Way back in 1999 I discovered a jewel among the Rockies, a getaway offering some of the most beautiful alpine views in all of Colorado. My pal Clay over at 4x4 Offroad Adventures in Colorado knows exactly what I'm talking about!

The mountains are flecked with the history of adventurous miners. Old buildings in the towns of Ouray and Silverton silently stand watching the decades pass, sparking the imagination, painting a ghostly panorama of life around the turn of the last century. Out on the old trails, feelings of awe can be found around most every turn.

How do you explain to someone who voluntarily incarcerates themselves among streets and concrete what it is they're missing? Pictures are pretty but a 4 inch by 6 inch flat piece of paper doesn't convey the size and space standing among eons old mountains, or the brilliant splashes of color in crumbling rock and delicate flowers clinging to them.



I've been to the San Juan Mountains a half dozen times in ten years and the adventure never gets old. My wife and I have made plans to return in July -- we took our honeymoon there during winter 2003.

We'll travel the old trails with other Full Size Jeepers on the annual FSJ Invasion that we started way back when. So the Big Adventure for 2008 is set!

Ouray is three hundred miles away. Not a long jaunt, but for a 20 year old rig, one has to be prepared. The to do list is made up, so the next couple months will be spent prepping TC for the highway and trail!

Barring catastrophic failure or any other unseen adversity, we are not missing this.

Ouray or bust!