Colorado Trip - 2007

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Day 1 (Sunday) – Garland, TX to Clayton, NM (580 miles)



   I had to work Saturday night, getting out of the hangar around 3:45AM.  I came home and slept until about 10:00AM.  I had loaded the bike Saturday afternoon so I simply showered and took off to meet Hal at the Flying J truck stop in South Dallas (pistol in mesh jacket and one in man-purse).  You folks from Dallas will understand!  We departed the Flying J around 11:15AM.  Our route took us around the south side of Dallas and Ft. Worth, and then we turned north at Weatherford, eventually ending up in Wichita Falls.  We cut across 287 to Estelline.  Our plan was to go west on 86 out of Estelline and pick up some of the Cap Rock scenery.  As we slowed in Estelline and made the turn, "Estelline 5" in his silver Mustang GT was sitting under the City Hall awning and pegged a car eastbound on 287.  He pulled out and ran him down as we made our way to the Cap Rock Canyons State Park.  Working in law enforcement, some of the smaller towns' LEO's just kill me.  I would go crazy doing that type of work.  The ride near the park and up through Silverton was very pretty; although I did not get any pictures.  In fact, I didn't get any pictures until we got to Clayton, NM.  I know, I know, what an idiot but let's face it, there is not much to see along that route and as I mentioned above, I am new to this and completely forgot to bust out the camera.  Looking back, I wish I had because I like seeing other peoples' pictures, no matter what they portray.  Sorry.  This was our room at the Best Western.

I was wore out from the ride across West Texas


The bikes taking a break as well

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Day 2 (Monday) – Clayton, NM to Gunnison, CO (386 miles)

   We decided that we would not rush during this trip; in fact, we never set an alarm clock.  We were on vacation and would get up when we got up, stop when we stopped, and go when we, errrr....went?  We gassed up and headed through Raton, NM.  We then started north on IH-25.  That is when it happened.  We crossed the Colorado state line and I saw my first mountains off to the west.  I couldn't believe it!  It was fantastic.  We then turned west in Walsenburg, CO and headed for Southfork, CO.  At Southfork, we turned north on HWY 149.  I guess you could say this was my first "real" Colorado road.  It was fantastic.  Heading west, then north out of Creede led us to Spring Creek (10,901 feet) and Slumgullion (11,361 feet).  I won't keep gabbing and just showing some pictures.

Just after crossing the line into Colorado from Raton


Hal and his HD




















After turning north on HWY 149, we got stuck behind a hay hauler, briefly


Hwy 149 was beautiful from Southfork, north towards the Blue Mesa Reservoir






We stopped for a break and some pictures






Back on the road




We stopped again in Creede for some fuel at a small gas station.  This was definitely not the order of business I was used to seeing in Dallas.


More hydration.  The ugly "safety green" Camel Back was very handy for the trip.  I used if for hydrating myself.  I also carried a Nalgene bottle in a water bottle pocket on the outside of the Moto-Fizz Bag for pouring over myself when things got too hot.




Heading up towards Slumgullion














And starting back down




Some small town one lane bridge construction


This part of Hwy 149 was fantastic!




Things opened up a bit heading towards the Blue Mesa Reservoir








Then it was on to the Blue Mesa Reservoir where we turned east on Hwy 50 and headed for Gunnison to find a hotel.

As we approached Gunnison, I started seeing many "real" dual-sports.  Evidently, the Colorado 500 was under way so the town was filled with dirt bikes.  It was very cool to see all the dirt bikes doing the hand signal thing riding up and down the city streets.  The local motorcycle shops had snacks set up for all the riders.  At the recommendation of Anaconda, we picked the Quality Inn.  They gave us their government rate and we split a room.  As Ana mentioned, they were very motorcycle friendly, providing towels and such for cleaning up the bikes.  Also following Ana's recommendation, after unloading the bikes, we ate at Garlic Mike's, just north of town.  The Italian cuisine was fantastic!

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Day 3 (Tuesday) – Gunnison, CO to Gateway, CO (258 miles)

   We ate breakfast at a small café across the street from the Quality Inn and took off heading west on Hwy 50.  After passing the Blue Mesa Reservoir again, we turned north on Hwy 92.  This turn was not part of our original plan; however Yeeha! Stephan suggested the road and we took his advice.  Boy was I glad we did.  The road was spectacular.  Once again, I can't do it justice by talking.  I'll just post some pictures and shut up.

Hwy 50, east of Sapinero, prior to turning on Hwy 92


Hwy 92 runs along the Gunnison River for several miles.  This was another area where we stopped and took some pictures.  I also had my first experience with altitude differences here.  We walked down a hill about 100 yards to get a shot of the river only to find out we would have to walk back up.  This fat-boy here nearly died.












