June 21st - Tin Cup Pass the Sequel

Today we set out to go up to Tin Cup Pass but from the other side of the mountain, and once again DENIED. The road disappears into the lake in three spots, the first spot we went through but the next two looked a little too deep for a Jeep that was not equipped with a snorkel.

However, the trip up to Tin Cup Pass was worth the view at Mirror Lake.

You could also camp at Mirror lake, but your picnic bench might have been a little frosty (good for keeping the Heineken cold).

So we decided to try Cumberland  Pass, the owner of the general store in the tiny town of Tin Cup said you could make it over this pass if you have a shovel and are ambitious enough …no such luck at 12,000 feet we were stopped by the snow drift over the road.

We were also not so inclined to tunnel our way through the snow, even though we were within 1500 feet from the top.

If those two attempts were not enough adventure, we decided to take the back way to the town of Gunnison (where I had thoughts of eating Chinese for lunch).  According to the GPS we were on an off roading trail, but soon we would be on just a trail. Ummm, a trail made for ATVs.

In the 7 years that we have been off-roading in the many different forests, we have never been on a trail with such large boulders and narrow passages.  At 1 - 2 mph it was going to take us a while to get out of the woods. I could walk faster on portions of the trail…therefore taking pictures and video of the excursion from outside of the Jeep.

We may have to change the license plates to MT MULE (Mountain Mule).

Once we were back on pavement (we did make it to Gunnison…and yes, I did get Chinese food, for dinner), we still had to move slowly because it was time for the cows to come home. There were a couple of miles of different herds all heading the same way.

Oh, and just for fun ... if we win the lottery, I kind of like this house we passed on the way back to the RV from Gunnison.

And our final plan of the day was for the Vacation Enthusiast to enjoy some of his favorite things about camping… a view of the mountains, a fire and some Johnsonville cheese bratwursts.