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All-4-Fun in Colorado
2007 Sets New Records for Mile-Hi Jeep Club

By Del & Stacie Albright, BlueRibbon Coalition

We just attended the 41st Annual All-4-Fun event in Colorado, and it was an absolute ball!  Each year the Mile-Hi Jeep Club celebrates the sport of four-wheeling with a week-long event called All-4-Fun.  This year was in Salida, CO and the scenery was breath-taking; the people fun; and the wheeling spectacular!

All-4-Fun, Salida, CO, 2007

The event has been going on since 1967.  Interestingly enough for repeat visitors, each year the event moves across the beautiful state of Colorado.  Locations include places like Gunnison, Leadville, Silverton, Salida, and other great cities. 

A history of all the locations of All-4-Fun can be viewed in the history section of their web site at (http://www.mhjc.org/all4fun.htm).This was our first trip to Colorado and the passes and mountain scenery left us wanting more!

Registration fees are very reasonable, with plenty of sponsored food, drinks and fun every year.  According to Cory Moul, event organizer, “There's always plenty of entertainment and fun to keep you busy, not to mention some of the best mountains in the world!”

Jeff Fish, Logistics Chair, said that he starts making arrangements for this event eight (8) months in advance.  “The trick is to reach out to local businesses and stay in touch with them throughout the entire planning period,” Jeff added.

As many as 15 guided trips left camp every day from Sunday through Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday saved for Vendor Day.  Some trips test your skills as a driver and put your rig through its paces.  Other trips can leave you speechless as you view the stunning scenery that the Rocky Mountains provide.

Our favorite ride this time was called Tincup Pass.  Reaching 12,150 feet in elevation, we quickly learned that our Jeep can breathe better than us at those heights.   Views seem to reach forever and the puffy clouds only made this majestic scenery more beautiful. 

One great way to explore CO is to start with these DVD's from David Showalter

Click to see the Atlantic AND the PacificWe were standing on the Continental Divide where behind us the waters ran to the Atlantic Ocean, and ahead of us they rushed to the Pacific Ocean.  It was a pretty cool feeling, for sure.

Stac and I set up the BlueRibbon booth (our Jeep with a Dave’s Rack from Olympic4x4 Products covered in camo) on Wednesday to participate in the annual vendor show under the big top tent.  There were games for the kids and even some fun games for the more mature kids (adults). 

Jeff Miller, Vendor Coordinator, said that, “We have over 45 vendors sponsoring various aspects of the entire All-4-Fun, with the whole week being a family-oriented adventure.”  With right at 999 attendees this year, there was no shortage of activities any time of day.  Jeff also told us that the vendors (listed on their web site) were some of the best supporters in the country, every year, helping to make the event a success, as well as helping to keep the trails open.

Click to see a larger version of Fred from Clemson 4Wheel

Every time we turned around there was some fun thing going on like a BBQ, raffle, door prizes give-away, dance, free hot dog day, ice cream social, and you name it.

Thursday evening was the big drawings for prizes provided by the vendors, patrols and some attendees.  Raffle tickets were sold each night to help raise money for COHVCO and Children's Hospital Burn Center. 

There were also some strange (and very entertaining) antics by some groups called Sheites, Pirates and Hoobs.  Want to learn more about them?  You’ll have to head to All-4-Fun next year to find out what they're all about.  I can tell you it will bring a smile to your face.

Friday night the week ended with a live band, dinner and dancing.  We highly recommend a visit to Colorado for the All4-Fun event.  You will not be disappointed. To find out more about next year's event, visit the web site of the Mile-Hi Jeep Club (http://www.mhjc.org)

More pictures of All-4-Fun here

Click here for a great reference book on COClick here for a great reference book on COClick here for a great reference book on CO

Great reference and trail guides for Colorado can be found at Adler Publishing with their awesome trails collection as well as the Adventures Collection. Click here to get your copy.

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The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible use of public and private lands, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,100 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide.  Call 1-800-258-3742 and visit BRC online at  www.sharetrails.org. Article copyrighted ©2007 by Del Albright, www.delalbright.com, available for use by permission.

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