Red Rovers Hike The "Reds"

Red was my father's favorite color. He loved red cars, red dresses, red apples, red neckties, and, of course, Arizona's flaming red sunsets. Anything red got his attention. Like father like son, they say, and this ole "red apple" didn't fall from the "tree."

Red is a primary reason for our yearly pilgrimages to Utah. As visuals go, it's hard to beat red sandstone cliffs anchored in red sand and dirt. No matter how thorough the cleaning, you'll find telltale signs of red dirt in most nooks and crannies in Rv Dazy, and carpets tinged with red buff highlights. After 4 or 5 weeks of boondocking, it takes at least 3 launderings to remove Utah's red sand and dirt from pockets, socks and boots. I think of it as souvenirs, because it reminds me of good times and total immersion in Utah.  

But I'm not a complete red snob, though, at least not to the exclusion of hues on the color wheel. I like skies of cobalt blue, with a smattering of puffy white cumulus clouds for contrast. And one could go as far as a couple slots on either side of red on the color wheel without being unfriended by your's truly, colors to the left like purple and violet, and a couple of shades of orange on the right, particularly Competition Orange, like my first two cars.

At 16 years old my first car was a Competition Orange VW Bug. My dad had it painted before giving it to me for my birthday. I think he loved that paint job more than I did. It was so cool...cute, the girls would say.  A hormonal 16 year old male, I wanted nothing to do with "cute." So I traded the "Bug" in on a muscular '69 Camaro, Competition Orange, of course. As an extra measure in the opposite direction of "cute," I added black racing stripes, a full race camshaft, high rise Edelbrock intake manifold with two 4 barrel carburetors, and a throaty duel Glasspack exhaust system. How you like me now, girls?

So now you know the story behind my (hereditary?) affection for all things Red...including Utah's desert landscapes and Colorado's Red Mountains. I'll let the pictures do the talking now...

Mining ruins, brutalized by a century of hard winters

The "Two Old Broads" and an ex-JAG-turned-Hiker Babe, Jen.

The plan is to summit Red Mountain 3, then run the ridge over to a sub-peak of #3 and summit Red Mountain 2 (to the far left).

Running the rocky ridge of rolly rocks

A panorama from the summit of Red Mountain 2

Corkscrew Jeep road from Red Mountain 2

A few clouds move in to provide a little show of "Light and Shadow."

"Old Broad" Hiker Babe Ruthless also loves Red Mountains

Making our way back up Red 3 proves more difficult than going down

 Peace Out!

Mark, Bobbie, Ruthie and Jen

and

Be sure to check out the newest Two Old Broads video, a hike up to the Alpine Mine Overlook