Summer Stuff, 8.22
LCDC8 - Breckenridge
It’s been a couple years since we participated in the Land Cruiser Destination Club and we were excited to wander our way to Breckenridge, CO to meet up with existing friends and make new ones.
We took our time to get there with a special lunch stop in Vegas at Gordon Ramsey Burger, then an overnight stay in St. George, UT. We then took the very scenic route via Highways 14, 89, 12 (amazing) and then the 24 back to I70. Highway 12 runs through the Escalante badlands and is my most favorite drive, if you have the time, it’s definitely recommended!
Superb scenery along Utah’s Highway 12.
A tasty flight…
We stayed that night in Grand Junction, CO and wandered our way through the mountains onto Breckenridge. We planned a relaxed schedule for our first day in town to wander (and get a little acclimated to the altitude.) Lunch, some souvenir shopping and touristing through the various shops. In the evening we attended the event kick-off at a park.
Day one of trails I lead a group of Land Cruisers up McAllister Gulch with Beth assisting by relaying info to the group on the handheld radio. It was a “blue” (moderate) trail that was fun to drive and had minimal technical challenges. The weather was stellar and the trail topped out at over 11K’ with great views. Minus a surprised locked gate, the day went smoothly and the group returned to Breckenridge late afternoon. We gathered wildflowers as usual and started filling the flower press. We had dinner at the Breck Brew Pub then crashed for the night.
Day two we were signed up for a “red” (difficult) trail up the Middle Fork of the Swan River. The first part of the trail offered some climbs up rocky and wet trails that were running with water. Then there’s a number of narrow (very narrow) gatekeeper chutes, the longest one with a good stretch of off-camber moguls that want to push your truck into the wall. Challenging to ‘drive ahead’ of them as you need to have the truck pointed in the right direction before you approach it. We did get a ‘smidge’ too close to the wall and now have a new lovemark on the truck to show for it (around the 1:40 mark in the video below.)
After that we were rewarded with amazing skies with puffy clouds that were turning more dramatic over the day.
Our trail leader (Matt G) was great and had a lot of good local information to share. After running that fork, we changed course and drove up and over Glacier Mountain (12k’) and had lunch with just a little bit of a view.
Back to town and we had dinner with our friends (and LCDC event organizers) Cole & Bethany and Cody.
Beth driving one of the many water crossings up Chihuahua Gulch.
Day three had rain projected so trail plans were shuffled and resorted for most of the groups. This was the last day of the formal trail runs and we had signed up for a “green” (easy) trail with the intent to have Beth do the driving.
Up we went to Chihuahua gulch with Beth in the driver’s seat with me providing some trail direction as needed. I’d say that trail was at the top of the green scale with a few obstacles in the blue range. Beth did great and I think I did too ;) After lunch at the end of that trail it was time to beat the rain and we headed back into town to regroup and then a smaller group went up Peak 10 which took us up over 12K’ elevation and a view overlooking Breckenridge - and eye-level with the incoming storm.
Overlooking Breckenridge from Peak 10, someplace over 12,000’ elevation.
The day wrapped up with a gathering of all drivers and participants in a large parking area. A few guys helped me change a tire that we had cut at some point, it wasn’t losing air, but in a bad spot with two days of freeway driving ahead of us.
We had the next day totally free so Beth got to sleep in and then we took a scenic drive over Boreas Pass and then had a coddiwomple through a few little towns with a surprise stop at a rock and gem show where we picked up some gifts. We took our time getting back to town and wrapped the day with dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant.
We were both ready to start heading home, so stayed on the Interstate for the drive with a lunch stop in Grand Junction and then drive drive drive. Back in St. George for an overnight stay and then on the road to home the following day with significant rain along the way. We were glad to be home to cuddle the dog and sleep in our own bed. Thanks to Beth’s mom Susie for taking great care of our Grumblebug.
And Craft!
Naturally, I’ve also been busy with several different woodworking crafts since my last post, so here’s a few highlights including some carving, utensil-making and a couple of garden totes. I find it rewarding to make things with my hands since I spend so much time in front of the computer for work.
Uncle Norman, the impractical hitchhiker. (Etsy shop)
Some spooky critters, handcarved from basswood.
Walnut kitchen utensils. Each batch gets a bit more refined.
For something more refined, a fleur de lis. Good learning here… It’s since been given a couple coats of Tung oil so the grain has more contrast now and is a bit deeper in color overall.
I made a garden tote for my Dad out of redwood and then painted it a nice blue and then a smaller one for myself out of cedar. Both have steel grate bottoms so dirt and etc can fall through, and they’ll drain/dry if left out.
Dad’s garden tote.
My garden tote.
Thanks for reading, hope you have a good summer! - Matt