What's up Hab... Check out the build up, she's slowly but surely coming along... Hopefully the warden will let my buy new wheels and tires here in the next couple of month's or so... I don't think she was too thrilled about the 2XXX I spent on the new 5VZ-FE...
Check out the Thread man, there are a few new goodies on there... How is the 96?

 

When r u and the family heading to CA for a cross country jambo? .... Hehe. .. I know.... When am I and others, I get it.... Its a teeeny bit of a drive! Lol. ....

SAS is getting close. ... be the end of the month shell be rolling over tall buildings in a single bound! Lol. ...

Want some avo's? I did a video of just about half of the 90 or so fruit trees and such.... ashamed how I've let it go,.....just been really overwhelmed.... so its mostly getting water and food and thats it! Lol. ... DANG WEEDS! Grrrr!

 

Hey, Hab! 14 days today since your last login makes me thinks you guys are having some fun out CO/UT way......possibly?? Hope all is going swell.

 

I had to run outside, I still have peaches!!! They aren't ripe yet so the chippers didn't get them. I've also got a very promising batch of thornless blackberries ripening! Wish me luck on getting those peaches....
The 96 has another 3 or 4,000-ish miles on it and a report is coming up after I get some sleep.
I'll catch your thread around then, too.
Once you get the tall buildings beat you'll be finding something else to conquer and therefore build for.
I'd LOVE to have the time and dough to drive out your way, so much to see and do. One day....
I hear you on the weeds, got 2 weeks of good wet weather growth to rein in.
(Avocados. Yech!)
BINGO!!! Everything went unbelievably swell! Ready to turn around and head back now.
Just got home about an hour ago to a thriving garden, a decimated tank of cichlids (My 75 gallon. The other tanks are good, thank goodness, and my sister went above and beyond draining the cichlid tank so it only sort of reeked when I got home.) and 3 baby deer in the yard, just outside the garden fence. As mentioned, I will tell more when I catch up on some zzzzz's.


Oh, I heard from Thomas the Tank Engine too! Hopefully she'll (?) join the fun and hang out with us some. More minds = more ideas and different ways of thinking and solving problems- or creating new and more interesting problems!

 

.....the timing was right based on your prior trip threads. Hope the CO fires did not alter plans too much. Sorry about the fish tank fail.

My garden consists of two volunteer tomato plants this year. We have nice and warm today, but tomorrow starts yet another 3 day rain cycle.

 

Did the box moo at all on the long trip?

 

 

Drove all day Friday 6/7 to get to Denver, where we ate at Pantaleone's. Mmmm, pizza.
From there we went to Devil's Head and camped nearby. Hiked it the next morning and went to Casa Bonita for lunch.
Camped at Old Monarch Pass.


Still a bit of snow, We ended up hiking up the Monarch Crest trail and turning around where there was too much snow rather than riding it. Ah well, we knew June could be problematic at higher elevations.


Afterward we drove over Independence Pass. My temp gauge had started showing that the truck was running warm the day before and it was spitting up coolant. Had boiling at the pass. Well, that's a development.
Went on over to Maroon Bells and backpacked up to Crater Lake, not terribly far, but lots of up. Beautiful! The next day we hiked up to around 10,600' and came back down. Really pretty views and we had to hike through some snow in places.

 

Still running hot and spitting coolant, we stopped at Bighorn Toyota in Glenwood Springs and picked up a radiator cap.
Last year I had the same issue and stopped in the same town for a radiator cap but it was late and we managed to pick up a cap at the Auto Zone. I figured I'd replace later with oem but never got around to it. Glad the dealership was open this time. At this point we don't know for a fact it's the cap, it could be the adapter set-up.
Camped in the Flat-tops. In the morning we headed for Moab- breakfast at Moab Diner, hiking at Arches, camping in the La Sals.
No more running hot or over heating!

 

The hubby rode most of the Whole Enchilada while I took the kid to Eklectica for breakfast and Canyonlands- Island in the Sky for fun. After we went to Canyonlands- Needles district and camped near Hamburger Rock just outside the park. The next day we backpacked to Chesler Park in Needles. In the morning we hiked the Joint Trail on the way out. Sweet stuff.

 

We were going to camp in the La Sals again but there was a forest fire so we headed over to Sand Flats. Ah well. Next day I drove Gemini Bridges...
WHAT HAPPENED TO GEMINI BRIDGES ROAD???????
What happened to the ledges and stuff? It was a fun easy enough wheeling encounter but you could almost get a Buick up it now, it's so seriously dumbed down. Massively disappointing!!!!!
FINE! I'm going back to Colorado! Hmph!!!

 

We headed up Imogene but it's still closed (durn it), so camped up in Lizard Head.


Next morning I drove Ophir


over to the Million Dollar highway and down to Mineral Creek.


Where we picked up somebody's gas can. Guess they're gonna/did miss it.

 

Engineer Pass, my favorite switchback there...


And snow!

 

Off to Crested Butte and to make dinner.....
gotta feed the kid, more later.

 

Another excellent trip report in progress, Hab! That's an impressive snow wall on EP! Blue is looking great all loaded up too.

 

Hiked up the 401 trail in Crested Butte- hubby rode it but I didn't want to drag the tandem up over the snow that's still on the trail. Ah, well.
After we were going to head over towards Winter Park via Scholfield pass (open with some snow) and Lead King basin. Met up with a really nice guy and his family in a Rubicon partway into Lead King who let me know there were boulders blocking the trail. So much for that. He asked if I'd like to do a little snow and mud and I said it wasn't my thing but that I was game.
It turned out to be more than a little and we both ended up turning around after some interesting lessons for me. I got tugged out a few times and winched too (yay front hitch....and back hitch). I knew the 4Runner wouldn't make it but we both had recovery stuff and he was willing to unstick me so I went for it. Super nice people, it was a pleasure to meet them and give something new a try. Learned stuff and had fun.






We didn't get anywhere so camped another night in Crested Butte before heading over some very mild passes and ended up and Mosquito Pass. Figured it'd be snowed in and it was. Got part way up and turned around after hiking up to the snow line.
Headed over to camp in Winter Park.

Rode the Tipperary loop on the tandem. That was hard, I am so out of shape!

 

After we camped in the Never Summer Wilderness, then went on to Rocky Mountain NP. We hiked Eugenia Mine at Longs Peak and Gem Lake. Gem Lake was prettiest, not the lake but the hike.
Eugenia



Gem Lake view



AND MOOSE!
big moose



small moose



A tour of New Belgium brewery, sleep at Wilson Lake in KS and home home home.
Can I go back now?

And not a peep out of the moo box. Or a moo, either.

 

sounds like you and the fam had a great trip, im still jealous about your trip last year. I used to camp at Wilson lake when I was a kid. Glad you made it home safe and sound. Sounds like the runner performed great.

 

Great trip shots. Thanks for sharing.

You still on the trip now?

 

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for sharing, sister Hab! Those are just incredible pictures... But more importantly they put me in a place that makes me feel the urgency to get out there! Maybe not there, specifically, but I have had some incredibly cool hikes through the Grand Canyon and dolomite mines and Ice Caves up in the Angeles Crest... I desperately need to get out there and I thank you for the push!

Some recent shots for you, as I know you will appreciate them...











I have many more but I will chill upon your thread! Lol... Sorry