Category: Jer’s Toys (Page 3 of 3)

Before I get into this latest post I have  a comment about photos. In the past I have sometime put galleries at the end of  my posts. The drawback to this practice  is these photos tend to get lost the older the post is.

I have modified my Galleries page to include more photos, broken down into collections by topic or by event, such as my ATV outings. I will still include photos in my posts, but will also include a link to a gallery that will have more photos of that trip or event. It will be easier for anyone, myself included, to revisit photos I took months or weeks before without having to wander through old blog posts.

My latest outing was taken this past Sunday, September 2nd. I was again in the Ouray area, this time traveling the Engineer Pass Road.

I had picked up some used luggage for The Griz, and so had extra space to store a raincoat, gloves, guide book, Canon camera, and a gas can as well as my cooler. Here I am at the start of the route which begins south of Ouray off Hwy 550:

Start of the Engineer Pass Road

About 3 miles up the road is this waterfall. (This photo is our current desktop.)

Engineer Pass waterfall

The other elements of a good trip, evidence of old mining activity and alpine flowers, are both represented in these next 2 photos:

Boilers at the San Juan Chief Mill near Mineral Point

Yellow asters (?) were bright spots along the trail

The day began clear, but – as usual – a chance of afternoon showers was in the forecast. I headed up the trail, stopping for photos of old mines, the waterfall, grazing domestic sheep, and just enjoying the mountain scenes. Fall colors are beginning to appear, a bit earlier than average but I was getting up to well over 12,000 feet in elevation, and the trees turn earlier at the higher elevations.

At the top: Engineer Pass

Pam asked me a question: Why do you enjoy these outings so much? In truth, it is a question difficult to answer.

I have always liked history and mechanical devices. (Just look at my toys!)  Both are combined in the mining history of Colorado. The mid-1800s into the early 1900s was a dynamic time for the west, including Colorado, with road building, mining, towns forming, railroads being built. The ingenuity, hard work, and sometimes just plain luck these early pioneers exhibited makes me stop and think about how we got to where we are today.

Then again, maybe it’s just sitting with my back against an old wall, looking at the mountains across a wide valley, munching an apple, and enjoying the warm sunlight on my face.

My Dad loved the mountains, and one of my earliest memories is of a framed photo of Mt. Shasta, California. (I was born in the town of Mt. Shasta that sits in the mountain’s shadow.) This photo hung in every house we lived in, and is one of the few items I would like to get from my parent’s estate. Mt. Shasta is a snow-covered peak in northern California. Was mountain living imprinted on me when I was born? Pam is more comfortable near water. Perhaps it is not a coincidence;  she was born near a river and grew up along the Mississippi.

In any event, I enjoy these outings a great deal, and hope to have many more of them.

Here is a link to my Engineer Mountain gallery. I hope you take a look at it. 31 photos in all.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

This past Sunday I took my ATV (The Griz) to Ouray, Colorado. Ouray is rich in mining history and I have long wanted to explore the Jeep trails in the area. In addition to the  photos in the narrative I have included a photo gallery at the end of this post. As usual, clicking on an image will open a larger version.

Jerry and The Griz entering the Yankee Boy Basin

There were three places I wanted to get to on this trip: Yankee Boy Basin, Governor Basin, and Imogene Pass. I had looked at my maps and planned to visit Yankee Boy Basin first then work my way back through Governor Basin and Imogene Pass. This would put me closest to the parking area at the end of my ride.

Note: Gear on The Griz included a grey soft cooler carrying beverages and lunch and a yellow camera case on the rear rack. My tripod (in a green sleeve,) baseball cap, and small carry-all bag are on the front rack. My helmet sits on the seat.

The day dawned bright and sunny but with a chance of afternoon showers. I unloaded The Griz and started up the road to Yankee Boy Basin. Due to mining activity that continues in this area, mostly for gold and silver, the lower part of the road is in good condition and can be traveled by passenger cars. It quickly becomes a shelf road, though,  narrow and with little room to pass. Here is The Griz at a popular photo spot:

The Griz at a wide spot in the road to Yankee Boy Basin.

Not much further up the road you come to The Overhang where the road passes below a large rock outcrop.

Road goes under “The Overhang.”

Very shortly you start seeing remains of the large mines and ore milling operations that operated in the area. Most date from the 1870s into the early 1900s. Here and there a few bits and pieces of buildings and equipment remain. Much of this is on private land and cannot be approached for a closer view. Take a look at the photo gallery to see some of  these remains.

