Saying good bye to the Fall Aspens

Mike and I took the Blue Mule out on one last trip on Oct 3.  Jack and Barbara brought their jeep along as well.  The aspen were great.  It was a beautiful fall day.

Aspen Ridge, Oct 3, 2013

A week later, we drove up to Cottonwood Pass (in the truck) to see the snow and the last of the aspen along South Cottonwood Creek.  It's getting chilly, and winter keeps lashing at the 14'ers.

South Cottonwood Creek, Oct 12, 2013

Cottonwood Pass, Oct 12, 2013
looking into Taylor Park

-- m38MuM

Follow the bouncing... tire, and you might find Aspen Ridge

Today's CFFC Fall Color Tour was the "grand tour" up on Aspen Ridge. You will have to ask Mike about the bouncing tire. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day. The weather was super, with sunshine all the way. The group was glad to be dry and warm for a change.

The "Grand Tour" all lined up

This year, the 19 jeeps reversed the route by heading north to cross over Fisherman's Bridge. From there they headed to Ruby Mountain and Bald Mountain Gulch. Passing the Castle, they wound around the backside of Aspen Ridge and then came out in Bassam Park.

In Bassam Park, they detoured up to Futurity. Futurity is a fun old ghost town with just a few buildings. While there, you have to check out the Futurity Hilton.

Visiting Futurity

Next, the tour headed south through Bassam Park to the spot where you can view a very large stand of aspen. It is actually several clones that frequently turn gold in stages. However, this year, everything was still shades of green.

Viewing GREEN aspen trees

Continuing south, the group drove through the various aspen stands. They did the hill climb for some great photo ops, and then down to the marble quarries. From there they picked up the Ute Trail and dropped down into Salida.

Blue Mule in his element

After a quick wash up and wind down from the day's travel, the entire group headed to Coyote Cantina. It's always a great time, as stories get told and adventures regaled.

Fall Color Tour Dinner at Coyote Cantina

Pictures from m38Mike

-- m38MuM (Ellen)

Sunshine after a rainy week

Yesterday was the first day of the 2013 CFFC Fall Color Tour. Jeepers began arriving at the Thirsty Dirt Ranch amid more torrents of rain.  In between rain showers, tents were erected and jeeps unloaded. The evening was spent huddle around jeeps with talk of transmissions and brake lines and such.

5-man Arctic tent from Korean War

Today was the first ride. A group of six old jeeps headed up Bald Mountain Gulch and east across Aspen Ridge into South Park. From there they headed south and around to Ute Trail, which brought them down to Salida. Luck was with them, and they only encountered one brief area of rain.

Stretch break in a nice open meadow

Meanwhile, the Thirsty Dirt Ranch greeted three more jeeps. By evening, another jeep arrived, bringing the total of jeeps to 10.

More jeep talk and a impromptu sing-along filled the evening. A few problems were solved, and plans were made to get parts to solve other problems. Never a dull moment!

Singing to the Coyotes!

Photos are by m38Mike.

-m38MuM (Ellen)

Are you ready for some... FALL LEAVES!

Next week, by this time, the yard will be starting to fill up. There will be old Willys jeeps, people, tents, campers, and all kinds of things. But, right now it's pretty quiet.

It has been unseasonably warm. The night time temperatures have been in the high 40's. We are hoping it is doing some freezing up high, in order to get the aspen leaves to turn.  The very top of Aspen Ridge looks like it is getting some color.

Jack watching as
Mike maneuvers the engine into place

Mike, Jack, and Don have been working out in the Tajamagarage, on the wiring for Jack and Barbara's Willys. They are hoping it will be ready for the Fall Color Tour.

Mike has lots of fun rides planned. The house and yard are getting into shape. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone for the 2013 CFFC Fall Color Tour!

- m38Mum and m38Mike

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