Mesa Verde and the San Juan National Forest

Picture a thick aspen forest, with the leaves all bright yellow and golden, and the trunks completely white. Now add beautiful snow-capped mountains in the background, with green, brown, gold, and yellow colored treetops all blending together on the slopes. The weather is perfect – clear blue sky and a temperature around 70. Now, to top it all off, imagine you’re riding through this aspen forest looking at all the scenery, and enjoying the perfect weather.

If you can picture all this, you’ll have a basic idea of our trip to southern Colorado’s San Juan National Forest!

But before I tell you all about the ride, let me give you a less dramatic description of this incredible area…

The San Juan National Forest is located just north of Mesa Verde National Park, in the southwest part of Colorado. It’s exactly 1,878,846 acres in size, reaches into 10 different counties, and covers almost 3000 square miles! Roads and trails vary from amazing, to more amazing, to most amazing. Elevation (in the area we rode in near Mancos) ranged from about 7600 feet to almost 10,000 feet.

Nearby towns are Cortez and Mancos – Cortez being the big one with all the stores, and Mancos being the little tourist type town just a few miles down the mountain from the San Juan National Forest.

We ended up deciding to stay at the San Juan Bible Camp, located north of Mancos at the edge of the San Juan National Forest. It was a perfect location – right at a crossroads of forest roads that zigzag all across the landscape, with an maze of trails connecting them. My dad and I also enjoyed helping out the camp manager with cleanup from some logging that was going on. It worked out good on both ends – the manager got help with some stuff that needed to be done, in exchange for a free campsite for us during our stay.

We started small with our rides – only going 15 or 20 minutes away from the camp. Even within that distance we were able to ride to two small lakes, an ancient Indian cliff dwelling, and beautiful spots to see the mountains. At that elevation (7600 feet), though, there aren’t hardly any aspen. The forest roads are mostly lined  with ponderosa pine and some sparse oaks. Once we began venturing farther and farther away, and into higher elevation, the landscape and scenery changed drastically.

On my birthday we went for our first long exploration deep into the National Forest. I felt like a traitor leaving my Honda 250EX behind, but just for the day, I drove everyone around in my parents’ new Kawasaki Mule 4010. After riding for about 30 minutes, we finally got up into the edge of the aspen forests, and it sure was pretty! I think we probably ended up doing more hiking around that day than we did riding. There were three places I pulled over at, and each one seemed more amazing than the last. We rode about 45 minutes one way, not including the almost two hours we spent between the three places we stopped, before turning around and heading back.

The Indian cliff dwelling was somewhere we rode to a couple times, and it was equally as interesting each visit. The only thing really visible from the road is what looks like a small rock wall. After hiking over to look at it, we found the remains of some kind of structure on top of a rock ledge (about 15 feet tall). Further down the rock face there’s a small cave, and that’s where we found the actual “cliff dwelling”. Unlike the ones at Mesa Verde National Park, which we visited twice, this one only looked big enough for one family, and was completely in ruins. Next to the piles of rubble, there are two small drawings on the side of the cave that looked similar to some at Mesa Verde. Of course, alongside them were more recent, less Indian-like, writings such as “ANGELA WAS HERE 1987”, or something like that. We were very careful the whole time not to disturb anything or add our own “artifacts” to the area. All of us should try to help preserve any remote historical site we may find on public land. Just because there isn’t a park ranger looking over our shoulder doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want out there!

Riding about an hour up to around 9000 feet elevation, we finally got into the beautiful forests of aspen trees I was describing at the beginning of this. There were literally areas where the woods were solid white and golden yellow  (the aspen trunks are white and the leaves are yellowish gold in the Fall) – no pine or oak trees at all. At certain places up on the a ridge we could see through the trees and look at the snow-covered San Juan Mountains. Up in this area the road started getting rougher. At a couple spots it was only one lane, and with the sharp corners we had to be careful of other people that might’ve been exploring as well. We stopped at several meadows to hike around and take pictures, but usually didn’t stay long so we could see what was just around the next corner, or just over that next ridge.

Finally we came to the well known Transfer Campground and the Aspen Guard Station, way out in the middle of nowhere. At the Aspen Guard Station were several RVs that apparently the rangers stay in. If I worked for the forest service, this is somewhere I’d definitely want to be stationed at – way up in the mountains, surrounded by big pine and aspen trees, and miles away from the nearest town or paved road!

Something I’m not used to, being from southern Missouri, is all the free-range cattle roaming around the National Forest. In Missouri, it’s not very common to see anything but wildlife out there, while in Colorado I’ve found it’s very common to see big herds of cows on almost every ride. Most of them seem to be used to off-road vehicles, but occasionally there’d be one that apparently didn’t like us riding past. Bears and mountain lions are something to be careful of in this area – both have been seen in or around the camp where we stayed.

Another creature we encountered during our ride were hornets. We found two of their cone shaped nests while on our way through a thick patch of woods on a trail connecting two forest roads.

Once hunting season started, that ended any riding for several days. The San Juan National Forest, at least the part we saw, was full of deer! If you enjoy riding AND hunting at the same time, then this might just be a perfect place for you to come visit.

Once hunting season ended we went for one last ride before it was time to load up and head out. Day by day, Winter seemed to slowly be creeping in, and Fall ending. With one last longing look at the snow-covered mountains, golden aspen trees, and green valleys, we left the camp and headed back east.

Actually, as I’m typing this, we’re driving through miles and miles of flat road, cactus, and scrubby cedar trees – Colorado’s less appealing far eastern part. But, before I’m fully reminded of how much I can’t stand the desert and flat plains, we’ll be back to the forest again, somewhere on the other side of Kansas.

Riding in the Rio Grande National Forest

We were between 10,000-11,000 feet elevation, so the rain was ice cold and the temperature was dropping as the last rays of sunlight were disappearing behind the mountains.

We had already rode about 60 miles in beautiful weather and were only several miles from camp, but apparently nature didn’t want us to get off easy this time! Monsoon season was in full swing, so random showers and thunderstorms could be expected almost every day. Water was coming down so hard and fast that soon the mud puddles filled, then overflowed, and then started running down the trail in little streams.

We were soaked to the bone, I could barely move my fingers, the trail was slippery, and flashes of lightning could be seen occasionally – but, if you can believe it, there’s nowhere else I would’ve rather been!