I will say that wildflowers in the area were blooming in some profusion. I don’t know the names of these flowers near the Torpedo Eclipse Mill but they sure looked great!

Summer flowers near the Torpedo Eclipse Mill.

I worked my way up the valley and eventually arrived at the top of Yankee Boy Basin. From here a couple hiking trails take off including one that goes to the top of Mt. Sneffels, one of Colorado’s “fourteeners.” (Fourteeners are peaks that are over 14,000 feet in elevaton.)

End of the road, Yankee Boy Basin.

Objective #1 for the day met, I backtracked down to the turn off to Governor Basin. Similar to Yankee Boy Basin, the Governor Basin area was rich in gold and silver deposits.

Governor Basin route sign. It was getting overcast by now.

Old mine tailings dot the area. One mine had a modern bucket loader and compressor parked near the mine entrance and the entrance road was blocked by a locked gate, all indications the mine is currently being worked. The guide book I was using listed this mine, the Mountain Top Mine, as being open to visit but obviously things have changed in the last 2 years since publication. Not unusual given the rise in the price of gold. A couple other mines showed similar activity. Many of the claims in the area are privately held and periodically worked.

Wild flowers in this area, which is above timberline, were great. Although the sky was getting dark the flowers were still vibrant. Here is one of the meadow areas I passed.

Wild flowers carpeted the meadows in Governor Basin

With objective #2 met I headed back toward the turn-off for Imogene Pass. On the way down it started to rain lightly. By the time I made it to the turn for Imogene Pass it was raining moderately hard.

The road – more like a trail – to Imogene Pass was the roughest trail of the day. Later I found out why: The better road goes through a mining property and  is often gated. The “alternate” road basically follows a power line  easement. I came back on the better road as, on this weekend, the gates were open.

I stopped and put on my windbreaker in an attempt, mostly sucessful, to stay dry and continued up the trail. I counted on the rain stopping a bit later as that is the pattern of mountain storms, and eventually the rain did stop and the sun returned although filtered by a few remaining clouds.

I have to get back here again. There are numerous waterfalls along this route and I did not get to take them all in. (The route to Yankee Boy Basin also had waterfalls; you can see  photos of them in the gallery.)

I made it to the top of the pass, looked around, and headed back down. It was getting late in the afternoon and I wanted to look over some mine ruins I had passed on the way up and find a place to eat a late lunch.

The Griz at Top of Imogene Pass

Although I was now drying out and had enjoyed myself a great deal, it was time to head back to the car and pack up up for the trip home. On the way back to the parking lot my phone buzzed indicating I was back in cell phone coverage. I had a call from Pam: Our land offer had been accepted!  That was a great delight to hear.

I got back to the parking lot, loaded The Griz, and headed out for the 2.5 hour trip back to DeBeque. I was very tired when I arrived home even though I had only ridden about 40 miles total. With all my photo stops and lunch this back woods trip worked out to an average speed of 5 miles per hour. Much of the trip was done in low-range 4-wheel drive giving me about 15 miles-per-gallon fuel economy.

I really enjoyed this outing. The afternoon rain made for less than ideal photo opportunities and I would like to get back to shoot some better photos. There are other routes in the area to ride as well. I could spend several days here and not get to all the trails shown on the back country maps.

Although the area is remote it is popular for Jeep tour operators and off-road folks. I saw dozens of Jeeps, ATVs, UTVs (those are the side-by-side rigs that look like overgrown golf carts) mountain bikers, both pedal type and motorized variety, and hikers. Lots of help around in case of a breakdown or other problems. The roads were better than I expected except for Imogene Pass. High country trails, flowers, waterfalls, mining history…my kind of trip. It was a good day!

Normally I carry just my little point-and-shoot Panasonic camera. This time I carried an older Canon digital camera equipped with a mild zoom lens as well. It has been a while since I dealt with F-stops and shutter speeds, but I want to have more creative control over my photos and the Canon seems a good way to get there. There are photos from both cameras in the gallery. Although the Canon EOS 10d  is rated at only 6.3 megapixels, low by today’s standards, for web photo use it should be OK.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

On Sunday, June 24, I took “The Griz,” my ATV, to Marble, Colorado, to ride the Lead King Basin loop. This loop served old mines near Marble and borders the Aspen Snowmass Wilderness Area. While not a long loop it was reported to be very scenic. I had to check it out.

