Cabin Trip, Summer 2005

2005 Cabin Pictures

Thursday, June 23rd
After packing everything I could think of in my Jeep, attaching the cargo carrier to the receiver and stopping by the first of many gas stations, I was off to Los Alamos. I stopped off in Albuquerque for a little lunch with Steve and a friend of his. Apparently his friend was looking to purchase a car on this day. We ate and then we car shopped. He ended up with a 2005 Subaru Outback. Nice car. Then we all headed to Los Alamos for the night. There we split up and Steve went to a meeting while I had dinner with Frank. We finished off the night by packing a few things and heading to bed.

Friday, June 24th
We got up at about 6:30 and finished packing the Jeep. Everything fit but it was fairly full. After another moment to think of things we were forgeting, we were on our way. We had to stop at a parts store and install a pair of taillights on my cargo carrier because the items we placed on it were covering my Jeep taillights. The license plate was also covered but I was not as worried about that.

The plan for the day was to get to hwy 285 and drive to Boulder CO. The drive took about 7 hours and was fairly uneventful. We arrived at Keagan's house about 4:30pm and waited for him to get home from work. Then Steve unpacked his bike and went on a 22 mile ride with Keagan and a few other bikers. Upon their return, we headed over to a microbrewery and had dinner. This is where I ate the best mushroom burger to date. Roasted garlic mayo rocks. When we returned home, chatted a bit and then headed to bed.

Saturday, June 25
I can't remember exactly when we got up but I think were out of Boulder by 7:30am and on our way to Douglas WY. We arrived in Douglas at about 11:45am and grabbed a Wyoming road and recreation map. This was for My Uncle to point out some very cool places to explore. We then headed over to his house and visited for a while. Next we headed over to his shop to take a tour and see my cousin Adam who was building up a older Bronco. We made our stay short and were soon on our way to Casper for supplies.

Once in Casper our first stop was a farm supply store to pick up the only thing I forgot to bring, a high-lift jack. It was something that I didn't plan to use on our trip but it is much better to have one than not. Next was a quick stop at Applebee's for the last restaurant meal for a few days and then to WalMart for the food shopping. Finally we had everything we needed and it was time to move on to Buffalo and then the cabin.

We arrived at the cabin at about 5:30pm I think and the weather was just great. We unloaded the Jeep, setup everything we needed and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Weather report for the day: The temp was about 65 degrees and the conditions were dry.

Sunday, June 26
This was our rest day, the day when we had nothing planned but sitting around and relaxing. And we did it well.

Weather report for the day: The temp started in the 40s and hit about 60 degrees. It was a bit windy and cloudy throughout the entire day but no rain.

Monday, June 27
This day was set aside for golfing in Buffalo. We left sometine in the late morning and headed to Buffalo. First we grabbed some lunch and then we found the Buffalo Golf Course and played 9 holes. The front nine is rather intertaining as it has some big hills and valleys in it. On one hole, you stand atop a 100+ foot hill and look down at the green. It was a par 3 hole and the object was to hit it from the top of the hill to the green. This is much harder than it looked. I guess the hardest part was judging distance. My first ball came up well short, the next landed right before the green and the last landed on the front of the green and rolled to where my second was laying. We saw much wildlife including a doe deer that was in the middle our fairway and wandered all over 7, 8 and 9. Except for it being very warm and that our cart wasn't running all that great, we had a nice time.

After we were done golfing, we were looking for something else fun to do. I asked a guy in the fishing shop where Medicine Wheel was located. He informed us that it was west of Sheridan Wy and that it was a somewhat lengthy drive to get there. We initally deceided against it but ended up there in the end. The Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark is located on the peak of 10000 foot mountain less than 100 miles north of the mountain but the road to get there is not direct. You have to go all the way to Sheridan and then go west 60 miles or so. Once we got there, we found out that you have to hike 2 miles each way to see the it. This normally would not have been a problem but I did not bring a coat because it was like 95 degrees in Buffalo. Turns out that at 10000 feet, it was like 60 degrees and the wind was blowing. I gave in, put on my hat and gloves and got walking. After visiting the site, we headed down the mountain and back to the cabin, but we decided to head west and drive around the other side on the way home. This is where I encountered something I didn't think existed, a 13% grade highway. I had seen a 8% before but never anything close to 13%. Now that is how to get off a mountain fast. Usually I can decend a hill in my Jeep without using the brakes because it is a manual. Not this hill. It was steep enough that 3rd gear wasn't even close to enough to hold back the Jeep and I had to use the brakes all the way down.

The drive was exciting due to the number of deer that were on the roads at night but we returned home after 10pm with no peoblems.

Tuesday, June 28
While in Buffalo the day before, I grabbed a fishing license and some worms for use today. The plan was for me to fish while Steve checked out some trails on his bike. We went to the beaver ponds and split up. I fished for about an hour and never caught anything. Steve looped around the ponds on a trail and met me back at the Jeep after about an hour. We headed back to the cabin and Steve decided to ride back most of the way. When I returned, I read for a while and then headed down to the lake where I fished out of the Jeep while reading a book. I caught 3 trout and knocked off several chapters all at the same time. After about 2 hours of fishing, the wind was coming up and the sky was looking ugly, so I headed back up to the cabin.

Wednesday, June 29
It started raining sometime early in the night and did not stop until late in the morning. We had planned to explore that day but the mud made exploring look less attractive an idea than staying in and reading.

Thursday, June 30
We got up early, packed the Jeep and headed out. The plan was to drive to Yellowstone and drive through it on our way to Salt Lake City. The trip took about 14 hours with 3 of those hours spent at Old Faithful.

Friday, July 1
We spent the day at work with Brian, playin with lasers.

Saturday, July 2
Golf at Bountiful Ridge.

Sunday, July 3
Golf at Preston.

Monday, July 4
Trip to Moab and Golf - LA

Tuesday, July 5
Trip from LA - Socorro