If you’re ever wandering around the San Juan Valley in southern Colorado with a trailer of off-road vehicles looking for a good place to ride, look no further than South Fork and the Rio Grande National Forest. This little patch of off-road paradise is where we spent almost five weeks this Summer. Now, “little” isn’t really accurate, though, as the Rio Grande National Forest is nearly two-million acres! Forest roads and trails almost cover a NFS map of this area, and nearly all of them are open to OHVs. Theoretically, according to a local, someone could ride from South Fork, CO, all the way down into New Mexico by staying on the almost countless forest roads and trails!

We picked the Ute Bluff Lodge, on Hwy 160 a couple miles out of town, to stay at while we were there. Amenities include a laundromat, hotel rooms, cabins, RV sites with full hookups, a rec. room, hiking trail, and a tipi to go relax in. It also has very close National Forest access on both sides of Hwy 160, the closest is within about a mile. And once you get into the Rio Grande National Forest, you won’t need to worry about having to turn around any time soon – the network of trails and forest roads is MASSIVE, and unlike anything I’ve ever seen! A map is definitely a “must have” item, and can obtained at the visitor center in town.

We kind of stuck to one area during our rides, but expanded the list of new trails we tried almost every time. The trails and roads south of town (which are the ones we stayed on) range from about 8100 feet elevation, to over 11,600 feet! And they go from easy roads that a car could drive on, to tight rocky trails that wind up and down steep slopes, and everything in between.

Starting out near the trailhead, at 8100 feet, in about 30-45 minutes we could be up around 11,200 feet near the base of Del Norte Peak (which is over 12,000 feet at the summit). Up there is a nearly panoramic view of the San Juan Valley, Rio Grande National Forest, South Fork down below, and Great Sand Dunes National Park in the distance.

I found out quickly that the weather can change really fast up there on the mountains, and even more so during the rainy season, which we caught in full force. It might be sunny and 75 degrees when we left for a ride, but then two hours later be raining hard and near 60 degrees. I discovered that wearing layers is a must if you’re going to enjoy riding in the mountains!

While we were there my aunt and uncle from Denver came down to visit again, and my uncle of course brought his Kawasaki KDX250. They only had one full day with us, so the main agenda was a long ride up into the mountains for the day! My uncle and I left after breakfast and headed up a familiar road (345) that I’d already been on several times. The weather was perfect, with the sun shining and the sky just slightly overcast. We stopped at a big beaver dam holding back a creek alongside the road to walk around some and wait for my dad, who had to do a few things back at the camper, to catch up. After he caught up and we kept going, the road (350) took on more “trail-like” characteristics – getting narrower, steeper, and rockier. We finally came up onto the top of the mountains (at about 11,300 feet), and had to stop and decide which way to go next! We ended up riding on a big loop (898, 345, and 350.2 B) all the way around Del Norte Peak, before taking an EXTREMELY rocky trail (898) back down the side of the mountain to Beaver Creek Reservoir, where we rode around and peered down into the ravine on the other side of the dam.

Next, we continued on up the valley, and back up to higher elevation. It was a drastic change of terrain, as we were now riding on a smooth forest road (360) winding its way up the valley. There were lots of tight corners, so going fast is NOT an option, unless you’d like to end up over the edge! We kept going for a long ways before finally veering to the right onto a road (360) that led to Poage Lake. The lake didn’t look more than 10 acres or so in size, but is at the base of a huge cliff face, which can actually be seen from miles and miles away as we found out later.

We then backtracked and got on the “main” road (332.1D) once again, then onto a trail (359), while slowly climbing higher and higher up the side of the mountain, as the trail that we were now on got steeper and steeper. Free-range cattle watched us intently as we rode by, trying to dodge the little “cow patties” they had left for us. My dad, who has a lead thumb and can’t keep his Suzuki LTZ-400 lower than fourth gear, had a very hard time dodging the “cow patties” going as fast as he was, and ended up having to wash it all off his fenders later!

At last, we crested the top of the mountain, at 11,630 feet, and stopped to take a look around. There was an almost 360 degree view of the landscape around us – looking west back down into the valley where Beaver Creek Reservoir is, looking south across into the mountains where Poage Lake is, back north over towards Del Norte Peak, and east across the mountain tops that we were level with into unexplored territory (at least by us). The view was stunning, and we took 10 or 15 minutes to really soak it all in and get plenty of pictures. Then, the lightning striking the mountains east of us caught our attention, and we figured it was time to head back down into the valley.

As we began our descent (on 350), we were also riding right into a rainstorm! But we knew it could last for hours, and besides, the campground was only about a 30 minute ride away if. This is what I was describing at the very beginning of this article – we were quickly drenched with cold rain, the trail became slippery, and it started getting cold (something I, unfortunately, was not dressed properly for). We kept pressing on, but taking it slow to avoid losing traction and sliding off the trail. My uncle had to be especially careful, with only having two wheels under him instead of four!

I had already quit trying to stay out of the mud a LONG time before this, so by now I was almost totally covered in a layer of dirt and mud, along with my Honda 250EX as well. Several times the puddles were deeper than I thought, and mud splashed all the way up over the top of my head, which also helped complete the head-to-toe mud bath I got.  I had to take off my goggles not long after it started raining, because I could barely see through the mud and water that continued to splash all over them. Maybe this sounds miserable, but for us it was a blast, and we never even thought about turning back!

At last, we got down off of the mountain, and back to the trailhead. By then the rain had stopped, although we were still soaked. We got back to the camper, my uncle went back to his hotel room (on the camp), and it didn’t take long for us all to get cleaned up and in some dry clothes! Thankfully, my mom and aunt had a spaghetti dinner waiting for us, and between bites we told them about our adventure up on the mountains and unveiled some of the beautiful pictures we’d taken.

Although we didn’t keep track the entire way, a pretty accurate figure is that we rode between 60 and 70 miles that day! I think it’s the most any of us have ridden at one time, and it was one of the most fun rides I’ve ever done.

I have dozens of other stories I could tell, about all the dozens of other rides we went on during our nearly six week stay in South Fork, but this was one of the highlights and definitely the biggest ride we did!