The scenic billing was right on. The wild flowers were in full bloom. Here is a shot of one of my favorite flowers, the Colorado Blue Columbine. (This is Colorado’s state flower.)

Colorado Blue Columbine, Lead King Basin

Through the trip I saw blue, yellow, white, and red Columbine. There must have been thousands of them along with many other species of bright wildflowers.

I tried to get a few “artsy” shots, but my little point-and-shoot  camera is not really the best tool for this. However, I did get a couple shots, including this one:

Columbine and Mountains

In addition to the wild flowers, this loop has water falls, always an attraction for me.

Silver Creek Falls

Jerry takes a break at the Devil’s Punchbowl

There were plenty of mountain views along the way:

Mountain Scenic from Lead King Basin Loop

This was a mining area, and a few structures and buildings remain, some in private hands. A well-known, and often photographed structure, is the Crystal Mill:

 The Town of Crystal  has a few cabins remaining. Some of these have been preserved as summer homes:

Cabin in Crystal

Now if Pam and I could find a cabin like this in our Land Hunt we would be delighted!

Although not long in mileage (less than 30, including back-tracking to ride side roads) this loop is long on fun and scenery. It has all the features: mountain views, flowers, waterfalls, and historic buildings. This was a great trip!

I’ve included a Photo Wall of pictures taken during this outing. I hope you enjoy it. Note: There are 2 video clips in The Wall. Look for the little triangle in a circle in the lower left portion of the thumbnail photo. Click on the triangle to play the videos. They are titled Lead King 1 and Lead King 2. Neither clip is over 1 minute long. (If you run the slide show, the videos will play automatically in sequence.) Adobe Flash is required; this is a free download from Adobe.com.

 That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

A couple days ago we had both cars out of the garage, so I decided to take a couple photos of my toys as I normally have them parked.

Toys on the left

Off to the left you can see my ’06 Kawasaki Concours motorcycle. Behind that is my ’78 Gilson tractor set up with both a snow blade and cab. To the right of the Gilson is my Grizzly 550 ATV. Behind all of these items are your typical garage stuff, including ladders, storage shelves, and ‘stuff’ that guys like to accumulate.

Over on the right…more toys!

Glancing to the right corner of the garage you will find our Toro lawn mower, my John Deere LX176 lawn tractor, and in the corner is my 1982 Yamaha XJ1100J motorcycle. I have not ridden the XJ for a while, but keep it for sentimental reasons. Other items in the photos include my extra gas cans, work bench, lawn tools, and more “stuff.”

Inside my garage

We even keep our 2 cars in the garage! However, my other toys stay outside:

Trailer pulled by motorcycle stored behind garage.

8N, Scout II, and trailer stored outside

As if that was not enough, I have an 8 x 10 Arrow storage shed.

Arrow storage shed

More “stuff!” Snowblower, chipper-shreder, blade for the John Deere, spare transmission for the Scout II (Hmmm?) and other “stuff” is stored in the shed.

My goal in life is to have a  garage / workshop big enough to store all my “stuff” inside and lots of space to work on my projects. (Pam says I need fewer projects and less “stuff;”  she is probably correct.)

Anyway, that’s my garage, toys,  and “stuff.”

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

I’ve been busy since my last post. This one will cover several topics, so just keep reading!

I am a member of the XS 11 Owner’s Association, a web-based motorcycle club. Every year the club holds rallies so people can meet and ride together. In the past I had gone to western rallies, but not to eastern ones. The XS 11 East rally was set for May 26th and 27th in Cambridge, Ohio, and I had decided  to attend.

Taking Pam’s advice, I left from work on Tuesday the 22nd and spent the night in Limon, Colorado, near the Kansas border. The next day’s ride across Kansas was very windy, but I made it and a good way into Missouri before stopping for the night. The wind was so strong it caused the only real problem I had: my trailer popped open! The wind pressure had caused a clamp to fail. A strap around the end of the trailer, bumble-bee style, took care of keeping the trailer closed.

I ran into lots of road construction in all the states. Still, I made good time and arrived in Cambridge on Thursday the 24th. This was by plan, as I like to have a day to cover any eventualities  that might arise. Several other attendees were already there, so we made plans to ride together on Friday.

We decided to visit the American Motorcycle Association’s Hall of Fame Museum. If you are into motorcycles, this is a good place to visit. I am restraining myself from posting a lot of photos, not only because they may not appeal to all who read this blog, but this post is going to be long enough as it is!

