A Wedding Anniversary on the Shelby Baja (Red Off Road Monster)

Kyle had driven past the Springs Supercars garage on Tejon Street a dozen times and always slowed down to look at the fleet. When Priya said she wanted 'something different' for their sixth anniversary, the big red Shelby Baja was already in his mind.

He called on a Wednesday. John McMurray picked up on the second ring. 'I told him it was for an anniversary and I wanted to take my wife off-road for the first time,' Kyle said. 'John spent 20 minutes on the phone with me talking through which trails were appropriate, where to park, what to bring. He texted me a route guide afterward. That was not what I expected.'

"John told me: 'This truck was built to take a beating — don't be timid.' That freed us up completely."

— Kyle D.

The Truck

The 2023 Shelby F-250 Super Baja — the one Springs Supercars calls the 'Red Off Road Monster' — is based on the Ford F-250 Lariat with a 6.7L Power Stroke V8 Turbo Diesel. It rides on a BDS lift with FOX Performance suspension, 37-inch BFG KM3 tires, and a bed-mounted chase rack. It is built, as John says, for places where roads stop existing.

'We pulled up to it and Priya just said, "Oh."' Kyle recalled. 'She'd expected a truck. This is not a truck. This is a statement.' The red paint, the lift, the knobby tires — even parked it demands attention.

'We hit our first rocky section on Rampart Range Road and I grabbed the handle,' Priya said. 'Then I let go. The truck just handled it. Like it was nothing. And then I started laughing.' She didn't stop laughing for most of the day.

The Route

Following John's route guide, they accessed Rampart Range Road via the Woodland Park turnoff and drove north along the ridge. Views from the high points — Pikes Peak on one side, the Denver metro barely visible on the horizon — were, as Kyle put it, 'completely worth every dollar.' They stopped at a rocky overlook for a picnic lunch, with the Shelby parked sideways on a boulder field.

"We've done a lot of anniversaries. This is the one we talk about. The one we'll talk about in 20 years."

— Priya D.