A little late, but ehh why not (Pic HEAVY)

[Dubbin68]

So here's the scoop, I have one semester left studying at UMD here in Duluth and my girlfriend, our 2 Year old husky (Griffin), and I are planning on packing up and moving out to the Fort Collins area by May 2014. We have been going out there about every 6 months and cannot keep out minds off of moving out there!

All be it a little late, I thought that I should start a thread about the first time I went to Colorado and fell in love with the state and the mountains. Oh, i forgot to mention, my first time out there was a road trip in my 68 westy weekender with two of my good pals the summer after our freshman year. The trip lasted about 3 weeks-it was the first time i was going to put significant miles on my bus, so i wanted to take my sweet time driving out. We left at 1:30 A.M. from Delano, MN and ended up in Wall SD the first day. We traveled on two-lane blacktop for most of the trip out there

The Machine: I purchased the bus for $600 dollars while i was a freshman in high school from an old park ranger and school teacher. The bus was driven out to California twice while he owned it, traveling on many of the same roads that i traveled on going out to CO. I visited the couple i bought it from after I got back from my 3 week trip and the guys wife almost broke down in tears hearing that their beloved bus had made another trip out west after it sat, unused in their driveway for almost 10 years.

Here's a shot the evening before we left (2 hours before this picture was taken the motor was out getting a new clutch and TO bearing.)

Driving out, right after the sun rose

First site. we had anticipated staying in the Badlands, however we didnt make the best of time heading out and the ranger office was closed, thus we camped at some "campsite" with showers and a ton of other crap. By far not what we were planning. Still had fun though

The next day we got up super early to head to the Black Hills. We stopped in Rapid City at the Forest Station and picked up some awesome forest road maps.

Navigating the first FR of the Trip

First campsite-Right outside Custer SD (one of my favorite sites)

We woke up around 5:30 the next morning to get an early start on our last leg to CO.
Near Crazy Horse

Shortly after you go down a HUGE hill outside the Black Hills, you enter into a super lfat area known as Buffalo Gap National Grassland.

Next Stop Wyoming!

Time stood still while were were driving across the southeast corner of Wy. We encountered a 40 MPH head wind that took the wind out of our saisl and slowed us to about 45-50 MPH for nearly 3 hours. This was one of the most frustrating times of the trip. I wasnt sure if the old bus was going to make it.

Stopped to let the bus cool somewhere in WY. Wyoming doesnt have rest stops on this highway, probably because you can just pull right on over where ever and to your business right there without ever having to worry about any cars passing...

After a very stressful windy pass of WY we finally made it to our very colorful errr, well thats what the sign said. In fact we had been experiencing rain ever since the second day of the trip!

Our first stop was Fort Collins where we stopped at the Park Service and picked up another OHV road map so we could find some awesome sights. The gentleman told us of a place called Pingree Park Road that was out on Hwy 14 (Poudre Canyon) where there were a ton on free camping spots. Side Note: every time i have came out to CO since this trip my first stop is Pingree Park Rd. All of these pictures are before the High Park Fire that swept through last summer, buring some 56,000 acres of this beautiful area. I have been in the area twice since the fires and it is tragic to see what it looks like now.

It was the middle of May, yet once with got on Hwy 14 we got caught in some rain that eventually turned into sleet and thick fog. We decided that instead of venturing up Pingree Park road we'd instea djust get a site at one of the fee campgrounds. We stayed at Ansel Watrous that first night

Fresh Snow up in the higher elevations

The next day we finally got to sleep in and made a huge breakfast to refuel our tired bodies. Then we ventured further down Poudre Canyon until we found Pingree Park Road

My Buddy Brett and I

Pingree Park Road

Camp

The rain yet continued, yet we were just happy it wasnt snow! At least we had a nice dry bus to hang low in. the next morning however, we were given a beautiful break.

We stayed at this site for two nights, which offered us sometime to get out and do some hiking

Climbed up an unmarked peak to about 9200 feet, the highest point yet of the trip.
The Crew: Cody, Myself, and Brett- pictured in the background in RMNP

The little green bean off in the distance! (y bus became known as The Bean on this trip, a name that stuck with it and now the whole family uses!)

