My Trip to Colorful Colorado

[Nice Goat]

For a couple of years now, I have wanted to tour Colorado on my motorcycle.  I'm not sure what exactly drew me to Colorado.  For certain, it is one of the most beautiful states in the West.  Also, it's a long way from home, so it truly will feel like a vacation.  It has more 14,000 foot mountain peaks than you can shake a stick at.  I don't smoke the ganja, so that had nothing to do with it.  I suppose it had something to do with all of my friends' reports of the wonderful roads and scenery, especially from the cockpit of your favorite motorcycle.

I left Alabama on July 8th after work.  It's 1,200 miles from home to La Junta, Colorado.  I had considered riding the bike, but I can't cover the same miles on the bike and I only had nine days.  I made it to Conway, Arkanasas, in about six hours and spent the night in a cheap hotel.  Second day, I left early and made it to La Junta, Colorado, in the southeast corner of the state.  My plan was to do some hiking the next day, and then leave the truck and trailer at the KOA campground while I toured the state on my motorcycle.

[Nice Goat]

First full day in Colorado, I spent the day hiking and then recovering.  As I was researching things to see in Colorado, I learned of Picketwire Canyon in the Comanche National Grasslands.  It's about 25 miles south of La Junta.  The canyon has the largest collection of petrified dinosaur tracks in the world, but it's 20 miles down a dirt road, and then you have to hike 5.3 miles from the parking area to see the tracks.  Oh, yeah ... then you have to hike 5.3 miles back to your vehicle after seeing the tracks.  Uffff.

The entrance of the canyon is 1/2 mile of downhill steep rocky trail, which becomes 1/2 mile of uphill steep rocky trail on the return trip.  After the initial half mile, most of the hike is fairly flat, but the trail traverses some river wetlands.  That means that I was sharing the canyon with an Exodus-level quantity of grasshoppers and biting flies.  Good thing that I brought my bug spray!

The hike was absolutely, extraordinarily beautiful.  The weather was perfect, not too hot, very little humidity, but lots of sun.  There were not many shady places to pause out of the sun.  I averaged about 2 - 2.5 mph on the hike in, which is a strong pace.  I normally average just over 3 mph when hiking flat trails without a pack.  My pack was about 25 pounds and included 3 liters of water, some protein bars and nuts, bug spray, sunscreen, toilet paper, and a small medical kit.

On the way to the dino tracks, you pass the Dolores Mission.  This was a small community of Mexicans in the late 1800's who were trying to make a living in the hard scrabble of the canyon.  The remains of their church and cemetery are all that remain.

The dinosaur tracks were interesting because they are over 65 million years old.  The area at the time was marsh, but through some strange mechanism of chemistry and calcification, this area become harder than marble.  There are three different kinds of tracks, with the majority being larger animals walking in small groups.  I imagined a brontosaurus family out for a daily stroll....

For years, I have been walking and jogging, on and off, so hiking 5.3 miles was no trouble.  The return trip was a different matter.  I didn't have any trouble at first.  I stopped about the 7.5 mile mark to rest in the shade.  I removed my shoes and socks for about 30 minutes and massaged my feet.  Also drank water and ate some snacks.  Started walking again, and was still averaging better than 2 mph.

As I reached the canyon wall, the last 1/2 mile of the trek trying to climb back out of the canyon to my vehicle, I became nauseous and started having serious cramps in my right calf.  I stopped to rest and drink the rest of my water.  Started up again, and had to rest again.  I repeated this about every 50 yards, so the last 1/2 mile, I averaged about 1/2 mph.  When I was finally in sight of my vehicle, I removed all of my gear and hopped on one leg the last 30 yards or so.  Downed two Gatorades and sat in the air conditioning for about 30 minutes.  Then I was able to recover my gear and drive out.  Later, I told my wife that I was never concerned about my ability to make it out of the canyon, but I wasn't sure if it would take all night.   :D

[Nice Goat]

[Nice Goat]

I spent the rest of the day laying around the lounge at the KOA and recovering.  The next day was spent on the high plains.  The mountains are the pudding, and you can't have any pudding until you eat your meat.  Eastern Colorado was the scene of several battles in the Comanche War -- Sand Creek, Beecher Island, and Summit Springs to name a few.  Bent's Fort was a regional Army headquarters. Visited Bent's Fort and Sand Creek, but I had too many pucker moments on the 14-mile round trip to Sand Creek on the sandy, sandy, deep sandy road.  Did I mention the sand?  Anyway, I went as close as possible to Beecher Island and Summit Springs, but those roads were also very sandy, so I skipped them.  Also wanted to see Pawnee Buttes, but again, too much sand.  I had no idea that eastern Colorado had so much sand.  Still enjoyed about 400 miles of high plains that day.