Further up Hwy 92 near the Gould Reservoir

Hwy 92 brought us in to Hotchkiss.  From Hotchkiss, we traveled west on Hwy 92 to Delta, then south on Hwy 550 towards Montrose.  The road over to Delta, then south to Montrose was not very impressive.

Motoring along

The temperature went up quite a bit and the scenery reminded me of West Texas, with a few hills.  During this leg, Hal's cruise control quit working so we stopped at the HD dealer in Montrose to do some diagnosing.  We found a blown fuse, but could not find the source of any potential short.  We replaced the fuse, walked around the dealer a bit, then headed down to a local recommended restaurant for lunch (Camp Robbers).  It was pretty good grub.  We continued south to Ridgway where we turned west on Hwy 62.  The owner of the HD dealer recommended staying in Gateway.  Time would work out well for that stop.  We took Hwy 62 to Hwy 141.  This route along the San Miguel River was very pretty.  We stopped at the "Hanging Flume" which also made for some nice picture taking.

North on Hwy 141 towards Gateway

Little did we know that there was only one place to stay in Gateway, and it is a resort, and the owner of the Discovery Channel owns it, and it was EXPENSIVE.  Behold, the Gateway Canyons Resort.

Parking lot looking east across Hwy 141


Front of the "General Store"


Some Pictures of the Room






Looking Over the Pool


Another Shot Across the Parking Lot

   The place was very nice and I would recommend it to anyone wanting a beautiful place to stay and spend time with a loved one.  They have four wheelers available to rent, along with kayaks, horses, etc.  The have an "adventure center" on site which will outfit you with whatever equipment you need for whatever type of activity you choose.  They also have a very nice automobile museum.  The rooms were very southwest and included a huge plasma TV.  On the way into Gateway, as the sun was setting, I had an up close and personal encounter with two deer.  That was enough motivation for us to stop and spend the night.  The room was $179 for two queen beds.  We met some folks in the bar that night who made some suggestions regarding routes.  Some suggested seeing the Grand Mesa, others did not.  Since we had already come from that direction and wanted to get further north and east, we decided to bypass the Grand Mesa the next day.

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Day 4 (Wednesday) – Gateway, CO to Fairplay, CO (292 miles)

   We departed Gateway, traveling northeast on Hwy 141 towards Whitewater.  We turned north and followed Hwy 141 up to the southeast side of Grand Junction, cut across to IH-70, and slabbed it all the way over to Glenwood Springs.  After fuel in Glenwood Springs, we turned southeast on Hwy 82 towards Aspen.  Just outside of Glenwood Springs we ran into a small shower.  After consulting Hal's Garmin 378 with XM Radar, we decided the storm was small and moving out of our path.  We only got a little wet, and it was actually refreshing.

North on Hwy 141 Approaching IH-70, East of Grand Junction


IH-70 was very pretty.  The Colorado River runs along side for nearly the entire route from Grand Junction to Glenwood Springs




Approaching Glenwood Springs


Downtown Glenwood Springs


While heading southeast on HWY 82, I noticed this young lady burning it up

   We arrived in Aspen just after lunch.  I had high aspirations for some of the places in Colorado, such as Aspen and Breckenridge.  As a kid, I heard all about the kids with money going to these places for wonderful skiing.  I had heard how awesome the towns were.  I had seen them in films.  Well maybe I am a bit pessimistic, but I was not impressed at all.  We intended to eat lunch in Aspen; however after driving around downtown for a few minutes we departed the area.  I have never seen so many California plates with California drivers in California hurries.  The parking required you park your bike on the intersections, which didn't really appeal to me either.

Aspen




We stopped just southeast of Aspen near the Lincoln River to take a break and recover from the Aspen/California craziness






A younger lady with some kids floating the river

   We headed southeast on Hwy 82 towards Twin Lakes.  This was one of my favorite areas along the trip.  As we wound up the mountain, the road became essentially one lane, but that was okay because everyone was driving slow and being cautious.  The road ran along some beautiful rivers.  I put the Tiger in first gear, engaged the throttle lock a little, and tied to snap some pictures.

Steep drop off


Too much work




So much for "Where's Waldo?" with the high-viz hydration

   Before you know it, we were up to Independence Pass (12,095 feet).  The temperature had gone from the upper 80's in Aspen to the mid 50's at the pass.  We parked among some HD riders who were gearing up to move on.  I asked them if I could take a picture of their bikes and one rider replied, "Ya, I know.  You are going to show this to all your buddies and say, can you believe these gutless Harley's made it to the top of the mountain?"  I just smiled.  I guess he didn't see that I was riding with Hal on his HD.  I must say, Hal told me he had the throttle wide open several times on this trip and I never did.  Did I mention the Tiger did great?  Anyway, some pictures from the pass.