We woke up early the next day and headed back towards Ft. Collins and headed towards Boulder. Brett's dad bummed around Colorado back in the 70's and told Brett all about Pearl St., thus Brett just had to go see it. Needless to say we were all disappointed by what we found. We all got weird looks because we had been gathering dirt and probably didnt smell the best. We grew anxious with all of the people and building so we decided to split pretty fast. We stopped at the Boulder District Forest Service and picked up another road map. We decided on an area near Nederland and off we went, up Boulder Canyon.

Okay Boulder Canyon was by far the hardest my bus had to work thus far on the trip. I think i got 3rd once, but it was short lived. Driving up the canyon it was a beautiful 70 degrees and sunny, however once we turned the corner into Nederland (by the large reservoir) we were greeted with high winds and snow! It was one of the most bizarre awesome things i had seen. We traveled to the ace hardware/forest service base and aske dif they had any suggestions on where to camp. The gave us some crazy directions that consisted of, "when you see the cow spotted mailbox...er it may not be spotted anymore,...anyways take a right onto some forest road." the directions were actually spot on- we found the cow mailbox and took a right, once again off the beaten trail.

Boulder Canyon

Campsite near Nederland

Until this point I had been the only one sleeping in the bus, however once we got to this campsite the winds picked up something fierce and even though the sun was still shining it started to flurry. Well this promoted my buddies to ask if they could crash in the bus that night to stay warm, i reluctantly said yes and that night three grown men slept in the bus (we stayed warm!)

Something strange happened around 1:30 a.m. at this campsite. Brett and I had gotten up to take a leak and we saw flashing lights, cop lights infact heading down this forest forest road. We were all pretty freaked out because we were pretty far back and hadn't seen anyone else in the area. But the sheriff drove right on by, shining his spotlight on us, and drove down probably another half a mile down the forest road where he was stopped for a good hour and then drove right on back out. Being in the middle of nowhere in the woods and seeing this kind of freaked us all out a bit!

The next morning leaving the Nederland Campsite

We next traveled to Golden CO to hit up a VW show called VWs on the Green. It was an awesome show with a ton of cars! We met some good people and had some good conversations.

We then headed back up Boulder Canyon and turned off on Gold Hill Road i believe it was called. It traveled through the area where Gold Hill Fire was not too long after we were in the area. It was on this road that the bus just wasnt having it. It was a STEEP incline, and i had to downshift into 1st a few times before the bus reluctantly just didnt want to go anymore and died. So we chalked the back tire and sat there for about 30 minutes and let the Bean cool off. then fired it up and continued into Gold Hill.

Gold Hill was a trip, one dirt road ran through main street and we were met with a few weird stares and someone sweeping there dirt porch. Anyways,
we continued on and made our way to a nice campsite. This was the highest site the bus drove to, measuring in at about 9500 feet.

Upon further investigation at camp I had found that i had burned through my points. Luckily i had a petronix along with me that my boss gave me just in case this happened. Problem was that he said i ha to pay for it if i used it! Anyways, popped it in and the bus ran a lot smoother. I really should have rejetted it once i arrived in CO, but the problem was i didnt bring any jets along! this prevented us from going up any steeped than this site.

FR leaving Gold Hill Site

Drive back down Gold Hill Rd though burn area.

After this we drove the Peak to Peak Hwy out of Nederland and stayed at some State Park for the night (i cannot remember the name). I remember backing the bus up to a 3 foot snow pile!

After the State Park Stay we decided to head back towards Poudre Canyon and Stay up Pingree Park Road again.

We stayed at this site a few nights before getting back on the road back to MN

Pronghorn in WY

In Torrington WY, after about 1200 miles we finally had our first breakdown. We stopped for some fast food at Arbys where we were met with some of the weirdest stares I had witnessed yet. Needless to say we were all ready to get out of there fast. But when i went to start the bus i pushed the gas pedal down and snapped the accelerator cable! Luckily it broke right at linkage for th edual carbs and i was able to adjust the angle of the arm and used a small allen wrench and wedged it in the slot and tightened down. It was the only minor breakdown for nearly 2000 miles.