Sand Creek was really a massacre, not a battle.  In the name of "Manifest Destiny" and not really knowing which Indians were peaceful, American troops massacred men, women, and children who made little attempt to defend themselves.  All was not golden in the land of milk and honey.

Another reason to skip the other locations was that a storm was coming in.  Kept going north on Hwy. 385, "The High Plains Highway", into Wray, and stopped to visit the county museum.  Just after I arrived, the power went out, so I toured the museum using a flashlight.  Didn't make for good pictures.  Left Wray headed west on Hwy. 34, stopped in Yuma for a cold one...

[Nice Goat]

I could not live in a place with so few trees.  But to ride through and see an ocean of wheat as far as the horizon ... that is awesome and humbling at the same time.

I intended to camp Saturday night at Pawnee Buttes, but because of the storms and sandy roads, and that I was still sore from hiking the day before --- I decided that I needed some hot tub therapy and used some of my hotel points to stay in Loveland.  Hot tub was about 105 degrees and removed quite a bit of my soreness --- at least until the next morning.  Definitely better than an air mattress in a tent in the rain.  :)







The next morning I left the hotel in Loveland and headed west on Hwy 34.  Passed through Roosevelt Nat'l Forest, Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park, Arapaho Nat'l Forest, Estes Park, Trail Ridge Road, Winter Park, Hwy 6, Golden, Lookout Mountain Road, and the Buffalo Bill Grave & Museum.  A quote from Teddy Roosevelt came to mind while I was riding that day.  He said of his trip to Colorado that the beauty of it "bankrupts the English language."  I know exactly how he felt.

Highest point on Trail Ridge Rd was about 12,180 feet.  I had planned to go up Mt. Evans also, but the road was closed for some reason.

[Nice Goat]

Stayed in a hotel in Denver on Sunday night.  The next morning, I made it to Englewood for coffee and a breakfast sandwich.  Then I headed southwest on Hwy. 285 through Conifer, South Park, and Fairplay.  It's a high altitude basin grassland flat, and from the rim, you can literally see 20 miles across the basin.  Continued on to Buena Vista and turned north on 24 to Twin Lakes.  Very beautiful area also with lots of campgrounds.  Headed west on 82 through Independence Pass and on into Aspen.  Hwy 82 is amazing, but the closer you get to Aspen, the more traffic you have to deal with.  Had lunch at Hickory House BBQ in Aspen.  Half rack of ribs, beans, slaw, garlic toast, and large coke for $13.  The ribs were good, and I was expecting higher prices (because it's Aspen), but the restaurant was not near an art gallery, so that probably lowered the prices.  Sat at a table outside next to a Super Ténéré owner and his wife; they were from Salt Lake City.

[Nice Goat]

After lunch, I started to ride out to Maroon Bells, but the rain was coming in, and I still was not ready for another hike.  Rode on up to Glenwood Springs, which looks like a really hip town, then went west on I-70 out to Grand Junction.  Found a cheap hotel room, unloaded the bike, then took off for Colorado National Monument.  Got there about 5:45pm, which made for good lighting for a west-to-east ride.

[Nice Goat]

As usual, I brought too much crap on this trip, so Tuesday morning, I sent about 10 pounds of it back home via UPS.   :124:

Plan for today was Grand Mesa and Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but they were forecasting 60% chance of rain that way.  So, I went south instead on Hwy. 141, the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Highway.  Wow, was that a great backup plan!  If it looks like Utah, that's because I passed about 5 miles from it at the closest point, near Gateway, Colorado.

[Nice Goat]

Stopped in Norwood for lunch at the Happy Belly Deli.  Got back on the road headed toward Ridgway, and it started raining after just a few miles.  Then the temperature started dropping.  When it got to 49 degrees, I started looking for a pull-off.  I needed to add a layer.  All I was wearing was a t-shirt and mesh gear.  About that time, I passed the Dallas Divide and started downhill.  The rain/drizzle stopped and the temperature started climbing.  By the time I made it to Ridgway, it was almost 60 degrees.

Stopped at the gas station in Ridgway to use the facilities, and then I put my jacket liner on anyway, just in case.  Then I headed south on Colorado 550.  Passed through Ouray and started climbing the Million Dollar Highway.  That is a wicked cool road!  If you've never heard of it, do yourself a favor and Google it.  Curves and switchbacks with 1,000 foot cliff drop-offs.

Made it to Silverton after passing a bunch of 'Fraidy Cats.  Went to the San Juan Co. Museum, but they were closing in 30 minutes, so I decided to skip it.  From there, I went to meet my friends from Alabama who had rented a house in Silverton for the week.  Wednesday morning, the dirty section of the vacation would start...