Finally seeing some snow up here






You can pick up the road heading down, very cool


Two idiots from Texas






The trip heading down (someone who rides motorcycles HAD to have built this road)


The little black spot is me!




Weather....

   At Twin Lakes, we turned north on Hwy 24 up to Leadville.  Leadville appeared to be a neat little town.  We took a break and some pictures.

   We then headed up Hwy 91 towards IH-70 with plans to drop back down Hwy 9 into Breckenridge, once again, one of these places I had heard all about and wanted to see.  Remember the showers outside of Glenwood Springs moving east?  Well, we found them again near Leadville, except this time it was a bit cooler.  Once again, the Garmin 378 showed it moving away so we didn't rain gear up.  We later found out that same rain produced Colorado's first snow of the season up in the mountains west of Breckenridge.  Pretty cool, I thought.

North on Hwy 91 towards IH-70


IH-70 northeast from Copper Mountain
North on Hwy 91 towards IH-70


North on Hwy 91 towards IH-70

We went east on IH-70 towards Denver, then south on Hwy 9 towards Breckenridge.  Breckenridge and Aspen were very similar to me, very touristy.  We stopped at a couple of places to find somewhere to stay only to learn from the employees, "Breckenridge does not have simple overnight accommodations.  We only have condos for rent in this community."  Well, la-tee-freakin-da!  We headed south, crossed Hoosier Pass (11,541 feet) and struck a course for Fairplay, Colorado, USA and the "newly renovated" South Park Inn and RV Park.  I like the show South Park, and it appears the show resembles this community.  I looked for Mr. Mackey, but never found him, MMM-KAAAAY.  It was quite the place, but did have wireless Internet.  We found a café downtown that had outstanding food – best club sandwich I have ever eaten.  No beer, though, something about not getting their license back yet.  Beer at the end of the ride was a bit more difficult to find in Colorado than in Texas, something I'm not used to.

The South Park Inn, Fairplay, CO

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Day 5 (Thursday) – Fairplay, CO to Durango, CO (288 miles)

   Several oil field workers were staying at our motel and got up and moving around mighty early.  The rooms there did not have air conditioning (didn't need it anyway), but this meant we slept with the windows open and pistols under the pillows.  The activity in the parking lot got us moving early.  We walked across the street to Fairplay's version of Starbuck's and slammed a cup of coffee.  Shockingly, the South Park Inn had no free breakfast.  We went south on Hwy 285 to Hwy 50 near Salida.  We turned west on Hwy 50, heading back towards Gunnison.  At Monarch Pass (11,312 feet), we stopped at a convenience store/gift shop/rest area/trolley ride.  I used the restroom and had a very good piece of homemade fudge.  I also spent some time reviewing a display of the wildlife native to the area, as well as the history of some of the roads, including Monarch Pass.  Crossing back and forth over the Continental Divide was very cool!  I thought about riding the lift/trolley/whatever you call it for a better view, but did not feel like waiting.  I wanted to ride.

Getting ready to roll

   After Monarch Pass, the rest of Hwy 50 back towards Gunnison was uneventful.  We stopped in Gunnison at Sonic for some lunch.  Once again, the Colorado 500 boys were all over town.  After lunch, I hit the local Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki/KTM shop for some chain cleaner.  I had brought some kerosene in a spray bottle to clean my chain, but the cheap Wal-Mart spray bottle leaked.  Thank goodness I had placed it inside a zip lock bag just in case but needless to say, I had to pitch the whole deal.  I am sort of a chain dork, along with the gadget dork.  I try to lube the chain every 200-300 miles and clean it every 800-1000 miles.  After picking up some PJ cleaner, we were off again, passing the Blue Mesa Reservoir and heading for Montrose.  At Montrose, we turned south on Hwy 550.  From here to Ridgway was the only part of the Colorado portion of the trip where we duplicated a road (approximately 26 miles).  

   We continued south on Hwy 550 for the portion of the trip that I had looked forward to the most – the road from Ouray to Silverton.  I won't even begin to talk about it because I am talking too much in this report.  All I can say is that it was the best!

A couple of nice KTM's in Ouray




Another fairly steep drop off












Shots looking down on Ouray




Waiting for the aforementioned shot to be taken

   At Silverton, we stopped at the Handlebars Saloon for something to drink.  Both Ouray and Silverton are neat little towns nestled at the bottom of the mountains.  I thought the layout was cool.  After visiting these two towns, I started to realize what didn't seem quite right about Colorado.  Here I was in this beautiful land, but not really able to find beautiful people.  I don't say that to be rude, but no matter whom I spoke with, especially the employees of various businesses (gas stations, restaurants, whatever), NO ONE was from Colorado.  No one could talk about the history of the land.  It was strange to me.  The people gave me the impression that they dealt with me because they had to, that it was how they made their living and seemed to resent it.  Small town Colorado was not small town Texas, in my opinion.  We made our way on to Durango, setting up camp at the Best Western.  After unloading we traveled downtown to a local brewing company.  I had a Navajo Taco and a beer.  Both were excellent.  I was really digging the green chili sauces and very fresh taste of all the food on the trip.

