Sunday June 6, Walden CO to Estes Park CO
The objective today is to ride Lost Trail Pass in Rocky Mountain National Park to get to Estes Park. I take CO 125 out of Walden heading South to Granby to pick up US 34. It’s another nice ride with the high mountains way across the valley and pleasant little Willow Creek Pass ( 9,621 ft ) along the way.
The ride over Lost Trail is a little messy with lots of traffic and road construction on both sides of the pass. The road surface is actually a little dangerous what with stones and pot holes and grooved asphalt. Plus all the traffic. Nonetheless, RMNP is a beauty. Took lots of photos and have already sent some electric versions out by way of electrons. Several of the pull outs for viewing were packed with tourists, so I skipped a few.
I’m going to park here for two days.
Saturday June 12, Bentonville AR to Mountain Home AR
Yesterday I rode into Bentonville on OK 20 / AR 72 to make a stop by the motorcycle store to get new tires. Had a nice visit and didn’t buy any necessary accessorizes. Chatted about the wonderful world of motorcycles; the machines and the journeys.
Today I left on AR 303 out of Rogers to roam around in the Ozark Mountains. I can’t reproduce the route because I wandered so much. The roads rode include AR 21, 23, 16, 7, 14, and maybe others. Just putt-putted around kind of Eastward.
Continues to be very un-pleasantly hot.
Friday June 11, Tonkawa OK to Bentonville AR
Continued the journey on US 60. From Pawhuska into Missouri and Arkansas is not so bad. At least the streams and rivers have actual water in them. Sometimes I think Texas and Oklahoma must be Native-American words that mean, No water in the rivers.
Portage, by the way, is French for, Get out and carry the boat around the rocks.
Thursday June 10, Clayton NM to Tonkawa OK
Very straight roads, huge ranches, mega-argi, Sun beating down, big cross-wind, and as late afternoon approaches, hot way beyond comfortable. Rode mostly US 64 and US 60 straight across the panhandle and into the heart of Oklahoma.
Another 360 miles of journey-as-destination. It takes all kinds of journeys. They make different destinations.
Saturday June 5, Day ride
Took a short day ride up into the Snowy Mountain Range in far Southern Wyoming. Very correctly named. The snow banks near the top of the pass are still higher than I am. And very very cool; cold even. Another great ride.
Had brunch at the Bear Trap Bar, Cafe, and Cabins in Riverside WY, population 59; package liquor and beer, too. The usual all-in-one arrangement. Complete with pool table and juke box. My kind of place. There are two other package liquor stores in the same village. What’s with all these liquor stores in Colorado.
If we take the Hot Ham Cafe in Amsterdam NY as the reference relative to the possibility of existence of un-sanitary conditions, and assign it 10, then the Bear Trap Bar etc. comes in at about 8+.
Thursday June 3, Salida CO to Boulder CO
A long day today what with stopping and sight seeing and road touring. I have some business to take care of in Boulder, so I’ll try to get kind of close.
As planned, I head for CO 9 to ride North into the high mountains. I’ve been in these parts several times, but I can’t tour every road every time, so some parts will be different.
Out of Fairplay the road goes over Hoosier Pass ( 11, 541 ft ) and then down into Breckenridge and Frisco. Met Bill in Frisco. He was just returning to his Can-Am Spyder as I got to town. Bill has one of the machines from the original production run. And he loves it. His is serial number 15. Jay Leno has serial number 1. Bill will ride the machine to Sturgis this year.
I continued through the mess that Frisco, Dillon, and Silverthorne has become heading for Kremming. CO 9 follows the Blue River here. The last time I was here, the mess more or less ended at the light at the intersection. Now it extends up the canyon for a few miles. And the road has been proved up to the max and most of the fun parts cut-and-filled and straightened out for a good way up the canyon. Still a great ride, tho.
From Kremming I take US 40 toward Granby with the objective being Bethoud Pass ( 11,315 ft ) out of Winter Park. It seems that all the Ski Resorts have grown to be enormous and ugly cities. This is a great pass ride; it’s a long way up. The road has been made into a three-laner, more or less. But the surface is getting to be pretty bad. It remains very cool up here above the snow line. I’m wearing my aviator scarf to help keep the chill off. And it looks way cool, too.
I ride down the other side of the pass to Idaho Springs, another beaten down former mining town. I probably should start looking for a motel, but it’s kind of early, so I decide to continue on.
The next objective road is CO 119. I’ve not been on this ride before. And it turns out that Central City is another one of those places in which gaming, née gambling, is allowed. There’s a Central City Parkway now. A brand new four-laner with enormous cuts and fills. Enormous. Built solely to get the gamers to and from the town. I wonder how much the good citizens of Colorado paid for this thing.
The countryside around Central City is much like that around Cripple Creek. Beautiful. I could stay here because I’m sure there are a large number of empty rooms. But this gaming environment has absolutely nothing to offer for me. I’m guessing there won’t be other rooms between here and Boulder. So it goes.
Soon the road is riding across the ridge lines for a long way until it starts down the Boulder River Canyon past Eldora. Lots of camps up here. The canyon is narrow and very twisty and the traffic is heavy, so it’s somewhat of a chore, but beautiful nonetheless. I’ve seen lots of authorities on patrol all through Colorado and many pull overs to collect fees. So it is in this canyon, too. Driving awards we call them when there are appropriately earned.
I end up in the middle of Boulder and lots of traffic, but manage to find a cheap motel. When I check the Maps app, I discover that I’m only about 12 miles straight up the road to where my business is to be conducted.
It’s been a long day, but two big passes and miles and miles and smiles all day.