Visting the AMA Museum

1930 Triumph

From the museum we went to the Long Horn Ranch, where 3 varieties of longhorn cattle are raised as breeding stock. Suffice to say I learned a great deal about these large and iconic animals.

Longhorns in Ohio

If you are interested in souvenirs, you can buy a skull and horns (or just horns) at the ranch shop:

Longhorn Horns...priced by the inch

From the ranch it was back to the motel for dinner and conversation, as well as some adult beverages.

The Saturday club ride was great, winding around Ohio back roads and eating at a buffet for lunch.  Dinner was at a good local restaurant. The outing covered 192 miles in almost perfect weather. (It was a little warm.) Here is a photo of our group at the motel:

XS 11 East Group Photo

I could not attend the Sunday ride, as I needed to be in Chicago on Sunday to visit family. Monday I would ride into central Wisconsin to visit and stay with my mother, and Tuesday I would attend the internment of my father-in-laws’ ashes.

Riding through big cities is not my idea of fun, and Chicago reminded me again of why I live and work in a rural area. To many people moving to fast, and toll roads do not add to the ambiance.

Sunday evening, after I arrived in Chicago, my niece and nephew cooked a great dinner of grilled steak, sautéd  mushrooms, fresh green beans, and rice.  Cooktop brownies and ice cream made for desert. Everything was great, and my thanks to my sister Carole and niece and nephew Stef and Eric for the great reception and dinner.

Monday I headed out and made it to central Wisconsin. I took my time and stopped at a Culver’s restaraunt for lunch. Culver’s is a mid-west based chain of restaraunts that is well-known for using local beef in its hamburger meals and local milk in ice cream and milkshakes. It had been a while since I ate at a Cuver’s, so I just had to stop!  

After unpacking at my mother’s house, my two sisters and I visited my father’s grave site. (Dad passed away in December of 2010.) We returned to Mom’s place for dinner and conversation, then it was time for a night’s rest.

Tuesday turned out to be very windy and cold. This only a day after record-setting warm temperatures in Chicago and elsewhere. None-the-less, I headed for Merrill, which is about 15 miles north of Wausau, Wisconsin. My father-in-law, Myron Paroubek, had died in February and had been cremated, and the ceremony was to inter his ashes.  Myron’s home town was Merrill, and many of Pam’s relatives are buried there.

Better photos have been posted on other family blogs and FaceBook, so I’ll just include this one photos of Pam’s siblings, Larry, Becky, and Craig.

Larry, Becky, and Craig at Myron's internment.

Now for the last part of my trip: Back to Colorado with Dad’s old Ford 8N tractor.

First, I left the cemetery and went to Marshfield to pick up my U-Haul truck and trailer. I loaded the motorcycle in the truck, ( I rode it up the ramp, a first for me.) and tied it down, then headed back to my mother’s place.

Now I had to load the tractor, which had not run in years, had flat and low tires, and had sunk a bit into the dirt.

Ford tractor sitting in the grass

I had brought my come-along (hand-powered portable winch) to help load the tractor onto the U-Haul trailer. This is slow work, requiring the come-along to be reset every 4 feet or so. You should have seem me ratcheting that come-along’s handle back and forth! Eventually the tractor was up on the main part of the trailer and things got a little easier.

Loading tractor

After putting my motorcycle trailer on behind the tractor, the final rig looked like this:

I headed back to Colorado on Wednesday morning. After a night’s stay in Nebraska, I arrived home late Thursday afternoon.

Mileages worked out like this: 2,791 miles by motorcycle, 1,301 miles by truck, noted when I returned the rig. Total: 4,092 miles.

It was a long and varied trip. Motorcycles, a funeral, and tractor transport. I visited friends, family, had some great food, and rode some great roads. It was good to get home, though.

Postscript on the tractor: I did get it running in order to get it off the trailer. This took a couple hours of work, some fresh fuel, some air in the tires (one still goes flat in about 20 minutes) and an overnight battery charge. The 8N is in rough shape, and will need many hours of work and several hundred dollars in repairs to get it in reliable and working shape. Biggest issues are tires and wheels; both back rims are rusted through and need to be replaced, and the tires are shot. (Ever price tractor tires? Sticker shock! A pair of rear wheels and rims will run about $1,200.00) Still, it was good to hear it run, which gives me hope that the other repairs will eventually be justified.

Next time: The Land Hunt continues with another trip…

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!