[Nice Goat]

The next morning, I awoke at 5am and had to climb down from the loft to use the restroom.  Decided to just jump in the shower and head for Durango to get the rental dual-sport.  Left the house at 6am --- sunrise was 6:05.  Made it to Durango at 7am for a 7:45 appointment, so...time for coffee!  Picked up the dual-sport and high-tailed it the 50 miles back to Silverton.  Well, as much "high-tailing" as a 295-pound, under-powered, non-torque, 250cc Honda would permit.  It's an okay little bike, but it has very little torque and no suspension adjustments, so I don't think I would ever buy one.

We left Silverton and went straight to Animas Forks.  Then we took a right and headed over Cinnamon Pass.  After a pit stop in Lake City, we headed west toward Engineer Pass.  There were lots of Jeeps, Toyota FJs, side-by-sides, four wheelers, etc., on the Loop that day.  Right after Engineer Pass, as we turned towards Mineral Creek, one of the guys dropped his bike.  Another of the riders was following too closely and also dropped his bike, but he landed on a pointed rock and busted a hole in his DRZ's right engine cover.  He was very sad, even though I spent a lot of effort trying to convince him that we could fix it back at the house.

[Nice Goat]

From the accident location to the pavement was about two miles, mostly downhill.  With a cracked case, Snuffy had lost a lot of oil, so he used gravity and muscle to get his bike down to the pavement.  It was a very rocky road with several steps, but the scenery was unmatched.  I think it was my favorite road.  Once we got to the pavement, Snuffy and I waited about 1-1/2 hours for the others to fetch the rescue vehicle.  When we arrived back at the house, we grilled hamburgers, prepared liquid steel, and baked Snuffy's engine cover for two hours. :)

[Nice Goat]

Thursday, we had an awesome cabin breakfast --- biscuits, French toast (what is that called in France?), bacon, sausage, orange juice, and coffee.  After breakfast, we split into two groups.  One group did Black Bear Pass, the other group went towards Ophir Pass.  We met some guys from Utah, and while we were talking to them, a guy from Chicago pulled up on a R1200RT with his wife on pillion.  We were impressed.

The two groups met up in Telluride, then we all went up through Imogene Pass.  That was a real bitch on the little Honda CRF250L.  Wide open throttle in first, feathering the clutch to keep the RPMs up.  Finally made it to the top, then we all went to Maggie's in Ouray for green chile hamburgers.  The crack repair on Snuffy's DRZ held fine --- no problems at all.

[Nice Goat]

Friday was evac day.  Left the house about 8:45am.  Silverton to Durango, then Hwy 160 east to Walsenburg, then Hwy 10 to La Junta.  Beautiful scenery, but nothing exciting enough to stop for a photo.  Made it to La Junta about 3:30, loaded the bike and started driving east.  Stopped for a five-hour nap in the back of the truck around Wichita, Kansas, but it wasn't as refreshing as I'd hoped.  Stopped again in Fort Smith, Arkansas, got a hotel room, and slept about six hours.  Back on the road about 8:00pm Saturday, then stopped about 3:00am for another nap in Corinth, Mississippi.  Made it home around 8:30am on Sunday.

Here are the paths that I took:

[Nice Goat]

Some final notes:

All of the pictures were taken with an iPhone 5.  I used the Snapseed app for post-processing (cropping, repairing brightness/contrast, effects, etc.), and the Photogene app for resizing.  Facebook likes 2048 pixel width; forums do best around 800 pixel width.

I carried my Nikon D5100 with me, but it was too cumbersome to deal with.  I had the camera in the Givi 55L top case, but the iPhone was on my handlebars in a RAM cradle, or in my tank bag if it was charging or possibility of rain.  The iPhone was simply more accessible and the pictures were good enough for me.

I left the truck/trailer at the La Junta KOA Campground.  The owners there are top notch.  It's the cleanest KOA that I've ever seen, and they had the nicest & most attentive staff also.  They really do go all out to make your stay comforting and enjoyable.  Biggest plus for me: clean showers with good water pressure and working hot & cold water valves.  They didn't charge me for leaving the truck/trailer there, but I did camp there for two nights before I left them, so I contributed something.

Colorado is an amazing place.  It is so beautiful, and you will see free-roaming wildlife almost every day.  The road quality is not always as good as you would like, but the views are unparalleled.  Whether you ride a sport bike, a cruiser, a touring bike, a scooter, or a dual sport, Colorado is a moto-destination that you should not miss.  Do it before it's too late!

Hope you enjoyed the report and pics!

[klaviator]

Yes, Colorado is a fantastic place to visit and there is no better way to do it than on a motorcycle.  Great pics and Writeup Glenn.  Thanks for sharing this with us.