If you ever get the opportunity, please visit South Fork and go riding in the Rio Grande National Forest. You won’t be disappointed…

If you have any questions about riding in the South Fork area, please leave a comment and I’ll answer as best I can. After riding at least every couple days for the month that we were there, I got the know the trails pretty well!

Or if you’ve ever been there, leave a comment and let me know what you thought of it and your experience riding in the Rio Grande National Forest.

South Fork's Trail Trouble

I was nervous as we drove up to the community center. I’d never been to a town meeting – much less one like this. We went and sat at the back, and I got my notepad and pen ready to jot down any important information that I was sure to find out. At the table in the front of the room sat several police officers, someone representing the national forest, and a couple others not in uniform that I never identified for sure. I was expecting to encounter angry raised voices, people throwing accusations back and forth, and generally an unpleasant atmosphere. Instead, I quickly noticed all the smiling faces, respectful comments, and even occasional laughter from everyone! This wasn’t the conflict I had imagined, but rather what seemed like a group of friends discussing an important town issue – ATV rights.

South Fork, CO, is a beautiful town nestled in the San Juan Valley about 45 minutes west of Great Sand Dunes National Park on Hwy 160. It’s kind of a gateway into the Rocky Mountains, and somewhere my whole family’s really enjoyed the past few weeks. Looking at a map, something you’ll probably notice first is that it’s completely surrounded by thousands and thousands of acres of national forest, with an immense amount of forest roads and trails! Since we bring our ATVs everywhere with us, it was easy to decide that this was where we wanted to come.

We chose the Ute Bluff Lodge located a couple miles east of South Fork on Hwy 160. It has a campground, cabins, hotel, hot tubs, rec room, laundry room, a big tipi to sit in, and a hiking trail that goes up onto the bluff. One of the main reasons we chose it, though, was because there is a trail leading out of the camp that goes into the national forest. Instead of having to load and unload all our ATVs on the trailer, we could just jump on and ride right out of the campground! People would even ride into town to the grocery store and gas station, on a little trail that runs along Hwy 160. But this privilege that riders have in South Fork is what’s at stake right now.

People have ridden along the road to get to the national forest for at least 20-25 years, according to a local resident, without any major problems. All this changed recently when a weird case was brought to the police department. A man had been riding on this trail along the road when he suddenly ran into a cable strung across the trail, and was thrown from his dirt bike. He was not seriously injured, and was actually at the meeting we attended. Initially, the police suspected an angry citizen had put this cable up, and an investigation began. Not long after, it was discovered that this cable was actually one that was being worked on, and was in fact part of South Fork’s utilities. But because of this incident, the right to ride on this trail, and the safety of it, began to be questioned.

This is why the meeting was organized – to discuss the legal issues of riding along this trail. Captain George Dingfelder, of the Colorado State Patrol, explained how it’s currently illegal to ride on the trail because it conflicts with two “right-of-ways” – the railroad and state highway. The trail runs down in a ditch between the railroad and Hwy 160, and it’s necessary to cross the highway a couple times to get to the national forest from where we are. The officers said that it’s not illegal to cross the highway, but it is to ride in its right-of-way. They explained that the State Hwy Dept. is actually liable for any accidents that happen in the right-of-way – including ones involving ATVs.

It was pointed out by several of the board that the only way for anyone to continue riding directly from their resident (including campgrounds) that do not directly access the national forest is to:

1-      Get permission from the county to ride on county roads.

2-      Get permission from the railway to ride in the railroad right-of-way.

3-      Make a new trail that does not enter the Hwy 160 right-of-way.

Another town meeting is organized for September 8^th to discuss these options, and try to get permission from the necessary people.

I found that every citizen in the meeting was supportive of riding, and even everyone on the board expressed willingness to help where they could to reroute the trail or get permission from the county and railroad. The sheriff even said that if he could, he would get ATVs for his deputies to ride while on patrol!

Several of the citizens at the meeting were business owners, and talked about how much the off-road industry helps their businesses, and South Fork’s economy. An interesting point brought up was that many riders from New Mexico are coming up to South Fork, and Colorado in general, to ride now that some of their public riding areas down there are being closed. One local garage owner (the same man who got “clothes lined” by the cable) stated that approximately 95% of his business this Summer has been from ATVs, and if this issue isn’t resolved he’ll likely have to close down.

The meeting ended and everyone kind of mingled and discussed the meeting and what needed to be done next. Everyone seemed sure that some kind of compromise could be worked out with the city, county, and railroad. One of the officers said that there was probably enough support just in that room to get something worked out!

Obviously, what’s going on in South Fork is not an isolated event. Meetings are being held and issues like this addressed all across America! Every single person makes a difference. Don’t leave it up to someone else to make a difference – if everyone has this mindset, it’ll never get done. If you’re not doing it for yourself, do it for all the other riders out there. Do it for future generations that will thank you for helping secure their off-road freedoms!

If possible, though, don’t go solo. Get together with other riders in your area, and work to make your community more off-road friendly. A quick online search of “ATV trail clubs” brought up over 16,000,000 results! Even if only 1% of the results are actually the kind of off-road group you’re looking for, that means you should still have about 160,000 results to check out.

South Fork is a good example to other towns going through something similar. Get together, talk about the issues, be friendly, and work together to find a solution.

The Rainbow Falls OHV Area (Part 2)

Several weeks ago my family and I went to the Rainbow Falls OHV Area. The variety of trails, beautiful view of Pikes Peak, and close proximity to our campground near Colorado Springs, made us want to come back for more – which is exactly what we did!

If you read my last post, you probably noticed that I put down what trail numbers we rode on and in what order. Well, there isn’t going to be much (if any) of that in this one, because on our second and third trips out there we didn’t keep track of where we were as good as we did the first time since we were more familiar with the trails. Although we did still reference the map, most all of the trails lead back to the staging area, so it’s very difficult to get lost!

Here’s a recap of our rides…

RIDE #2:

My grandma from Florida came up for 10 days to visit, and going riding was on the itinerary from the day she got there. Now my grandma would definitely be classified as a beginner as she has almost no experience on ATVs, and to my knowledge had never been on an actual trail. Although I was hoping for the best, I thought maybe some good video would be in store (ha ha), so I strapped on our handy GoPro Hero helmet camera. From the moment we left the trailer and started off on a trail, I was surprised - she was keeping up with my dad on his Suzuki  LTZ400! Of course, once he got out of second or third gear, my grandma was left in the dust (which wasn’t as bad that day as it was on our previous ride). Because I was behind her on my Honda 250EX, I got to critique her riding. Speed, she had – handling our heavy Yamaha Kodiak 400 while navigating big rocks and ruts, not so much. Luckily, the suspension is soft and the big ITP Mud Lite tires are tough!

