Jul 31, 2010

Traveling to Colorado


You want me to ride where now?


This is a joke right?

Our first day of travel started early in the morning. We drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico which is about a 10 hour drive of suck. Lucie didn't mind being in the crate, but she would not potty at any of the many breaks that we took.

This is how flat Texas is.  Oh look, more flat.

After too many hours, we crossed into New Mexico. I couldn't tell you how many more hours that it took to get to our destination. It has been many years since we have driven a far distance like this and we were all ready to get out of the vehicle! We stayed at a crappy Days Inn. We have learned that there are not many hotels that accept pets and the one that we chose allowed pets but was not pet friendly at all. When we asked for an area to walk Lucie at they stated, "around the building". So out we went where we found only pavement and rock gardens. Our princess was not having anything to do with these things so we got back in the FJ and the search for grass began.

The New Mexico landscape is mostly sand. We did find one place to walk Lucie at which was a local bank. We were thankful to have found some grass, but Lucie simply would not go. At this point it had been about 12 hours since she last had gone to the bathroom. Being that it was a very long day, we headed back to the room. The room was acceptable enough for one night. It would have been better if the power had not kept shutting off during the night causing various alarms to go off which kept waking us up. When morning came we were back out at the local bank where Lucie finally found some relief.  Finally found a use for Wells Fargo. (Quit calling us for other people not paying their mortgage...we don't care!)



Ron took this picture, he's bad-ass for so many reasons.

We had about 6 hours of driving remaining. Around lunch time, we had stopped in a cute little town called Aztec in New Mexico. We grabbed some food and stop at a park to relax and eat. Here I am walking Lucie encouraging her to potty. Traveling must have made her a little nervous because she had no luck.


Our weather was overcast and rainy.


But it was beautiful even with the rain! We had pulled over on the "Million Dollar Highway" to get our first real look at the mountains. This is one of the craziest roads we have ever driven on! Being the passenger, I had a prime seat for beautiful views of the mountains and the jaw dropping view looking down over the edge which was about two inches away from the edge of the road. During the many twists and turns we saw for a split second a sign in front of a house that said "Addie's Place". That made me smile and miss our pups.  There were a few roadside crosses here and there for people who had died going over the edge but a lot fewer than I would expect.  No Guardrails!


We rented a house in Ridgway which is about 15 minutes outside of Ouray. At 8,000 feet our secluded rental house was on top of a mesa and had amazing views. The purpose for our trip was to attend the FJ Summit. This event attracts FJ Cruiser owners from all over to come together for some 4-wheeling fun.

The house was amazing but was sooo isolated and alone I couldn't stop thinking about the movie "The Strangers"  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482606/


After unloading and getting settled into our amazing house, it was time for some much needed rest.

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Coming Soon - Deer and Mountain Lions and a Bear... OH MY

19 comments:

  1. Goodness it's been waaay too long. What a trip with a pawesome destination! Sounds like a fun gathering and your house looks wonderful with all those views and such coziness! We spent a few summers near Creede with our family and it was just gorgeous there - I think it's near Ouray. Did you visit KB (rocking and rollin' in the Rockies?)hehehee? Can't' wait to hear more!
    Hugs xoxo
    Sammie and the crew here

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  2. Welcome to Colorado! Ouray is a gorgeous place.

    It sounds like the FJ event has a bunch of great trails already selected, but if you're hurting for more, I highly recommend:

    Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails by Charles Wells. You want Volume 1 for Southern Colorado.

    Bookstores, Gift Shops, Gas Stations, AAA, and even Army Surplus stores around CO carry it.

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  3. This looks like a fun trip and well worth riding in your crate, Lucie! Your pictures are just beautiful!

    Love ya lots
    Maggie and Mitch

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  4. Thank you Christopher!

    Actually, I bought this book months ago when you had first told me about it. We found it very helpful with the information being very true to the trail. I would recommend that everyone read this book before they tackle these trails or they could be in for a rude surprise! The day that we tackled Imogene Pass a man driving a Jeep flipped and search and rescue was called in.

    We have nearly 2,000 pix of the gorgeous areas that we saw!

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  5. Hi Samantha!

    We would have loved to have visited KB while we were there! I love her blog and all of the adventures that she goes on. She did provide some excellent advise before we left that allowed us to be more prepared for our time in Colorado.

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  6. I get fed up after 2-3 hours driving...:)
    Looks a lovely place, looking forward to seeing more pics...

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  7. Wauw this looks great only the ride maby???

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  8. Hey, looks like you had a great trip! Colorado is so dog-friendly, that's why we moved here! Look forward to reading about the rest of your adventures. :)

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  9. What a fantastic trip! We loved the photos and can't wait to see lots more!

    take care
    Clive and Murray

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  10. I love your trip, Lucie... but you have gotta learn go when you need go, on a counta you will love your vacay so much more! This is just advice from your big brother, the Luke...

    I am lovin your scenery, and I am askin the Mom to take notes on where you stayed! We would love to go there our own selves! Please to show us more!

    Wif love from the Luke

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  11. Oh my!

    What beaWOOtiful pikhs!

    AND, the scenery is pawesome too!

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra

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  12. Lucie...did you enjoy your road trip???? I've been to new mexico as well-why dont they like grass there??? Dont they know that grass is a much better place to do our business than dirt!!??

    Woof

    velcro

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  13. I am so thankful that when we moved from Alaska to Cali that we didn't make the dogs do the drive with us!

    Don't forget, we've moved to http://dogisgodinreverse.com

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  14. Great pics - glad you made it safely! When we moved from Maine to Texas (yes, absurdly flat), our girls were reluctant to potty on our breaks, too. It was stressful for us, but I suppose the girls didn't mind - they were just happy to finish the trip!

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  15. Wow, how pretty it was in Colorado. Poor Lucie, I would have popped holding it that long. You sure looked comfy on taht couch.

    It is soo hot here. Mommy only lets me outside to do my business or after dark. I'm so redy for the fall.

    Can't wiat to read your next post. Did you get to chase a bear?

    {{{huggies}}}...Mona

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  16. Addies Place looks really sweet, except the no dogs part of course.

    The mountain area looks really nice too, we look forward to seeing more pix of your trip. It does sound a gorgeous area to visit.

    We had a bit of internet trouble yesterday and couldn't leave a comment but all seems okay now. :)

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  17. What an adventure! Looks like a great place.

    Simba and Jazzi x

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  18. Poor baby was holding it and holding it huh?

    Looks like a beautiful trip though.

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  19. So, what's wrong with flat? I liked that about Texas. In the early 90's, my company transferred me to Raleigh, NC. There you had to look up to see the sky through the tall pine trees. When I flew into DFW, I loved seeing that Clear Blue Sky.

    The mountains are beautiful. The clip, scary! Since you made it home safely, I guess the mad stabber didn't show. ;)

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