We were itching to jeep so we headed out the first morning to do the Ophir Pass run, which is rated moderate. Even though we ran this one last year, it was exciting. What an adventure!

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There was a lot more snow this winter so some of the higher trails weren't even plowed yet. We spotted this snow cornice and realized that this could be a dangerous sport as the cornice could break off and cause an avalanche.

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Speaking of avalanches, we saw areas such as this that were the result of a winter avalanche.

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The wildflowers are spectacular this year. We saw some color last year but nothing like this. Columbine is the Colorado state flower and is most majestic.

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We decided to try a new trail today. We were rewarded with a bit of a challenge like this narrow overhang...

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...some beautiful wildflowers...

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...incredible waterfalls...

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...and spectacular mountains!

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...a BIF (bathroom in forest) where you need it...

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Today we ran Corkscrew Gulch which leads into California Pass and Hurricane Pass. We did this run last year but there was far more snow this year. It's just incredible that they run plows through these high passes (almost 13,000 feet) to open them for people like us!

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Joining our friends at the nightly campfire, we were introduced to the alpine glow. I guess I would have called it a sunset but here in Ouray it is known as an alpine glow.

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We've made some great friends around the campfire. Today we joined four other jeeps and did the Anvil Trail which was new to us. Along the way we saw many deserted mines...

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...and ghost towns such as this one at the Ironton Townsite.

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The group decided to take us on one more run before we left so today we headed off for Maggie's Gulch. This was to be a memorable day of majestic waterfalls...

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...spectacular wildflowers...

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...more wildflowers (because I couldn't choose which photo to use)...

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...and a stamp mill to investigate.

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That evening, as the campfire was roaring, Sonny cooked up batches of his famous fried biscuits. I guess we're kind of an oddity in this group since we're not from the south - everyone was shocked that not only had we not heard of fried biscuits but had never tasted them before.

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