Silverton










Arriving near Molas Lake on Hwy 550 where we stopped from some pictures
















Durango and Silverton Train

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Day 6 (Friday) – Durango, CO to Santa Rosa, NM (321 miles)

   We departed Durango Friday morning with the intent to make Santa Fe and spend the night.  We traveled east on Hwy 160 to Pagosa Springs.  The country was very pretty along the way.  We dipped down Hwy 84 through Chromo and stopped at a general store for some crackers and a break.  It was a nice little general store that reminded me of small town Texas.

Best Western, Durango, CO


Glider tow overhead while loading the bikes


Pagosa Springs


Chromo Store

   We continued down Hwy 84 and Hwy 285 into Santa Fe.  The last sixty or so miles before arriving in Santa Fe were plagued with New Mexico State Police.  They were working hard and really hitting the 55MPH area, which were waaaaaaay longer than needed.  Once in Santa Fe, we had difficulty finding a place to stay what was reasonable and motorcycle friendly.  After driving around in heavy, hot, mid-afternoon traffic for about forty-five minutes, we decided to push on and slab it to Santa Rosa, NM.

Heading for the state line










Bugs








Starting to look like West Texas


....and feel like West Texas

   This was a good decision.  We found a nice La Quinta that was very motorcycle friendly.  They let us park up under the front awning and pointed us towards a fantastic café off the historic Route 66 on the west side of town.  The location was built in 1921 and served many years as a bank.  The present owner restored the original floors, teller counter (now bar), and left the safe door in tact which now leads to the kitchen.  Very neat place with very good food.

Lake City Diner, Santa Rosa, NM (notice the safe door leading to the kitchen)


Old Courthouse

Another great end to another fantastic day; however the country we passed through today reminded me that the trip was almost over.  I wasn't ready.

Parking lot of the La Quinta looking over Santa Rosa, NM


Some storms off to the south

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Day 7 (Saturday) – Santa Rosa, NM to Childress, TX (284 miles)

   I have to admit, at this point during the trip I was getting tired.  We were heading back into the flat lands and the heat.  I couldn't keep my Camelbak filled often enough.  Fortunately, Hal asked if I minded if we stopped in Amarillo to see his daughter and granddaughter.  We stopped by their house and had a very nice visit.  His son-in-law took us out to the old Trade Winds Airport to see all the construction that has taken place.  Hal is from West Texas and flew into that airport many times when he was stationed in Lubbock, prior to coming to Dallas.  After killing a couple of hours in Amarillo, we pushed on to Childress and another Best Western.  We had a good meal at the K-Bob's in Childress, watched some of the Cowgirl game, and went to bed.

Bored...


Approaching the Texas state line


Can't you tell?

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Day 8 (Sunday) – Childress, TX to Garland, TX (257 miles)

   Once again, hot, hot, hot, and flat.  I was pouring water over myself often, so I didn't really get the camera out.  We traveled east on Hwy 287 and split in Wichita Falls.  I came down to SH 380 in Decatur, cut across to the east to Denton, south on IH-35, then around the horn on IH-635 to home.  Hal cut around the west side of the metromess due to where he lives.  It is easier for him to catch IH-20 running east than to cut through town.

   I'm sorry the last couple of days were not more eventful; however anyone that has made that drive/ride in August can probably sympathize.  There is just not much there.  I thoroughly enjoyed the trip; although I'm not sure that it might not be better to trailer up to New Mexico, then ride into Colorado.  I haven't been a big advocate of trailering because I always thought I wanted to ride all the time.  This is coming from someone who had never take a bike trip this long before.  After seeing what the drive did to my tires on the bike, that alone may make it worth it.  At any rate, thank you for taking the time to read my first "real" trip report.  I hope it was somewhat interesting.  Thanks to my buddy Hal for inviting me along.  I won't forget it!

Take care and be safe!

Clay

Mapsource Miles:  2,667
Fuel Cost:  $164.97
Lodging:  $394.47
Food:  $138.87

Total:  $698.31

[CBAT]

gotta love CO. Nice ride.

[Tama's Tigre]

Absolutely breathtaking pix!  Saw the GPS with the elevation.... made me envious.  What program did you use for the maps? Who's the cool cat on the Tiger?  ...very cool set up.  Did the Harleys have a hard time keeping up with you?

Next summer I was going to scoot right past CO, on my way to Wyoming/Montana, but it looks like I should spend a little bit of time where my favorite beer is made  :P