Last hurrah

[3wbdriver]

Yup. Pikes Peak does not exist. Lotsa snow and rain on the drive down today. I put it in 4wd for about 5 miles of the worst stuff just to feel better, but I never really felt any slippage. Had an idiot in a Subaru try to pass me on a 2 lane while I was doing 65 in a 65 zone. The problem was we were down to about 1/4 mile visibility and there was another car coming the opposite direction not 100 yards in front of me. Could have been really messy if me and the other guy didn't use what little shoulder there was and the idiot finally realized and braked hard to get back behind me. And then STILL pulled out to pass later when it was a little clearer. I gave him the "you're Numba 1" salute on his way by and he disappeared into the mist doing 75 or so. I caught up to him about 5 miles later on the tail end of a 5 car convoy doing 50 because the visibility had worsened. First time in a long time I've wanted to follow someone home and punch them right in the nose.

Anywho, on to better things. I met Blitzkreig in Manitou Springs for lunch, where we both took a wet 1/4 mile walk to a little pub for lunch, and met my nephew who is stationed here at Ft Carson. Blitzkreig had a case of the chills after lunch from the weather so we had to cut his visit short and get him warm. Thanks for making the drive and picking up lunch Bob.

My nephew then took me around and showed me the Garden of the Gods, and the Air Force Academy. The B-52 on display there is one of only 2 to be credited with a MIG kill during the Vietnam War, which I thought was a very cool piece of history. I'm hoping the weather will be more cooperative in the morning and I can get some shots before I leave for Kansas.

And this resizing of the pictures thingy is making me crazy..........

 

[Blitzkrieg]

My pleasure CJ.

Unfortunately when the weather is like this there just ain't a whole lot of fun stuff or sightseeing to do. Even the mild offroad trails in the area turn into a muddy mess and of course flash flooding is always something one needs to beware of.

That area where we were saw some pretty bad flooding just 2 years ago this August.

 

[CSix]

Glad you had a great time in Utah. Sorry the weather was not cooperative here in Colorado.

Great trip so far!

 

[Jhalko]

Even the mild offroad trails in the area turn into a muddy mess and of course flash flooding is always something one needs to beware of.

It was a lot of fun to meet and do a quick run during your trip CJ, [MENTION=29011]Blitzkrieg[/MENTION] isn't kidding. Given the conditions in Moab I got another run in that night during a drizzle but before the real rain hit, then this morning before leaving decided to do an easy trail, which almost got me an extra night in Moab, stuck on a mtn. (I had the maxsa tracks but man it would've been some work to get myself out)

Look forward to the go pro video!

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[kalonji]

That sucks about pikes peak it's a nice experience but your trip has been full of those. Try not to spend too much time at the dispensaries out there. Why follow someone home when you could just shoot a tire out? You need to practice with your left hand or get a right hand drive 4Runner. Glad you're still rockin it.

 

[Greenamphibious]

3Wb your rig must be 900hp by now with all those stickers!!! lol looks like an epic trip thus far

 

[3wbdriver]

Woke up today with a still nonexistent Pikes Peak. The nephew is going to take me to his unit on Ft Carson and show me several varieties of MRAP that they use as engineers. Then I'm heading out for Dodge City this afternoon by way of the Royal Gorge Bridge (the highest suspension bridges in the country). I'll check in again later tonight.

 

[hangman]

Keep up with the great posts--thanks for having us along for the ride!

 

[smallfry]

Your should try to hit up Cripple Creek area if you can. Kind of a neat area.

 

[3wbdriver]

Your should try to hit up Cripple Creek area if you can. Kind of a neat area.

If it's not between Dodge City, Wichita, and OKC, it is too late. Lol

Royal Gorge Bridge was really cool.

 

[3wbdriver]

It stayed wet, gray, and gloomy almost to the Kansas state line. But the sun came out then and I had an hour or so of nice windy weather getting to Dodge City. Tomorrow morning I'm going to the Boot Hill museum here, then I'm going to go take a look at the Kansas Aviation Museum, which is actually the old Wichita municipal airport terminal.

My nephew is an Engineer/Sapper Lieutenant at Ft Carson. He took me around his motor pool and showed me a sampling of the vehicles they use.

The first one is called a Husky. It is a one man operated fully armored truck that can add on various optional parts depending on the mission. They position these as the lead vehicle in convoys that are driving over suspected IED routes. The front and rear axles are designed to be sacrificed of they run over a mine. They attach to the main body with shear pins you can see in the picture. The Huskies can even carry their own spare axles if this happens. They literally drive along until they set of a mine and absorb the blast! CAN YOU IMAGINE HAVING THAT JOB!!!??? I cannot give the guys that drive these things enough credit for bravery. They can take a real beating up in that cab, and they have to wear a harness that allows them to be lifted out the top of the cab just in case they get knocked out. There is a whole slew of grated steps to get up from the back side and the cab has a clamshell top hatch. That flat thing folded up on the side is a magnetic mine detector. They can also detect IR activated (Heat) mines, which I didn't even know existed!

