The Road Less Travelled

By Guest Blogger: Colonel Ian Ferguson, Marines Retired 8/31/2024

“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost refers to the road less travelled and is somewhat cliché, but if one chooses to take this less travelled road, one will find that it is often less-maintained, gravel or dirt.  Slim organized “Phil’s Big Chill” in Steamboat Springs, Colorado for August 2024 and I decided to go.  I also decided to drive from Pittsburgh and see if I could take some of those roads less travelled. It was a good decision.

On the way out, I got off the interstate, experienced smaller towns and camped out in Illinois, Kansas, and Wyoming before linking up with Phil in Steamboat.  The rest of the crew trickled in, including Slim, ‘Nado, Pete, and Sparky (who was, of course, a day late and a dollar short – not cliché if you know Sparky). Steamboat is high-end and ‘Nado was our top-of-the line chef, proving his cuisine as good as any of the fancy places in town. But the highlight of our trip was when we got out of town.

The six of us embarked on a float fishing trip on a stretch of the Colorado River near its headwaters.  To get there, we went with guides who drove us on less travelled state and county roads and eventually on gravel and dirt roads.  These roads took us to a special place as we floated through canyons and rapids on the Colorado.  Fishing was not great (except for me and ‘Nado in the least experienced boat) but the River and view of the terrain was spectacular – a ten mile float.  Each of us got at least one fish, even Slim who actually had to get out and wade…does it count?  Pete says no.  As if by magic, Phil ensured we had cold Coors after we extracted from the river, and they tasted fantastic.  This is one of Phil’s super powers – he can always find cold beer when you need it.   

A side note on our Guides.  These guys are familiar with the road less travelled because they drive it all the time.  And they are totally prepared for Zombie Apocalypse.  My Guide, Nick, had a couple of years of college and wrestled at the University of Wyoming.  He’s a fishing guide in the summer. In the early fall he guides for elk hunts with bows; in the late fall he’s after elk with rifle.  In the winter he’s got a paid ski patrol position and is qualified to employ explosives in avalanche control.  He doesn’t buy meat at the store because he gets elk, deer, duck and fish on his own.  He and his wife grow some veggies too. It is amazing to see a young man who is so self-sufficient.

We had some nice golf venues in Steamboat Springs…very fun and also pretty posh.  An event that is not posh is the Rodeo.  We went to the Rodeo on Saturday night and it was a tremendous event.  I had seen some rodeo 30 years ago, but had no recollection.  This time I paid attention.  These are real cowboys (and cowgirls) with mad skills.  And it’s a tough sport…football, lacrosse and wrestling we all played and they are tough, but rodeo is TOUGH.  The skill and horsemanship are incredible.  These are the people who work the land and raise the animals that feed our Nation.  I tip my hat to them.

Leaving Steamboat I was dropping Slim off at the Laramie Airport, but we had a full day to explore.  Pete advised Slim to look for the AWE (as reported in previous blogs), so we decided to take the road less traveled out of town and on our way to Laramie.  We drove up and over Buffalo Pass (elev 10,339 ft).  It’s a dirt road and not very well maintained, and luckily my ’22 Tacoma has 4WD and high clearance.  It was worth the drive as we found the AWE cresting the Continental Divide and hiked around Summit Lake at the top.  Coming back down, we stopped in Walden, saw a moose on a side road, and stopped in at a local Fly Fishing shop.  Slim spoke the lingo and got the scoop on where to go next.  Getting off a state highway near the Colo-Wyo line we pulled onto a dirt road, then parked beside the North Platte River.  Then we hiked a less-travelled path into a pretty awesome canyon.  The path was hard to follow and we had to do some scrambling and climbing to get in and out.  But it was worth it – to be in a secluded place that most people will never see.  Slim dropped in his fishing line and got a few nibbles, but just being there was the great catch.

I dropped Slim off at the Laramie Airport and he made it back to Chicago.  Phil, Sparky, Pete and ‘Nado all made it back to their homes too.  I still had a few days left on my walkabout and drove some dirt roads in Wyoming and Nebraska and stayed on the Big Horn and Niobrara Rivers.  Saw the farm country of Iowa and made it to Naperville, Illinois to see Slim and L3 (Little Lovely Lori) before making it home to Pittsburgh and Miss Teri.  A nod to Frost – taking “the road less travelled by” did make all the difference.