Speaking of tires… I need new ones (rear at least). I found that worn out tires don’t work too good on steep hills with slick gravel! Fortunately, my 250EX still pulled its way up every hill thrown at us, even if the tires were spinning the whole way.

We took her on our favorite trails, climbing through thick ponderosa pine and spruce up to about 9100 feet elevation. I could tell she really enjoyed it, and it’s always a thrill getting to ride with someone who never or seldom has before. At one point, we stopped for about 20 minutes to climb up some massive house-sized boulders, where we got a stunning view above the tree tops of Pikes Peak and the mountains around it. Hiking around a bunch of boulders at about 9000 feet was tough, especially since we were still not even totally acclimated to the 6500 foot elevation where our camper was. My grandma had it even worse, having just come from almost sea level down in Florida. Once we got back on the trails, we went back and ate lunch – surprisingly finding some friends of ours waiting for us at the trailer!

In all, we rode for five or six hours before loading everything back up and heading home.

RIDE #3:

My dad and I have been trying to plan a ride with my uncle from Denver for probably 10 years, so with us being so close it was a perfect time to finally do it! He came down and met us at the campground with his Kawasaki KX250, and then followed us to the Rainbow Falls OHV Area. The trails and staging area were pleasantly less crowded than we had seen them before.

I haven’t ridden with dirt bikes very often, and although I know there’s sometimes rivalry, we all pretty much enjoy the same basic sport – just doing it in different ways. It was interesting to see what parts of the trails he navigated more easily on his dirt bike, and which ones I did on my Honda 250EX. I found that he had a harder time with ruts and steep hills, while I had a harder time with roots and rocks!

We rode on a few trails that we’d already been on, and tried out some new ones. At one point we met two guys in a dune buggy seeing if they could figure out a way to fit their machine down a tight little trail that we had just come out of. I doubt they made it, but then again, these guys seemed determined.

We turned onto what we thought was a pretty trail that we had been on during our last ride. Instead, it turned out to be the biggest challenge of all three trips out there! The trail connected two main trails – one on the ridge of a hill, and the other below in the valley. This little connecting trail went almost straight up the side of the hill, with no corners or switchbacks. We climbed up the hill as it got steeper and the gravel got looser, until finally we came to the finale. The other smooth trail at the top of the hill was only a few hundred feet away, but separating us from it was a very steep hill with a deep rut down the center and loose gravel all over it! My dad took a little side trail that I didn’t see and made it to the top. I struggled to keep from tipping over into the rut, but finally made it also. My uncle came next, but the loose gravel kept pulling his dirt bike down into the deep rut – but at last he made it up, too. We paused at the top to check out the hill we had just climbed and watched as another guy rode up it and stopped at the top next to us. After talking about what a rough trail that was, we continued on down the main trail that might as well have been a paved boulevard compared to what we’d just come off of.

The trail got rockier and scenery changed as we dropped back down towards the staging area. Pikes Peak is visible from most places down in the valley and although it’s drier compared to about 1500 feet higher, there’s still a small river, wetland, and green grass. We then went to some trails we hadn’t been on – located near the entrance to the riding area. These are confined to the valley, because there’s a road on one side and a creek on the other. If you’re up for a change from the tight rocky trails up on the mountain, this is the place to go. Much of the valley burned recently, so there’s a gate with a sign warning of falling trees and other post burn hazards. Most of the trails are fairly flat with sparse trees scattered here and there. This was a perfect place for all three of us to  give our machines full-throttle and explore the handful of trails in record time! My dad on his LTZ400 and uncle on his KX250 kept a slim lead on me with my 250EX, but even my uncle commented later about how he didn’t expect my Honda to be as fast as it is. It’ll do between 40-50mph, which is plenty fast for me – especially on the rough trails that we usually ride on.

Once again, time got the best of us!  Before we knew it, the sun was setting and it was once again time to load up and head home.

Between my last two blog posts, I hope I’ve given you a sense of how much fun the Rainbow Falls OHV Area is. If you’re in the Colorado Springs area, it’s definitely somewhere worth checking out. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg for riding here in Colorado! Thousands upon thousands more miles of trails and forest roads are out there to be explored.

Note from Cody:

Check back often – I’m already in a new area of Colorado right now, riding some incredible alpine trails high up in the mountains! I’ll be writing about it soon…

The Rainbow Falls OHV Area (Part 1)

The state of Colorado is almost synonymous with the word mountains. Stretching across about 40% of the state, the Rockies provide most of its beauty, culture, landmarks, and recreation. Colorado has over 1000 peaks that break 10,000 feet, and on top of that (no pun intended) 54 mountains over 14,000 feet – giving it the highest concentration of peaks that height in the Rocky Mountains!

I’d never even been to Colorado until a few weeks ago when I went with my family to Manitou Springs, located just outside Colorado Springs. After a long tiring journey across the desert in the eastern part of the state, we finally arrived at the Crystal Kangaroo Campground. Nestled up on the side of a mountain at about 6500 feet, the campground provides a great view of the mountains and Colorado Springs almost 1000 feet below. I knew there wasn’t even a decision to make about whether we would be going riding or not, so as soon as we arrived I began looking at different trail systems around us. It didn’t take long to realize that there’s no shortage of ATV trails in Colorado. If fact, there were so many that it was hard to choose which one would be best!

Something I highly recommend getting is Chuck Wells’ book, the Guide To Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails. It has descriptions of the trails and roads, along with pictures, directions, elevation, and other need-to-know information about riding areas across Colorado. Even though it also includes many roads that are not legal for ATVs to ride on, we still used it to go for an afternoon drive up in the mountains and to help navigate the backroads leading to the riding areas.