The next vehicle is called the Buffalo. I have seen these before but not up close. They are heavily armored and have a forked scoop on a boom, so if a mine is detected they can approach it and "scoop" it up and out of the way unexploded. They also carry several troopers and various detection devices. Both of the above vehicles have V shaped bellys so any blast they take from below is diverted to the sides.

The 3rd picture is a group of Stryker fighting vehicles. These are being used more often than the M1 tanks and Bradley AFV's because they are faster. more mobile in good terrain, and have a very good electronics suite in them. They army has several brigades of these in service now. The middle one has a mine roller attached to the front, which is designed to blow pressure triggered mines as it rolls over them. That is a vehicle carried portable bridge on the ground in front of them.

4th is an armored tractor which tows an armored Cat D6 dozer. They use the dozers to dig fighting positions for the Strykers. That odd looking thing on the roof of the trucks is called a CROW. It is a crew operated remote controlled weapon mount. They can mount an M2 .50 cal machine gun, an M249 7.62 machine gun, or a MK-19 40mm grenade launcher on it and it can be aimed and fired safely from inside the vehicle.

Last but not least. I don't know about you but I've never seen an armored Bobcat before!

The Royal Gorge Bridge was impressive to say the least. I would have liked to drive across it, but I wasn't going to pay $16 to do so. Shots are from a parking lot about 1/4 mile away from the crossing. I watched a truck crossing over and it appeared to be a single lane bridge, but I don't know that for sure. I couldn't see the bottom of the gorge and wasn't going to walk up to the edge to find it.....

I crossed the Kansas state line at around 4-ish, putting me back in my own time zone.

 

[3wbdriver]

Oh yeah! Apparently I did happen to be following the old Santa Fe trail all the way across from Canon City today.....

 

[3wbdriver]

And this is the alleged Pikes Peak. I'm beginning to think it is like the faked lunar landings. It was all faked to make me want to come to this part of Colorado, then they "shrouded" it in the mist/clouds because it's not really there. They even have a fake museum about it, because we went there and it was closed. My nephew is even in on the conspiracy. He swears it's right there off his front porch most of the time....... :rockthrow:

 

[Titanpat57]

I wouldn't leave until you see it...there also some Bigfoot crossing signs, so keep your eyes open..:frog:

 

[3wbdriver]

I wouldn't leave until you see it...there also some Bigfoot crossing signs, so keep your eyes open..:frog:

Too late. I gave it 2 days. My nephew said he'd get a picture and email it to me. It may even have a Bigfoot in it. I'm sure it will be a faked NASA photo. Nothing to see here folks. Move along...... out:

 

[3wbdriver]

I visited Boot Hill today before visiting the Kansas Aviation museum in Wichita, and moving on closer to Oklahoma City.

It was an interesting museum complex and I enjoyed the hour or so I spent there this morning. All of the buildings were full and functional including a general store that sells period accurate marked merchandise, a dentist's office, a doctor's office, a functioning saloon that sold Bud on tap as well as sarsaparilla, and a restaurant that was not open yet. It's another one of those places that isn't fully functional until the May - October season opens. There were interesting displays in each building and when one didn't have a working function it was setup as a museum display inside. The 3 buildings on the East end (School, Harvey house, and Blacksmith) were all moved onto the location and are original from that 1863 - 1879 period. There was also a steam locomotive in the parking lot you could climb up into.

 

[3wbdriver]

The Aviation museum is in a nice location, but all the aircraft displays are outside, and sadly they are all in a bit of a tattered state. It is setup in the old Wichita Municipal Airport terminal building with the control tower on top. The most interesting aircraft in the collection was the Beech Starship. I remember when they were initially produced but had no idea they had been removed from service over 10 years ago. They were considered pretty cutting edge when they were first made. I'll post that one and the B-47 because I hadn't run into either one or photographed the B-47 at the 8th AF museum earlier in the trip. Strangely enough one of the best preserved of the aircraft is also one of the oldest they have there. It's an F-84 Thunderstreak. One of the first, if not the first, swept wing fighters we produced. There were a few KC-135 tankers and an AWACS working the pattern at the shared ANG/Reserve/municipal airport as I was walking around. I have to admit I love the zoom capability of this camera. This was shot from probably a mile away. I must also admit I was surprised they didn't have any planes representing Piper Aviation, or a B-29. Piper is home based right there in Wichita, and most of the B-29s made during WWII were assembled at a Boeing plant there.

 

[3wbdriver]

I just noticed the tail number on that AWACS pictured above. The OK probably means it belongs to the Oklahoma Air National Guard, but that 0001 very likely means that it was the first one ever produced in that model. WOW!

 

[Friggin Idiot]

Too bad you're not passing through Tulsa way, I've got a couple days off and an itchy trigger finger!

 

[3wbdriver]

Too bad you're not passing through Tulsa way, I've got a couple days off and an itchy trigger finger!

I almost took a left today. I didn't know about the Davis Firearms Museum until I saw a flyer at the rest area coming in from the north. Maybe on another trip.