CO Trip Wrap up - 6/28

Well the last two days of riding back to SoCal where a little warm!

 

On Saturday AM we rode through some rain storms over the Red Rocks and Navajo Country near the 4-corners areas.  The rain and clouds provided some additional needed coolness and provided for dramatic photos of Monument National Park and we also got to have a look at Bob’s former residence and clinic from the time he spent working with the Navajo back in a previous life.  It was great to have such a good guide to show us this AWSOME area.

 

The further West we got, the more the clouds dissipated and the hotter it got.  We rode the old Route 66 from Seligman to Kingman and then Bob went to visit relatives in the Parker area for a few hours and then motored the rest of the way home that evening (for a nice 600+ mile day in intense heat).

 

Rick and I were a little more sensible in that we decided to call it quits after about 350 miles and we rode into Laughlin at about 3PM with my bike’s thermometer showing 118 degrees and Rick’s showing 116 degrees.  Not sure which was right – but let’s just say it was HOT!!!!

 

After cooling down and showering, Rick and I headed to the poker room for a little R&R.  We decided to get into the $100 tournament at 7:00 PM at the local Casino and we agreed to a 70/30 split should either of us end up in the money (which is the top 10 players out of about 60).  I went out mid way in the tourney – so I decided I needed to cheer Rick on to the WINNERS CIRCLE.  Well her certainly did not need my help as he was playing GREAT – and he TOOK DOWN FIRST PLACE for roughly $1,500.  It was great to watch and to of course take my cut to add to my future poker fund.  Thanks for sharing Rick and CONGRATULATIONS.

 

Anyhow, Rick and I got up Sunday at 5:00 AM to get on the road and try to beat some of the heat.  The sun was just rising and it was already 86 in Laughlin.  By the time we got to Desert Center at about 8:30, it was already 108 degrees.  We rode in 100+ temps for the next hour and a half until we got to Hemet where it started cooling a little bit.  By the time we got back home – the local temps were a cool 95 degrees.

 

Anyhow – it was a great trip with a great group and I sure hope to do South Western CO and a lot of other future trips with these guys + one Amigo that was missing on this trip due to prior family commitments – Mark Jones – our comrade that was injured on our Arctic Circle trip last summer – but who is doing fine and now has a new bike we need to abuse.

 

Thanks for reading along.

 

Steve

 

 

Gunnison Coloradoo to Monument Valley Utah

Another great ride, with a small disappointment because of heavy rain over all the passes in the San Juan mountains. By the time we got to  Pagosa Springs we were soaked to the skin. We sent to a laundramat and dried out our clothes, and continued. Durango has grown a lot since I was last there. From there on it was beautiful. We visited Monument Valley which brought back some great memories from the time I spent there as a dental student about 35 years ago.

Tomorrow we should get to the river or maybe on home depending on how I feel …until then..

Another great Monument Valley shot

 

Monument Valley with Sun hitting just one monument!

 

Friday June 26th

Well the day started off in nice – but cool weather and we took highway 149 South since none of us had been on it.  It was AWESOME for the first hour or so until it started raining!  It did not rain quite as hard as it did on us yesterday, but this rain was very steady and we rode in it for probably 2-3 hours.  For the most part it was OK, but going over some of the passes, the temps would drop to the 45 degree range and when you were pretty much already soaked, it got just a bit chilly.  This is an area we absolutely have to come back to so we can see it in better weather conditions.

 

After about 4 hours of riding (most of it in rain), we rolled in to Pagosa Springs and the next thing I know, Rick is pulling into a strip mall area.  I could not figure out what he was doing until he pulled up in front of Laundry mat and said he had to dry his clothes as he was soaked to skin and freezing.  It seemed like a good plan so we all went in and shed most of the clothes into the large industrial driers (see photo).  

 

About ½ way through Rick’s dry cycle we look into his dryer and money ($5’s, $10’s, $20’s and $100’s) are flying everywhere.  It looked like one of those games where you get in a booth and try to grab as much as you can.  Apparently his wallet was in there and was now emptied in the drier.

 

After drying off,  the skies were breaking up and we hit a local subway and hopped back on the bikes.  The scenery was great again and we rode to Kayenta (gateway to Monument valley) hitting yet some more rain on the way - and picked up a room at the Holiday Inn and then Bob rode us out to Monument valley as the sun was setting.  It was beautiful as well.  He showed us where he worked during his 3 month stay here.

 

We dined at  Burger King and them came back to the room to hang out.

 

Steve

Denver to Gunnison, Colorado

Terrific day!!! Irv picked  me up at the airport and gave me a lift back to their house and I got on the road. Hooked up with Steve and Rick in Fairplay, CO and almost right away we were in a spectacular lightning storm, with rain and hail that came with such volume the water/hail was inches deep on the highway I could hardly ride or see. The views over the passes and through the country were spectacular.

Hopefully, we will have reasonable weather tomorrow. Our goal is to get to Flagstaff. It was great to ride with  the guys again.