The only thing required to ride ATVs or UTVs in Colorado is a little OHV sticker, which currently costs $25 dollars. We got ours at Apex Powersports, located in Colorado Springs. They also have a large selection of gear, parts, accessories, ATVs, UTVs, dirt bikes, motorcycles, and even an occasional trials bike! After looking around in there for a while, it seems like I need about $20,000 to get everything I want (although five grand would be plenty for now)…

A few days later we went without our ATVs to go check out the trails surrounding Almagre Mountain west of Colorado Springs. That turned out to be an adventure of its own! We had to drive for about 12 miles on a tight winding dirt road, averaging about 10-15 miles per hour. And about half way there a storm rolled in, with lightning striking the tops of the ridges around us. Thankfully, it stopped raining when we got to the trails just long enough that we could get out and see what they looked like. The trails start at about 10,000 feet and climbs up over 12,000, so it’s a good idea to be acclimated, which we weren’t! After a few minutes walking around, we headed back down the mountain to the campground, and decided it might be better to ride somewhere more easily accessible. Don’t get me wrong, it looked really great up there – but it’d probably be a good place to go camp for a few days, instead of having to drive all the way up there for just a day of riding.

Next we looked into, and finally decided on, the Rainbow Falls OHV Area. Located just off of Hwy 67 about 10 miles north of Woodland Park, it was a little bit farther drive for us, but well worth the trip! The staging area is at about 7500 feet elevation, which didn’t really cause much of a power decrease in my Honda 250EX (although it was more noticeable as we climbed up the mountains). The official parking area seemed pretty busy, so we kept going past it and parked in one of the many little dry-camping areas along Rainbow Falls Road.

Once the ATVs were unloaded, my dad and I geared up and hit the trails! According to our BLM map, most of the “trails” are actually considered to be roads – but many of them are too narrow for anything larger than a UTV. We rode up trail 350A and onto 350B, where we had a beautiful view of Pikes Peak and the valley below. There was also a huge boulder stuck into the side of a hill that the trail goes over, which was a great place to get some video on our GoPro helmet camera. At one point I accidentally turned the camera on the setting that makes it take several pictures every time you press the button. So, later when we looked at the pictures, there were 10 or 15 that I didn’t even know I took!

 After stopping for some more pictures, we rode back down and ate PB&J sandwiches – not the best meal I’ve ever had while riding, but at least it was quick.

We then headed up toward the northern end of the riding area on 348, which continues all the way to the well known Rampart Range Road, before we turned off on 634 and then the tight and winding 631. This trail is definitely for ATVs only, as there were many places that were a squeeze even for my 250EX! Large car-sized boulders littered the hillside along the trails, with lots of pine trees in between. I only got stuck once our entire ride, and it was about half way down this trail on a few large rocks. Once I did some shifting, of the gears and my weight, I got out with ease and kept going after inspecting my tires for any damage.

At one point on 631, we climbed to about 9100 feet, which was the highest during our ride there. Even at this elevation our ATVs, neither of which are fuel-injected, didn’t seem to be affected too much – although I could definitely feel a loss in low-end power on hills.

We continued onto trail 351, which was fairly smooth and followed Fern Creek back down the mountain. This was one of my favorite trails, and there were a few small creek crossings that also added to the fun! This was one of the prettiest parts of our ride, and was quite a contrast to the fairly rough trail we had just come off of.

I realized during our trip out there that most of the trails that go up onto the mountains are rough, and then once up on the mountains, the trails get easier and less rocky. Although some of the trails are moderately difficult and require skill, the majority of the trails are easy enough that a beginner could ride on them without too much effort.

We ended up riding for about five hours, and then decided it was time to load up and head home. For some reason, packing up our gear and loading the ATVs back on the trailer always seem to be more tedious than when we arrived. I guess it’s because there’s usually no one who’s excited to leave, while it’s the opposite when we arrive!

Overall, it was a great afternoon of riding, and Rainbow Falls OHV Area is definitely somewhere I highly recommend visiting if you’re ever in the area! Check back again soon – we’re going to be riding several places in Colorado, so watch for more posts and pictures!

Note: Be sure to bring plenty of water while riding – the high elevation and dry air will leave you dehydrated before you’ll realize you’re even thirsty. I found out from experience and ended up with a bad headache.

Also be extremely careful and keep your speed under control. Many of the trails and roads are tight or one-lane, with lots of corners. And people that do not ride also come camp along the trails and roads. So, please be respectful of others!

Camping at Navarro Mills Lake

Next we moved to a Corp of Engineers campground on Navarro Mills Lake, located between Waco and Corsicana, Texas. The lake itself is about 5000 acres and only reaches a depth of 49 feet at its deepest point. There’s good white bass, crappie, and channel catfish fishing, and this seemed to be the main attraction at the lake. In fact, a new Navarro Mills Lake catfish record was made a week before we got there, of nearly 70 pounds!

The campground is spread out along a big part of the southern shore and has a marina, store, playground, and lots of big shady campsites. Although it’d be a shorter walk to the lake from some of the other sites, we preferred one up near the woods with big oak trees all around it – and it was still well within walking distance of the lake. Our paved site was fairly level with a concrete picnic table under a large covered shelter, and was also totally shaded.

The kayaking was great, and we went a few times during our stay! We just carried them down to the closest cove to our site, although there are a couple boat ramps available. Towards the west end of the lake there are several large trees still standing in the water, which were fun to kayak around. The big peninsula that the marina sits on really blocks some of the winds and waves, and helps keep the water calm on the east side of it. Although, personally, I enjoyed kayaking in the waves!



Along the lake there were HUGE fields of blue
bonnets! They were plenty deep enough for
Tytus to sit down and be completely hidden... 



We also had fun doing a lot of bike riding around the camp. There are lots of little roads that wind through and around the campground, marina, and dam. Near the dam, there’s a really cool rock ledge along the lake that we rode to a few times. It’s probably about 10 feet tall, but one day when the wind picked up, the waves were crashing into the ledge so hard that they were splashing up over the top and getting us wet!

The playground was on the other end of the camp, but well within bike riding distance, so we also rode there several times and let the kids play.

We had a great time at the Navarro Mills Reservoir, and it’s definitely somewhere I’d recommend to anyone going to that area!

