James from Red River Offroad, you especially might enjoy this video. The FC-150 sure had a rough time. It took a village to get it out of that mud!
Features Research Archives
Day 5 – Mar. 24th: Talking Jeeps w/ Worn Rusty Hubbs
<– Day 4 – Mar. 23rd: Hurray for Ouray | OVERVIEW | Day 6 – Mar. 25th: TinkerTown and the Turquoise Trail –>

Rusty and me with his FC-170. This seemed like an appropriate photo to start the post since the FC Roundup is only a few days away.
We woke up a little lazily on Monday morning. We knew we had a long drive ahead of us from Durango to Santa Fe, but we wanted to peruse a little of Durango before we left, so we hunted down some breakfast using an iPhone App called Ness (that won’t be around much longer), which calculates the time of day to suggest nearby restaurants (for mornings it will find breakfast places for example) and provide ratings. That’s how we found the Durango Diner in downtown Durango.
The Durango Diner had a wide selection of breakfast items that looked good, including two eggs & a chile relleno, which was my choice. I expected to just get the eggs and the relleno, but instead there was a heap of hash browns with green chile sauce (love that New Mexican Green Chile sauce, even in Colorado). It was a lot of food and if there’s one thing I’ve learned on these trips, eating light saves money and bathroom stops. So, I ate a good portion then pushed it away, reluctantly.
We left Durango and quickly found ourselves wandering through northern Idaho, or what looked like northern Idaho to us. Southern Colorado felt remote and looked beautiful as we drove through endless forested valleys with the occasional ranch.
1941 Photo of Bantam BRC-60 on eBay
UPDATE: I had mistakenly labeled this a BRC-40. Craig corrected me.
Neat photo with caption. The Associated Press labels it a Blitz Buggy.
Day 4 – Mar. 23rd: Hurray for Ouray
<– Day 3 – Mar. 22nd: Old Bones and Old Jeeps | OVERVIEW | Day 5 – Mar. 24th: Talking Jeeps w/ Worn Rusty Hubbs –>

Here’s our selfie at an overlook just south of Ouray, Colorado. Ann is putting on a brave face for the camera, but she’s very scared in that photo. This overlook hangs over the edge of a steep cliff.
With beautiful blue skies overhead, we started the day in Grand Junction with our sights set on the mysterious Colorado National Monument. Having done no research on it, and trusting Dean’s advice from yesterday, we started at the western entrance of the park near Fruita.
After the ranger station, the road climbs quickly, switching back and forth, tunneling through rock, and teasing the driver (who should really keep his eyes on the road according to Ann) with beautiful views of the Grand Junction Valley. Those travelers familiar with Southern Utah will instantly recognize the red sandstone walls, the juniper trees, and narrow canyons.
After four miles of driving, we arrived at the visitors center, a complex perched near a canyon wall with a view toward some of the amazing pinnacles that dot the landscape. Inside the visitors center we learned about John Otto, the man that made the Monument happen. His early vision included an amazing road full of switchbacks that would allow cars to traverse the park from one end to the other. Hi dream might not have become a reality had the Depression not happened, for it provided all the cheap labor ($1/day/per person) he need to carve a twenty-three mile road through the park.
After driving the road, it’s my opinion that it is one of the truly unique features of the park. There aren’t many places along the drive that don’t feature beautiful views. It is one continuous bit of eye candy from start to finish.
1944 Photo of Jeep Bumper with Mussolini Mask **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
Wait, that’s not a government issue mask! The three pictured from left to right are: CPL. Arthur Smith of New York City, NY, PFC. Matty Furyal of Detroit, Michigan, and PVT. Carl Carlson of Norwalk, Connecticutt.
“1944- U.S. troops in Italy with a mask of Mussolini attached to the bumper of their jeep.”
1958? Photo of August Benhoff Retirement on eBay
As Marc noted to me, the photo appears more likely to have been taken in the late 1940s. Perhaps it was a photo that wasn’t released until 1958?
“You are bidding on an original press photo of Willys Motors Employee in Vintage Jeep. Photo has staple hole top right corner & waving Photo measures 8 x 10 inches and is dated 6/17/1958.”
Day 3 – Mar. 22nd: Old Bones and Old Jeeps
<– Day 2 – March 21st: From Salt Lake City To Vernal | OVERVIEW | Day 4 – Mar. 23rd: Hurray for Ouray –>

Dave shares his unique seat implementation, which will allow the seat to be tilted back or released entirely using the custom sliding seat attachments he’ll install for his seats.
We started our day planning to leave Vernal, Utah, and drive to Dinosaur National Monument, before heading for our final destination in Grand Junction, Colorado.
But, before we left our motel’s parking lot, we spotted our first ‘feral’ jeep of the trip, a CJ-5 that was right across the street from us. The snowplow on the front suggests this utility vehicle’s singular purpose.
Satisfied with a quick photo, we were on our way, but not before one final dinosaur bid us a farewell.
Dinosaur National Monument is about a 20 minute drive east of Vernal. The monument was established in 1915 after Earl Douglas discovered a quarry of bones near the small town of Jensen, Utah. While known for the amazing dinosaur history, much of the Monument consists of over 200,000 acres of rugged canyons. Apart from exploring the Monument, there are many other day trips which could keep a person busy exploring. We plan on returning to the area at some future point and spent several days driving the backroads.

This is the Quarry building. No, this is not some cheap ploy to encourage Jeep Corp to sponsor our trips . . . unless it works.
1949 Fairchild Airlift Photo on eBay
That jeep and trailer look pretty loaded up!
“Original advertisement for their C-82 Packet cargo plane showing an Airborne Signal Team loading a Jeep and radio trailer.”
1945 Photo of Dwight Eisenhower and Child on eBay
Day 2 -March 21st: From Salt Lake City To Vernal
<– Day 1 – March 20th: Dinner and Salt | OVERVIEW | Day 3 – Mar. 22nd: Old Bones and Old Jeeps –>
After our long drive on Thursday, we intentionally had an easy day drive of a few hours, a quick trip from Salt Lake City to Vernal, Utah.
We started off the day with some bagels at the Einsteins on 13th East with Karson. After we were done eating, we posed for a photo together, which further demonstrates that either he is growing or I am shrinking. Must be the water in Salt Lake or something . . .
We were just about to leave Salt Lake when Ann and I spotted Caputos, a well known deli that now has a small store next to Einsteins. They know their stuff at Caputos and know a couple suckers when they see them. We walked out a little poorer, but with some really good goat cheese and some locally made chocolate.



