 

 

 

 

June 25, 2009 - Bob Bringsthe rain!

Rick and I left Leadville this AM about 7:00 and wanted to do Mosquito pass at over 12,000 feet, but it was still closed with snow, so we went a little south and did Weston pass at about 11,000 feet.  All in all Rick and did 3 off road passes prior to heading to Fairview to meet up with Bob.

 

About the time Bob showed up, it started raining, but not too bad.  We started South to Gunnison, but about 30 minutes into our ride we hit REALLY BAD rain and HAIL.  We got totally soaked and pelted with bean sized hail for about 15 – 20 minutes.  It really HURT not to mention the temps were in the 50 degree range, so a little cool too.

 

We got into the Holiday Inn in Gunnison and hit the hot tub to warm up.  While in the hot tub we learned that Michael Jackson died today (along with Farah Fawcett) – I guess we are getting old.  We went about 5 miles down the road for a steak dinner and when we came out it was raining again, so we rode back in the rain and soaked even more gear.

 

No real pictures from today, but a great ride.

 

They are calling for rain here tomorrow as well – but we likely won’t be riding in it too long as it will heat up and dry out as we head south.

 

Steve

Talk about the long and winding road!

 

June 23, 2009 recap

WOW – WOW – WOW.

 

I now have new ride that is in my top 3 I have done so far.  New Zealand’s Mount Cook and surrounding areas is one, The Glacier Highway near Jasper in British Columbia is one and NOW – the ride from Hurricane, UT to Blanding, UT via Zion, Bryce and Lake Powell Ferry at BullFrog.  Of this 400 miles, the ride to Bullfrog was a highlight for sure with about 25 miles of gravel and some real canyons and switchbacks forever.  Lots and lots of redrock (some photos attached) and even some cliff dwellings along the way.

 

We had a great lunch at a little café in the middle of nowhere and then took off on the road to Bullfrog so that we could make the ferry in time as it only runs every other hour.  We wanted to catch the 3:00 and we rolled in at what we thought was about 2:15 – well, we forgot to change our watches from CA time so we actually rolled in at 3:15 and just missed it.  So we went and found a shady spot overlooking the lake.  I stripped down and went for a swim and then went back to our little picnic area and took a nap on the picnic table.

 

We caught the 5:00 Ferry and arrived across the lake about 5:35 and then motored about 90 miles to where we found an older hotel to spend the night.  We are setting in one of two restaurants in town (a suedo steak house with one waitress for 30 people – and NO BEER as it is a dry town).  I don’t often want a beer but after the warm dry ride today – a beer would sure taste GREAT!

 

Overall, the temps were a little cooler today running mainly in the mid 90’s and only touching 100 a couple of times.  Still warm, but since we were at about 7000 feet most of the day – it was much nicer than yesterday.

 

I have attached some photos and hope they show up OK.

 

Steve

 

Nap time while waiting for the 5:00 Ferry

 

This Ferry was a little warmer than our last one (in the Arctic Circle)

 

June 24,2009

Today’s ride took us from Blanding, UT to Leadville, CO by way of some great paved and unpaved roads through the Colorado mountains.  Temps ranged today from about 92 in Eastern UT to a low of 49 degrees at Cottonwood pass at an elevation of just over 19,200 feet and raining.

 

We ate lunch in Crested Butte at Café Ginger (Thai food) which was pretty good – but I am hungry again.  At least Leadville should have decent food and a BEER!

 

While I was showering and typing this up, Rick was playing online poker and peat the same guy 5 games in a row!  At 2$/game- Rick has almost paid for his trip.

 

About 200 miles of our ride today was dirt (but pretty easy dirt) and the last 20 miles was in a cold rain, so it was good to get to hotel.

 

That’s it for now.

 

Steve

Here was todays route which covered a couple hundred miles of great dirt

This Hotel in Hurricane as Motorcycle Garages

 

A TRUE Shoe Tree

I always wanted a picture of this tree outside of Amboy on the old route 66.

Valley of Fire State Park

 

A Hot Day Today

We rolled out of Murrieta at 6:00 AM in the fog and 55 degrees pretty much all through the valley and into Hemet.  We hit the I 10 and motored out to the 29 Palms cut off and as usually it was a true wind tunnel tossing you left and right for a few miles.

 

We stopped for breakfast in 29 Palms and then started working our way north through Amboy, Kelso, Searchlight and then on into Henderson, NV.  Traffic was backed up for miles waiting to cross the Boulder Dam – fortunately we were not going that route.  We headed North on Lake Shore Drive along Lake Mead and then cut into the Valley of Fire.  A beautiful area and I got some great photos that I will try to post tomorrow, but the camera is out on the bike tonight and I am too lazy to go get it.

 

Temps were pretty hot in the 103 degree range and after we had in about 400 miles (10 hours), we stopped in Mesquite for a little poker and played for about 3 hours waiting for the temps to cool off.  We played $1-$8 anytime hold-em and we each lost about $25 dollars in a pretty goofy game.