Dublin Dr. Pepper and Camping at Proctor Lake

After leaving San Angelo we headed west, on to a Corp of Engineers campground nestled in the trees along Proctor Lake, near Dublin, Texas. It seems everywhere we go is amazing and unique – but this place was especially so! From the moment we got there, we knew it was going to be perfect. The campground is spread out along the east shore of the lake, and most of the sites are near to being right on the water. Our site was asphalt and almost level, along with being wide and having a nice picnic pavilion all our own.


The kayaking was wonderful, because we could just walk down the bank and start paddling! We went out on several trips around the lake, and down to the playground, as well as just playing around in the cove. One windy evening, I decided to break out our big beach umbrella to use as a kayak sail. I’ve done it once before, at the beach in Florida – but that was with a steady wind. This wind would die down for several minutes, and then gust suddenly. At first, the wind almost pulled me over into the water! I had to practice holding it different ways, but by the time I was done I was convinced that a paddle is still the way to go.



Dad, Uncle Larry, Aunt Judy, and I sitting at our campsite
overlooking Proctor Lake.

 My aunt and uncle live near the campground, so it was great getting to see them! They came over for dinner a couple times, and we went to their house for dinner and a birthday party for my aunt. My uncle showed us his big deer racks, and told stories of the wild hogs that live around there. It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to seeing them again when we go back there!

Near Proctor Lake is a little town named Dublin – named after the capitol of Ireland. And this town doesn’t just have an Irish name - many of the stores are “Irish”, along with the road names, decorations around town, and their events during the year. We happened to be there during the big St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and this was the perfect place to celebrate it. The whole town was lined up along the roads or out on the street participating in a HUGE parade that lasted for 30+ minutes. There were lots of tractors, old trucks, horses, and ATVs in the parade, and plenty of candy for the kids to pick up!



Here are some Texan "Irishmen" competing in the Highland
Games during the Saint Patrick's Day celebration.
Here they're during rock hurling...

 There are two free museums in Dublin – a rodeo museum, and a Dublin historical museum. Both had very friendly people working in them, who took the time to walk around with us and tell us things that the little signs never would’ve. We ended up going to each of the museums twice, because we all enjoyed them so much!

Probably the most famous landmark around is the Dublin Dr. Pepper factory, right in the middle of town. They are the only company that still makes Dr. Pepper from the original formula, and there sure is a difference. I don’t even like soda, but this stuff was really good! After we paid a small fee, we were given a very interesting tour of the Dr. Pepper plant.

Here are hundreds of old Dr. Pepper bottles that have been
refilled by the factory in Dublin.

The main feature of the factory is the huge machine right in the middle that cleans the bottles, fills them with Dr. Pepper, and sends them into another room to be inspected and packaged up for sale. Once the factory part of the tour was done, we went into the little Dr. Pepper museum, which gives a history of its founder (who drank seven Dr. Peppers per day), and has lots of old advertisements and bottles from Dr. Pepper’s early days. In the museum we found out who Dr. Pepper is actually named after! His name was Dr. Pepper, and he was going to be the future father-in-law of the man who invented the soda. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out with that girl or her father, but he had already gone too far to change the name of it. So, Dr. Pepper soda is named after the man that wouldn’t let the inventor of it marry his daughter. Talk about awkward! And the real Pepper family has no rights whatsoever to the Dr. Pepper company...

Check back soon – we’re on the road heading east!

ATVing, Kayaking, and Ghost Towns In San Angelo

Located in west-central Texas, San Angelo is the next place we parked our home for a while. It had been about 18 years since any of us had been there, and we all looked forward to seeing the town where so many stories we’ve heard had taken place!

Mom and Dad decided to stay at the Spring Creek Marina campground, which ended up being a great place to camp for a month. The sites were nice and level – a relief for Dad and I, who have to level the camper ourselves if our site is not. We were within a couple hundred feet of the lake’s edge – and could just grab the kayaks, walk over, and go. Where the campground is, the lake narrows down into about the width of a river and boats are restricted to idling only, so this was great for kayaking.

My Great Great Aunt Fran, Great Great Uncle Jack, and Great Grandmother Martha were all there during our stay – so obviously we were around a lot of “great” people! It’d been 9 years since we’d seen my aunt or uncle, and 2 years since we’d seen my grandma at her house in Florida…

While we were there I found out about the Twin Buttes Off-Road Area. Of course, it didn’t take Mom, Dad, and I long to get a day planned to go out there, and the next Saturday that’s exactly where we went! We all had a blast out there, and it turned out to be a great riding area. You can read ALL about our day there on ATV Magazine’s blog by clicking HERE. I also compiled some of the video and pictures we took into a 5 ½ minute short-film that’s on ATV Magazine’s website. There’s some awesome footage in it from the ground, and from our new GoPro Hero helmet camera – so check it out by clicking HERE! (I’ve been writing for ATVMagBlog for over a year, so check out some of my articles while you’re there, along with all the awesome articles posted by ATV Magazine’s other bloggers.)

One day we decided to drive out to the old towns where my grandparents grew up – Texon and Santa Rita. They’ve been deserted for a long time, and it’s amazing to see that where thousands of people once lived with their stores, houses, and roads it’s now almost completely grown over. Surprisingly, though, there is still a lot of small debris left out there for the exploring types like us to go find. I personally found an old toy gun, a model airplane, a Coco-Cola bottle, a Pepsi Bottle, and some pieces of porcelain. My grandma came with us and showed us where their house used to be, and took us up to the foundation of their old swimming pool. Then we drove over to the only building still standing in either ghost town – the Boy Scout’s cabin. My grandpa actually helped build it when he was in Scouts as a boy, which made it all the more amazing to see!

We went kayaking several times during out stay, and had a blast every time! The river doesn’t really seem like it has any current (because we were right where it dumps into the lake), so it’s definitely not the place for an extreme whitewater rafter or anything. (ha ha) But for us, it was perfect – the little kids could fish off the shore while some of us kayaked around the bay.

We had lots more fun and adventures in San Angelo, but once again, time and space has limited me. Check back again soon – more fun is waiting just down the road!


I highly recommend the GoPro HD Hero for anyone who enjoys hiking, camping, biking, off-roading, boating, or almost any other outdoor activity! It takes great quality video and pictures, while being simple and easy to use out in the wild. And there are plenty of different mounts to choose from for your helmet, handlebars, car dashboard, etc.! This camera makes it easy to capture and share those awesome moments with friends and family, or to review the adventure yourself later - whether scuba diving, rally racing, ATVing, skateboarding, skiing, flying, skating, or whatever you love to do!

