to the pass

Cottonwood Pass and the Continental Divide

Moose up at Cottonwood Pass

These photos are a few from jpet and ricco79, both contributors to the CJ2A forum. More of their photos can be found at the Fall Color Tour's CJ2A forum.

- Ellen

A little sun, a little rain, a little snow!

Today began the Fall Color Tours. Two tours were planned. Since Mike has to work, other people have stepped up to lead tours.

Brown's Creek

Open Hood = People Magnet

The morning ride took the group over to the San Isabel National Forest, just a few miles from the Thirsty Dirt Ranch. The group visited the Raspberry Gulch and Brown's Creek areas. Towards noon, the skies got cloudy and as the group left the forest, the wind and rain chased them home.

After lunch, the clouds began to part, and there was plenty of fresh snow on the peaks. The sun's appearance encouraged the group as they warmed up by the wood stove. Mid-afternoon they decided to go ahead and visit St. Elmo.

Up at St. Elmo, they got a bit of snow again when a little squall came through. At least it wasn't like the morning storm, and didn't have winds that threatened to turn tents up on end.

Parked up at St. Elmo

The way back home

Photos all compliments of JPet of the CJ2A page. More of his photos can be found at the Fall Color Tour's  CJ2A forum

- Ellen

It's only the first day, and look at all those jeeps!

Today is the official start of the CFFC Fall Color Tour. Already we have a bunch of jeeps. At last count, there were 11! WOW! In addition to Colorado, we have people here from Illinois and Missouri.

I took a couple of pictures for you all to enjoy, just before the sun went down.

Blue Mule with a couple of new friends!

Setting up camp with Aspen Ridge in the background

Looks right at home!

Most of them are headed this evening to our local Drive-In for a good, old fashioned outdoor movie! It's Bite the Bullet.

Edit (10:15pm): When they got to the Drive-In, it was closed due to a death in the family... what a bummer. The group of 7 jeeps worked their way back through Buena Vista, and headed back to the Thirsty Dirt Ranch.

- Ellen

The Fall Colors are calling us...

Jeeping just about anytime is always fun.  It's especially fun in the old jeeps--both those that were military and those that were civilian. I'm talking about good old Flat Fenders from the 1940's and 1950's!

In Colorado here, we have a group called the Colorado Flat Fender Club (CFFC). We try to get out as a group several times a year, but our favorite time has gotten to be the annual Fall Color Tour.

After going a couple of different places, the annual tour has now become a ritual in the upper Arkansas River area. Headquarters for the fall event is the Thirsty Dirt Ranch, as we have plenty of space for people to camp out. Those that aren't into camping find a motel or a B&B.

To get ready for this big event, things get kinda crazy around here. Mike, Steve, and I all pitch into get the house, the deck and patio room, and the garage ready for all the masses and their jeeps.

- Ellen