On the way back we stopped in the Black Hills for a night and stayed at the same site we had been at 2 week prior. However the Black Hills had been receiving rain for about two days and Brett accidentally navigate bus down the wrong road where we got stuck in some deep mud in a low point on the FR. It was pretty frightening and stressful because we were so far back that we didnt take any pictures (super mad about this!). Brett and Cody had to get out to assist the bus in getting out. I had managed to reverse up the opposite hill and then floor it up the other side. I attempted this twice unsuccessfully and then on the third try i went all out and the bus slowly made its way up the muddy slope, sideways, flinging mud and debris all over. Cody and Brett got covered! We were all pretty happy with the Bean after this moment

the next set up pictures were after this occurrence when we made our way the the badlands. This picture shows all the dried mus on the bus that still didnt get washed off the night before from all the rain.

Drive out to campsite 12 miles back

Campsite

The Bison were crazy in this area. There would just wander through the campsite, getting super close to the bus. I always shad been taught to keep a very wide birth on Bison and watch for signs of discomfort, however these bison showed no signs of that. They had probably grow pretty used to people in this area because of the campsite

Sunset at Camp

So albeit a little late, i finally made a trip log forum for all to see! It was the best trip i have ever been on and i got bit by the mountain bug pretty bad during it. Since this trip i have driven out to CO with my girlfriend every six months and we always make our first stop Poudre Canyon. We're planning on heading out in October to start looking into locations to live and applying for jobs (we are both outdoor education majors and psychology minors). We are also planning on doing this trip when we make the movie out to CO hopefully in about 8 months here. Who knows, maybe we'll be living in the Bean until we getting settled in out west!
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68' Westy Weekender
73' Squareback
69’ Beetle

[bugsy95]

Very cool pictures..Dave 1973 bus

[Marleybus]

Great trip. Great Bus
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1972 VW Westy (Hit by dumptruck)
1963 VW Beetle (RIP)
1974 VW Beetle (RIP)
1981 Vanagon Westfalia (Sold)
1969 VW Beetle Convertible (Wifes)
1977 VW Westy 2.0L FI Chrome Yellow
1978 VW Westy 2.0L FI (Under Restoration)
1973 VW Westy 1.7L Tourist Delivery Orange
Check out my thread!!http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=556709

[rustfree1967bug]

Hey kyle, glas to see you still have that bus and are using it as it was intended to be used. A trip like that is exactly what i've been wanting to do in my '74 tintop, maybe next year! Looks like alot of fun.
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'69 ghia
'65 singlecab
'66 sunroof beetle
'74 bus
'67 so-42


IDA's...well... they talk dirty -MURZI

[Bradgt74]

Great story Kyle! I just got back from a trip to the Black Hills with the wife. I took the truck so I could bring dirt bikes though. We covered a lot of FR on the motorcycles!

I was thinking about how our bus would fare on those hills. I will eventially go back in the Westy!
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1970 Westfalia http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=379526&highlight=1970+westy
1968 Beetle http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=579992&highlight=
1987 Westfalia https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=762500

[curtis4085]

Awesome fun that was reading. Colorado is the tops!!

I live in the foothill mountains in Loveland, just next door to Ft Collins. You should drop me a line when you get to town. Have some clubs I can tell you about in the area. One is a bus club and the other a VW enthusiast club.

I also have a very good aircooled mechanic I can recommend if needed. They could make sure your jetted and CO is set up for the altitude.
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[Dustan]

Sounds like Colorado would suite you just fine. I moved here 8 years ago and never looked back

[samroon]

you should make a stop in Southern Colorado sometime. Untouched wilderness and light champagne powder in the winter:) Colorado's unknown gem....
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'70 Hardtop Camper 1600 w/ dual kaddies

[CoastalAirCooledVW]

The picture of driving through the mud puddle is great! What tires are those?
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1966 Velvet Green Standard

[Stuartzickefoose]

epic story


now im super home(road?)sick and want my bus to run again for another road trip
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Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

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[SLVRSRFR]

awesome - thanks for sharing! I love these trip posts...
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Brian

'78 westy, '64 sedan

[archemitis]

Wow! This makes me wanna go work on my bus till its done!
I have been to that Nederland campsite! such a cool spot. Had to cross a slightly larger stream on the way out because of an overnight storm. I was in a Subaru tho =[
Great Story!

[Kirk]

I love to see threads where people are using their campers for what they were designed for. Great share.
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[Dubbin68]

[TomWesty]

I've lived in Wyoming for 56 years and have never witnessed pronghorns locking horns! You drive through and photograph it..... Great photos! I get weird stares in my bus too and my family has been here longer than any of the weird staring people!
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