Silverton, CO with the Family
The San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado are absolutely stunning! If you can get up close to them, via old mining trails, they are even more impressive. After a year hiatus, the Lautzenheisers were back to visit this picturesque area. For Scott and Duane, this was their fifth year jeeping along the mountainous trails. For Marcia, it was her fourth. For me, my third. And for Evan, Tyler and Ella…it was their first time!
The family on Corkscrew Gulch Trail
The plan for us was to drive to Moab, UT and meet Duane for a night before driving the rest of the way. With two vehicles (one towing the other) packed full of fun, we made a rather uneventful seven hour drive with a one year old and a dog! I’d call that a success!
Our first day on the trails was spent on Corkscrew Gulch, were we got up close to the Red Mountains and a very frozen Como Lake. The high amount of snow that remained resulted in some impressive sights.
Because of the heavy snowfall (600% more than average) many of the trails had not yet opened for the season, including the well known Black Bear Pass. Although disappointed that we couldn’t do this iconic trail again, it gave us the opportunity to explore new areas on our second day: Ophir Pass and Alta Lakes.
Our third and final day on the trails was with a quick ride up to Arrastra Creek Trail to an old mine and then over Stony Pass up to the Pole River, which crossing was not advised. The greenery was so green and although there weren’t many wildflowers this year, with the late snow melt, it was still gorgeous.
For all the riding in the jeep, Ella and Topo were amazing! Ella was entertained by her cousin Tyler and Topo was entertained by the new smells.
After four days of no jeep breakdowns or children breakdowns, we began what we thought would be a two-day, eleven hour drive home. Again, with a truck full of stuff towing a jeep full of stuff, we headed north on the Million Dollar Highway, taking in the last views of the San Juans. As soon as we reached an area on the highway where we could get up to highway speed, Scott noticed that the jeep was wavering back and forth, pulling on the truck. Unable to go over 60 mph without this happening, we knew we had to figure out what the cause was: we weren’t going to travel the 550 miles home like this.
Scott checked everything he could think of on the tow bar, the hitch, the jeep, and he noticed the tow bar was crooked. We stopped at a Home Depot in Montrose, CO. Scott bought the necessary tools (sockets and wrenches) and we realigned the tow bar. I thought, “Yay! We’re going to get back up to speed, literally!” Back on the road, back at 60 mph, and back to the jeep pulling the truck! Ugh! Okay, so what else could it be? We end up stopping in Grand Junction, CO for a quick lunch and buy a new hitch. This has got to be it, right? Nope! After that failed attempt, we unhitched the jeep from the truck and decided to drive them separately. Although it wasn’t ideal, at least we’d be able to drive fast enough to get to our destination for the night (Junction, UT), right? Wrong! The jeep wasn’t able to go over 60mph without pulling from side to side at all!
In the end, a drive that should have taken seven hours, took 11 hours. Not a huge deal, right? Oh wait, remember, after a long day, I’m driving by myself with a 1 year old in the back who I can’t tend to. I should have taken a picture of the backseat before we got to Junction, UT. Every toy, every object, every food item was tossed back to entertain Ella. Around sunset, we ended up pulling up to our AirBnB, which was absolutely perfect! A single story house with a fenced in yard for Ella and Topo to run around in.
The next morning the thought crossed my mind that I could pack up Ella and Topo and take the truck (going the standard 10mph over the speed limit) the four hours home, while leaving Scott with the dysfunctional jeep and a note that said, “We’ll see you when you get home. Love, Sweetie.” But of course, I would never really do such a thing. And yes, although we had to let semi-truck after semi-truck pass us with our flashers on, we had a wonderful drive back. We took a small detour through Zion National Park with a happy baby, a happy dog, a happy husband, and a very happy wife.