A full day for Ben

It all started when I went Paragliding: (Picture comments tell the story.)

Paragliding

When I got back home and related my tales over and over, I called Steve up to see about a 4-wheeling trip.

He agreed we should go, so he came and picked me up to head into the hills. After grabbing lunch at Good Times (I got a #6), we drove to Idaho Springs to check out the trail off the end of Soda Creek Road. At first, Barbour Forks Trail looked just like any easy off-road trail, but I soon came to realize that I was glad I wasn't driving. We drove for quite some time through all sorts of scenic surroundings. We got fairly close to the top but decided we should probably head back considering the fact we were down to a 1/4 tank of gas. Just as we turned around, an "equipment failure" caused the engine to come to a halt. Ok, ok... turns out the gas gauge now reads 1/4 tank when it's empty :-) Bone dry, man. BONE DRY!

Just to make things more fun, memorable, and exciting, I pulled out my GPS to find we were about 12 miles from the nearest gas station, 10 of which were probably in national forest. About then, my GPS battery died as I'd left it on most of the day without charging it. No gas, not GPS, no cell phone reception, but I can almost guarantee you there was bound to be a Country radio station!

So, we started to walk... At the first high-point we came to, I checked my cell phone and found I had enough signal strength to make a few calls. After explaining our predicament, a friend of Steve's decided to bring us gas after work. It was about 3pm and he didn't get off till 5pm, so we started walking to the bottom.

Upon arriving at the first fork in the road, we exercised our sleuthing skills to determine which way was right to take. After studying tire tracks, bent blades of grass, and dropped wallets, we discovered a spider web stretched across the trail that led us to believe we needed to go the wrong way.

We walked... and walked... and walked... A lot of it was steeper downhill with loose rocks everywhere, so we got our exercise. Fortunately, all the trails merge at the trail head, so we didn't get lost.

As we approached the trail head, we came across a man and his wife who offered us a lift down the mountain. We said, "thanks but we have time to kill." After another ten minutes or so of walking, we began to think we'd taken them up on their generous offer. About that time, they came back and again offered us a ride, stating they hadn't come prepared for such a difficult trail. We piled in the back and headed off to town. The only payment they'd accept is, "do it for someone else sometime."

We walked to Safeway and bought one gallon of water, a two-liter bottle of Tonic water (must try to see if it's as nasty as club soda!), and a two-liter bottle of flavored sparkling water, containing no sugar of any kind.

We went out to pass the time and flopped over on the sidewalk in front of the store. I suspect we were quite the sight, sprawled out all over the sidewalk, drinking water out of gallon and 2-liter bottles. Steve decided his tonic water tasted like chewing on lemon peels, so he didn't like it too much. Me? My "flavored" sparking water without sugar tasted like it. I honestly don't know why people like sugarless drinks. If it's supposed to have flavor, make it taste and taste good! Tea was just an early failure at making pop!

About the time we were getting rehydrated, a bum came ambling over to us and asked, "Can I join you boys?" He settled down with us, offered us a puff on his cigarette, and then talked to us for quite a while. Interesting life story.

A little while later, a bum in training (BIT -- probably an 18-year-old bum) came by on a bicycle and asked if we'd seen Silas. The bum said, "Ah, leave the bike with me. I'll get it back to him." The bright, young bum then settled down next to us. Soon after, the "good time in my pocket" started getting passed around (Vodka), so with hardy "goodbye"s and "stay out of trouble"s, we left.

While walking to McDonald's, Steve's friend and his wife pulled up in their pickup, and we piled in the back. Like usual, I needed a bathroom break having mostly finished a 2-liter bottle of water. So, we stopped at Micky D. Feeling much relieved, I clamored back into the bed of the pickup and we drove to the trail head.

MAN! 4-wheeling just got WAY better. There's NOTHING like sitting in the bed of a pickup going over a rough 4-wheeling trail. I soon discovered that sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed without holding on is INCREDIBLY fun. Besides the occasional branch whacking you in the back of the head, it was most enjoyable. I felt like I was on one of those robotic bull thingys people try not to get bucked off of. I had bought a bag of Chili-cheese Fritos at Safeway, and Steve and I were successful in consuming them and our water while getting tossed around in box that closely resembled a simulator.

For once, I wasn't the one having to go to the bathroom all the time. I think we took four pit-stops, total, and I didn't really have to go at any of them. SWEET! (Then again, I didn't drink the gallon of water :-)

Once we arrived at the truck, we filled 'er up, and drove back home.

A blast was had by one and all and I'd do it again without blinking... er... batting an eye? WHACK! WHATEVER! I'd love to do it again.

Needless to say, I had a hard time remembering the morning by the time I went to bed :-)

I think I need to go to Elitches now for the 15th time this season (Down to almost $3/visit!) to work the lactic acid crystals out of my mussel tissue :-) Man, I wish I had kept track of my trips last year -- I went there a whole lot more last year.