Waxahachie, American Girl, and Our Frozen Sewage

Waxahachie (wax-uh-hatch-ee), located south of Dallas a couple hours, was our next stop. Since we joined the Mission America Placement System, or MAPS, lots of other volunteers have told us that we just had to visit the Lake View Assembly of God retreat center in Waxahachie! And at last, we found out why they recommended it so highly. The center covers hundreds of acres and has a hotel, indoor pool, gym, exercise center, cafeteria, RV park, game room, playground, water park, cabins, and it’s own private lake. Unfortunately, while we were there it snowed, so obviously we weren’t able to use the lake or water park.


I was pleasantly surprised to see some good friends of ours that we met last Winter while building a church in Phoenix, AZ - Boyd and Diane. I spent five months hanging drywall with Mr. Boyd, so him and I talked a lot about where we’d both been in the year since I’d left the project at Phoenix.

The first couple days that we were there the weather was perfect – in the 70s and sunny, so we took the opportunity to walk around the camp and have a picnic by the lake. The kids really enjoyed playing on the playground a lot, also. Now this isn’t your typical city park playground – this monster looks like they pulled it right out of Chuck E. Cheese or something! (ha ha) Dad attempted climbing through the tunnels with the kids, but with his hurt knee (see Adventures at the Lee’s Ranch) he had a hard time squeezing his way through to keep up with Josephine.



Josephine and Tytus had fun watching us
play racquetball! Dad, being... well Dad,
kept throwing the ball against the window
to make them jump - but they kept watching
anyways.

 Well, after the first couple days were over it went right back to some nasty Winter weather. As in, 30 mph winds, six inches of snow, and thick ice that caused the interstates around Dallas and Fort Worth to close down. We were pretty much snowed in! The good part of it was that we were snowed in at a place with a huge indoor gym, exercise center, and swimming pools. We had a blast, and went over there almost every day! I learned how to play racquetball (a sport I never even knew existed before), and figured out how to use some of the strange, torturous, weight-lifting equipment that littered the second floor.

Through snow and rain, sunshine and darkness, freezing cold and blistering heat – the sewage will be dumped! That’s like the motto for dumping our black tank around here, because that’s what I have to do. And I have actually dumped it in all those conditions, because… well, somebody has to do it! This time was no different. The sewage tank and valves were frozen (our “heated tank” system didn’t get “heated” enough), but with a good ol’ hair dryer and some persistence, I finally got it to drain. Funny thing is, for some reason I didn’t dress real warm to do it even though the 30+ mph winds were making the wind chill near 0 degrees! I had shorts and a t-shirt on, because we’d been over at the gym, so I just slipped a big Winter suit on over it all. Unfortunately, the neck and legs on it didn’t seal at all, so when I laid down under the camper I could actually feel the wind blowing up my pant legs, though the suit, and out my sleeves or neck. Every once in a while, just so I wouldn’t completely freeze to death, I would blow the hair dryer down my suit to make it warm for a minute or two. (ha ha) I hope I never have to do something like that again, but if I have to I will, because “through snow and rain, sunshine and darkness, freezing cold and blistering heat – the sewage will be dumped”…



Here's me posing with my favorite American Girl.
(just kidding!)

 On Super Bowl weekend we went to Dallas! Now, if you’re not going to see the game, wouldn’t that be the last place you’d want to be that weekend? Yeah, we were on our way to the American Girl store right downtown, and figured the traffic would be horrible and the stores packed. I have to admit, I was totally wrong. The interstate going into the city only had some straggling cars here and there, and the store was almost empty. Of course, it made sense! Everyone was either at the game or at home watching it. So don’t listen to any lies about not going to Dallas during the Super Bowl because it’ll be packed and busy – what a load of malarkey. Anyways, Naomi and Josephine had a lot of fun at the store and we all had fun walking around with them. They each picked out a new doll, and Naomi had been saving her money for months to go there so she ended up having about $140 of extra money to spend! Of course, at the AG store that amount of money will go fast. I personally think even Hanna had almost as much fun as Naomi and Josephine! She had always wanted to go to one of the American Girl stores (which are actually more like a mall) when she was their age, but the closest one was a long ways away. After a few hours they had combed the store from one end to the other and it was time to head back and open it all!



This is part of the big water park at the retreat center that
I want to go back to when it warms up some!

 The weekend we left, MAPS had a convention, and a lot more volunteers showed up a couple days before it started to attend. It was great getting to see Mr. Jerry Bell, the director, and several others who we hadn’t seen in over a year. We all played games, had an awesome church service, and got to hear The Harvesters (a quartet). It really was a good way to end our time in Waxahachie, because the next morning we headed back out on the open road.

Check back soon – new adventures await in San Angelo!

Adventures at the Lee's Ranch



This guy didn't fare so well at the Cowtown Coliseum.
The bullfighters are always right in there helping get the
cowboy out of harm's way and distracting the bull so the
rider can get to the fence after his ride.

 Mike Lee. If any of you reading this are bull riding fans, then you probably recognize this name immediately as belonging to the 2004 World Champion who is still one of the top bull riders in the PBR. Mike’s been a friend of ours for about a year and a half now. When we went to the PBR event in Springfield, MO, Mom told him we were coming down to Texas after Missouri. Mike kindly invited us to come stay at his family's ranch in the Fort Worth area when we did.


So, after driving about nine hours and making one overnight stop, we finally made it! Mr. Dennis Lee, Mike’s dad, came out to meet us at the gate, and after shaking hands we followed him down the long winding driveway to their RV hookups. I could tell this was going to be great, and we hadn’t even parked yet! Mr. Lee and Mike helped us get the camper set up and then we talked for a while and walked around the horse corrals. All the horses that they have are being trained as cutting horses (horses used for separating herds of cattle). It was amazing getting to watch them train the horses in their big arena with a thick sandy bottom.



Here's Mr. Lee getting one of their horses saddled up to
go train in the arena.