 

At about 7PM we decided to put in another 90 miles and rode up to Hurricane, UT.  It had really cooled off and was only 99 degrees now.  In Hurricane we found a great Holiday Inn Express that actually has locking motorcycle garages as part of the hotel – what a great concept.

 

Anyhow – we soaked out butts in the hot-tub for a bit and are heading to bed soon.

 

Again, I hope to have some photos tomorrow if we have a connection – so stay tuned!

 

Steve

 

 

Lusk, Wyoming to Larkspur, Colorado

This was the final leg of this segment of the trip. I didn’t know what to expect when I got up this morning because for days the weather reports have indicated ugly weather, but it looked beautiful only a few clouds in the sky, and nice temp. This leg was short so I stopped at many of the historical interest points in route. The first was Fort Laramie which operated from 1849 until 1890 to protect the people traveling west on the Oregon Trail. The next stop was what is called the Register Cliff State historic site just above the banks of the North Platte River. This is where people traveling on the Oregon Trail carved their names and dates on this vertical wall of soft sandstone. Could have happened today, people through historic time never seem to change.

Traveling south on route 25 through Cheyenne, and Fort Collins to Denver was fast and easy. There were some very wild looking thunderhead clouds just to the west of the freeway around Longmont or Boulder that were dropping significant rain, it almost looked tornado like  but no funnel. Anyway, got to Irv & Karen Crump’s house and Karen drove me up to the airport. Thanks so much for your help and letting me park the bike at your house until the next segment.

I will return to Denver to complete the final segment and get the bike back home June 25……stay tuned for the final episode.

Sioux City Iowa to Lusk Wyoming via South Dakota

Another huge day with lots of cool stuff. It was raining lightly this morning when I left Sioux City and by the time I got to Sioux Falls SD the weather was quite nice. Basically I went from the east to the west of South Dakota on route 90 again very green and flat, not so many trees as in Iowa. Stopped for a buffalo steak in Kadoka which was really good. The Badlands did not strike me as very special, coming from the south west there are many places that look like that. Wall and Wall Drug in particular is quite the tourist trap, a kind of Knott’s Berry Farm without the rides.

Mt Rushmore was indeed a fantastic national monument. It is quite breathtaking to see for real, I will say it is fairly remote, but I think worth the effort to go see it.

The ride through the Black Hills and down into Wyoming was fantastic, not only for the scenery, but there were thunderstorms, and the light contrasts and lightning made for a spectacular ride. I will say I was a little concerned in the lightning and an absolute downpour, but it did not last for more than a few miles. This day was about 625 miles.

Tomorrow is to Cheyenne, and Denver then home….which I will be happy for.

Sioux City Iowa to Lusk Wyoming via South Dakota

Another huge day with lots of cool stuff. It was raining lightly this morning when I left Sioux City and by the time I got to Sioux Falls SD the weather was quite nice. Basically I went from the east to the west of South Dakota on route 90 again very green and flat, not so many trees as in Iowa. Stopped for a buffalo steak in Kadoka which was really good. The Badlands did not strike me as very special, coming from the south west there are many places that look like that. Wall and Wall Drug in particular is quite the tourist trap, a kind of Knott’s Berry Farm without the rides.

Mt Rushmore was indeed a fantastic national monument. It is quite breathtaking to see for real, I will say it is fairly remote, but I think worth the effort to go see it.

The ride through the Black Hills and down into Wyoming was fantastic, not only for the scenery, but there were thunderstorms, and the light contrasts and lightning made for a spectacular ride. I will say I was a little concerned in the lightning and an absolute downpour, but it did not last for more than a few miles. This day was about 625 miles.

Tomorrow is to Cheyenne, and Denver then home….which I will be happy for.

Indianapolis to Sioux City

Another great ride with perfect temperatures and quite nice scenery, but fairly straight and uninteresting road. There were several times when it got very dark and there were some rain drops, the temp went noticeably lower but nothing came of it.

It was just a long day of about 700 miles. Quite a large number of bikes on the road, most from adjacent states.

Tomorrow is to Rapid City and Mt. Rushmore.

Pittsburgh to Indianapolis

I started my fourth leg of this trip today. It was great to see my brother and his family in Pittsburgh but I didn’t feel real good about leaving this morning because the weather people indicated there might be rain/thunderstorms on my route today. As it turns out I had overcast skies but no rain and the temps were nice.

First stop just before Columbus Ohio was the AMA motorcycle hall of fame. A nice exhibit worth stopping for if you are there, but I probably wouldn’t go to far out of the way to see it. The single best bike there was Neil Pert’s BMW motorcycle that he rode 55,000 miles all over North America and was the basis of the book “Ghost Riders”.

Continuing on to Dayton, I stopped for several hours to see the Wright-Patterson USAF Museum. This was worth going way out of the way to see. There was to much to describe but the historic planes and all the air force stuff was incredible.

Indianapolis was just 100 miles more and now I’m ready to make a big ride tomorrow all the way to South Dakota. More then….