Jeeping and hiking and jeeping and hiking…...

 Since last we talked, we have spent a bit of time in the glorious mountains.     And we've had great companions to share the views with.    Gay and Joe Taylor brought the Tan Clan (their 4 tan dogs)  and their motorhome to Montrose and we made sure that we showed them some of the best the area has to offer.    (We met them last year in Moab).

We headed up to Imogene Pass to give them a sense of 4-wheeling in the San Juans.   They have a pretty metallic blue Jeep named Pearl.   And as we were starting out, this teenage bear crossed quickly ahead of us……a nice treat.

Of course, there were streams to ford….the bridge was out of commission….

Wildflowers and vistas…...

 'Tis the season for larkspur……

Someone carved an owl…..

More wildflowers…...

High shelf roads……..

And rain……A few days later, we  invited Gay to join the Cobble Creek Hiking Club for a jaunt on Pass Creek Trail.    Because I didn't remember to bring a camera and my phone died shortly after arrival, go to Gay's BLOG and see her spectacular pictures and her impressions of the hike.    It was a stunning climb into the mountains and we would do it again in a minute.    

 Today, we went on another hike with the Club.   They go out twice a week.    Depending on the locale and the rating of the trail, there are either a couple hardy souls or quite a crowd.  
This mornings was the Middle Fork trail along the Cimarron River.     Starting out, it was 50 DEGREES.    As you can see, the trail was wet and muddy and it only got worse.

Views of the Cimarron Mt range.   We started a bit over 10,000 ft.  

And then we entered a bog that was swampy and difficult to walk in all of the muck.    There were many slippery uneven deep muddy areas.    We should have worn knee length rubber boots.    Hiking with Jessica and Lynn, we finally called it quits a mile or two in when Jessica started having issues with her old Achilles tendon injury.    

We slogged thru the muck towards the car and planned our next event at a favorite restaurant in Ridgeway.     We'll skip this hike next year……unless there's  a drought.

 I'm not done yet……………… here's a few pix from a jeep ride we went on this week with some other neighbors.  

For those who know the area, this is a view high above Yankee Boy Basin and the Twin Falls.     We were headed towards Governor's Basin and Silver Basin.   It was a rough narrow trail with more hikers than Jeeps.  

Remnants of an old mine…………This is about 12,000 ft and it was cold.!!

The  white columbine…..

One of my favorites….Elephant Flower

The Queen's Crown…..or maybe the King's Crown…. I"m never sure which is which.

Sometimes there just isn't room…..   the black car backed up…..

The clouds were getting closer……..

Unnamed alpine lake……that is the actual color.

We stopped for lunch………beside the lake………..and then it rained.

A picture is worth…………..so much more than I could ever say.