 We went with Mike to the New Year’s Eve PBR event at the Cowtown Coliseum that weekend in Fort Worth. It was a lot of fun and it was amazing learning some of the long rodeo history of the Coliseum. That week I mainly helped do chores around the ranch which included: feeding the beef cattle about 2 ½ tons of grain mix every couple days, giving hay to all the horses a couple times per day, moving hay bales around with the skid-steer, saddling and unsaddling horses, and cleaning stalls while the horses were being trained.

Whenever the cattle ran out of feed we would hook up the trailer to the tractor and pull it up alongside the feed troughs. After we filled the ones next to the trailer I would run up and drive the tractor and trailer back to the next empty ones. I thought that I’d figured out the quickest way, and would run along the top of the trough to get up to the tractor. I kept thinking, “Boy, if I trip, this is going to be ugly.” Well, guess what happened when Mike and I were unloading the trailer one time; I tripped! Luckily, it was at the very end of the trough so I didn’t hit my head. Instead, I fell off and landed face-first into the cow poop/mud mixture. Right after that Mike slipped and hit his face on the shovel handle. We were just having it rough that day, I guess! (ha ha)


Here's me plowing near the horse corrals.  I have the
arms up high like that so on corners I can get closeer
to the fence before turning.

 The next week Mike and Mr. Lee showed me how to start plowing the fields to prepare them for planting later this Spring. I used their 75hp Mahindra 4WD tractor pulling a 10 foot (I think) chisel plow. Mike was driving the tractor showing me the boundaries of where they wanted plowed, while I stood on the step on the side of the tractor. He was driving and then without saying anything, he just jumped off! We both laughed as I scrambled to get in the tractor so I could drive it, since nobody was in the seat anymore! That tractor sure had to work hard to keep traction going up some hill in the sandy Texas soil. It was great learning how to plow; I’ve done a lot of work with tractors before, but never any plowing. There’s an old homestead with a couple barns near the front of the property that I had to plow around. When I did, the plow dragged up quite a bit of old metal, pipe, and brick that must’ve been from another building (maybe a house) that used to be there also.



That's me on Black Plague. (ha ha)  She did pretty good to
have all fours off the ground!  Contrary to what you might
think, that is NOT a calf I'm riding...

 Before we went to the ranch I had quite a few of my friends ask me, “You’re not going to ride any bulls, are you?” And I always replied with something like, “Oh, no. I’ll stick to riding horses and four-wheelers.” Well, that lasted about the first three weeks at the ranch. Mike and I were saddling up some horses to ride while Gabriel watched. Out of the blue, Mike told Gabriel that if he wanted to ride one of their cows, he could try it! Mom was a little nervous about it, so Mike said, “Well, I’ll put Cody on one first, if that’ll make you feel better.” Without realizing it, I had just been talked into trying bull riding! (ha ha) There’s a big pen with four bull chutes near the horse stalls that we’d do it in. After getting several cows into the alley, and bringing the rest of the family out to watch, Mike rode one to show us how it’s done. Of course, he made it look so easy!


That's me opening the gate, Mike grinning ear to ear in the
background, and Dad just coming out of the chute! 

 Next was my turn. The first cow was so excited that it got itself backwards in the chute, so we went to another one. Once he opened the gate it was a blast! I only rode for a few seconds, before falling off the right side. Mike said I did good, but fell off so early because I was leaning into it to the right too much. I looked down after I got up and realized that the cow had ripped the back off the left leg of my jeans! When we watched the video later, we saw that the cow’s sharp dew claw had done it when it kicked at me after I fell off. Next, Dad rode. His cow took off across the arena, bucking the whole way. Dad rode all the way across, and then the rope slipped up on the cow’s neck, making him fly off the front! He ended up with road rash up his nose and forehead, a huge swollen knee, and poop on his lip. Mike said he was really surprised how good Dad did on his first ride!  Gabriel ended up not riding, after we saw what happened to Dad and I; which was just fine with Mom…



This is Mrs. Steph and Mr. Dennis standing
by ol' Moe near the training arena.

 Mr. Lee’s wife, Mrs. Steph, is a professional horse chiropractor and knows a ton about horse nutrition and horse health in general. She took a lot of time showing me how to watch a horses’ eating habits and body to see what kind of grain and how much hay it needs. I learned that feeding them, and even giving water, is something that has to be thought through for each horse. They have a whole feed room with several kinds of grain and minerals that are given in different amounts to all the different horses of different age, gender, and build.

One evening I went with Mike to go to a smaller bull riding event so he could practice for the PBR that weekend. We ended up driving an hour and a half only to learn that the event had been canceled. Undaunted, Mike made a few phone calls and found another event about an hour the other way. We drove up to that one and Mike rode four times in the chilly outdoor arena, before heading home at about 10:30pm. It was a lot of fun and we sure had plenty of time to talk while we drove!



Here's Mike and I moving some stuff around with the
skid-steer while Elisha, the horse, watches from behind.  I'd
never driven a joystick controlled one until then; it was a lot
easier to handle than the other ones I've used before. 

 Mr. Lee told me that him and Mike would teach me how to ride their cutting horses. I was excited to learn, because it’s really a special skill to know. They both spent a lot of time showing me how to ride high in the saddle, control the horses movements with my hips, and keep all tension off the reigns along with lots of other little things. It took hours and hours of riding in their arena, but finally I started getting the hang of it. I rode my buddy, Tomcat, every time and we worked together really well. I’m really glad they taught me how!

Mrs. Teri, Mike’s mom, who we’d met a couple times before, came over pretty often and we really enjoyed visiting with her. She’s the managing editor for Quarter Horse News magazine, so it was very interesting talking to her about her job and writing. We went with her, Mr. Lee, Mrs. Steph, and Mike almost every time to their church. It was a great, and they let Hanna and I play music for their Bible studies on Tuesday evenings, which Mr. Lee leads.



You know you're in Texas when there's a statue of Ronald
McDonald getting ready to do some calf-roping in front of
the restaraunt!

 Time fly’s when you’re having fun, and this was very true while we were at the ranch. Before we knew it, it was time to head out so we could go meet up with our grandma farther south in Texas. Being there was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done, and I’m really thankful that they all let us stay with them for so long and spent so much time teaching me things. There was a lot more stuff we did, people we met, and stories I could tell, but if I told everything it would end up being the size of a small book!

Before driving out, they told us to make sure and come back as soon as we can.  I'm sure we will!