San Juan Mountains, CO
The annual summer Lautzenheiser trip looked a little different this year without Grandma L, Evan, and Tyler, but we still managed to have a great time! Although the San Juan Mtns are far, and we’ve been there multiple times, it is still worth the drive to see the sights.
The Red Mountains along Corkscrew Gulch Trail.
In order to break up the 10 hour drive to our VRBO in Silverton, CO, we stayed a night in Williams, AZ. It was the perfect stop as we were able to explore Canyon Coaster Adventure Park and the new to us Poozeum. The Poozeum is, as you might be wondering, yes, a free museum dedicated to the fossilization of dinosaur poop. With Miles in full dinosaur phase this was a ‘must see.’ The owner was super nice, and the museum was really well done. We didn’t leave without a commemorative sticker, fossil, and Poozeum t-shirt! Next, we headed to the nearby Canyon Coaster Adventure Park with a unique mountain coaster. The kids had a great time and we were happy to be out of the Las Vegas heat.
We arrived in Silverton a day early and stayed in a super cute bed and breakfast, where after driving for seven hours, we were able to celebrate Scott’s 43rd birthday at a Mexican restaurant.
While we waiting for Duane to arrive, we hiked around Molas Lake (where Scott and I had camped probably nine years ago) giving Topo and the kids a chance to run around. The town of Silverton is incredibly quaint; we enjoyed the Golden Block Brewery and watching the trains (from Durango) bring in the tourists for the day.
The next three days were spent in the jeeps. Unlike three years ago (the last time we were here) when the kids were restless in the jeeps, this time (without carseats or booster seats), they had a blast. When the kids weren’t taking in the sights, we played lots of ‘20 questions.’ Although we didn’t see a bear as we had hoped to, we did see two moose very close. Miles kept track of all the wildlife he saw and has become quite adept at naming various birds. We saw alpine lakes, green rolling hills, wildflowers, waterfalls, snow pockets, and mountain summits. It was truly spectacular. Topo was thrilled to be in the snow, hunting marmots, chasing smells, and cooling off in ice cold lakes and streams. Watching her makes us all smile.
Our drive home was a little more eventful. Just as we were headed through Ridgway, Scott noticed the jeep pulling from side to side as we towed it behind us (this same thing happened before). Instead of going 50 mph the entire way home, we opted to rent a Uhaul trailer to tow the jeep on instead. In Grand Junction, Scott arranged for the rental of the flatbed and after a short delay, we were back on the road.
With all the hustle of getting going after getting the trailer rental, we forgot to get gas. I bet you can guess what happens next, haha. Pulling a flatbed with a jeep on top used up more gas than we thought and there are lots of rolling hills on the 70 between Grand Junction, CO and Salina, UT. Long story short, Scott will say that we technically did not run out of gas (as we had about 20 more miles we could’ve gone). I will say that I called roadside assistance in Salina, UT and Darrin drove the 40 miles to bring us gas. Prior to calling someone, however, Scott and I were trying to siphon gas out of the jeep (which was in no shape to drive). Despite our best McGuyver skills (using a Camelbak hose) we didn’t have any success.
The kids did a great job with all the driving. We listened to James and the Giant Peach as an audiobook, Miles spent most of his time simply looking out the window and Ella played Taylor Swift on her iPad. I do hope we can do a cross country road trip one of these summers. To be continued….