Friday June 4, Boulder CO to Walden CO
Boulder is a beautiful place. More correctly, the surroundings of Boulder are beautiful. It is very evident how the town got its name.
I left Boulder on CO 36 heading North to take care of some business. Following completion of my assigned tasks, I took US 287 farther North to connect with the first objective road for the day. If you have a more detailed map than mine, you should be able to bypass almost all of 287. It wasn’t really bad except for Fort Collins.
The objective road is CO 14 through the Poudre River Canyon. I have been on this road only one time before and that was way back in the 1980s. That would have been on one of my first moto tours of Colorado and for some reason I entered the state by way of Walden. If I recall correctly, I continued on to Estes Park and there were no motel rooms available. I had to ride down Big Thompson Canyon in the growing dusk to get a place in Loveland.
That first ride made a lasting impression because the road has been on my To-Do list for a long time. The ride down Big Thompson also made an impression. I don’t know what has taken so long, except that the road is kind of out of the way. On the Eastern end there’s nothing but big city and lots of people. On the Northern side there’s nothing because that’s Wyoming.
Well, my memories did not do the ride justice. This might be the number one ride so far. And that’s saying a lot if I recall previous entries of this journal. The canyon is beautiful. Tight, twisty and very narrow in places. Wider and open and valley-like in other places. The tight and narrow parts are classic Western Canyon with just barely enough room for the river and the road. In other Western Canyons, the tight and narrow places include the railroad. I’m certain that the river grade was modified when these things were built.
The river is quite large for most of the distance and easily becomes a part of the journey. The road varies from narrow to kind of wide and the surface varies between smooth to rough. All in all tho, very ridable. Some sections have been proved up to the max; very wide, very smooth, wide shoulders. It looks like upgrading the road is on Colorado’s to do list. Near the top of the pass, as usual, the conditions are less than perfect.
The outstanding part of the canyon is from the intersection of CO 14 with US 287 West to the top of Cameron Pass ( 10,276 ft ). Simply wonderful. Just ride it !
Eventually, as you always do out here, you come to the immense valleys and straight and flat roads. Many time with a big wind that is not a tail wind. That’s what CO 14 does as it drops off the pass and makes its way to Walden. Mary and I were here back in 2004 on our way to Steamboat Springs. So I decided to stay here in this very quite place. Another one of those towns that has seen much better days when mining and limber were big business. Oil might make a come back if the fall out from the recent troubles in The Gulf are significant. Walden must be the last un-discovered place in Colorado. Huge ranches. No gated communities in sight. No MacMansions on the ridge lines. There’s not a single national franchise here.
The place I’m staying in has been significantly upgraded by a guy who is extremely optimistic about the possibilities for Walden. He is also very Biker Friendly. If you have any money left in your 200.5 ( K ) a Subway would likely be a money maker. Or an ice cream place.
A most excellent moto road touring day.
ps
Met three Beemer riders here from Missouri and chatted with them for a bit. They trailered their bikes from Missouri to Steamboat Springs. One said that they had ridden across The Great Flats Barrier one time, and they don’t intend to do it again. Hell, Mary has made that trip three or four times.
Shameful.
Wednesday June 2, Canon City CO to Salida CO
Yet another perfect day in Biker Trash Paradise. I’ve ridden these parts only one time before and that was many years ago. I have found some new roads, very likely these were not paved when I was here back then.
I left Canon City on Big Road US 50 West with the objective road being CO 9. I’m not sure I’ve been on this road. It’s a fine two-laner that heads directly into the boonies. Another back road to be explored.
The ride out to the intersection is very good even if it is a Big Road.
Not long after I get on the road I spot a sign that points to an even littler thin- line road. A Fremont County road, 11. That guy Fremont really got around out here in the West USA. This is another jewel. The sign says the road will take me to Cripple Creek. I see on the Real Time Moto Road Trip Planer that the place is really deep in the boonies. There’s a road off US 24, CO 67, that goes to Cripple Creek. I guess my map is not up to date.
Now we’re riding a true Biker Trash Paradise road. Beautiful country side and a twisty road with a pretty good surface. The road wanders through valleys and over mountain ridges. There are a few ranches out here, but not many.
I pass other small roads that intersect this one, but not a clue about where they go to. Maybe some other time. Lots and lots of dirt roads, too. Those people who do it on dirt would be in Do It On Dirt Paradise. It has been my observation that these dirt roads almost always go up into the really high country. Probably some can’t be beat long views from up there.
As I approach Cripple Creek I start to see MacMansion type hobby ranches for the idle rich. Every place in Colorado has been discovered.
Cripple Creek is a famous ole West mining location and town. The State of Colorado has allowed gaming ( née gambling ) to be legal in several of these old historical towns. This place has been completely converted to gaming. I don’t know how many casinos are here, but it’s a bunch. And while many of the old buildings have been retained, there are also many new structures.
I don’t know how this is working out for Colorado, and Mississippi when I was back there. But it is clear that very large numbers of people were expected to show up because of the massive areas covered by parking lots.
Cripple Creek is located right in the middle of high mountains. It’s a beautiful setting. Pike’s Peak is one of those mountains and I stopped to take a picture. The road on the mountain is still above the snow line, so I won’t be riding up there today.
It’s still very cool up here, mid 50s F to low 60s.
CO 67 is the established road to Cripple Creek. A wide two-laner, kind of rough in spots, mostly wide sweepers, especially as the bottom is approached. A very good ride, nonetheless.
CO 67 hits US 24 at Divide. Heading West the roads starts to drop down out of the high country. Soon we’re at the Western edge of an immense valley. I know I’ve used immense several times, but this time I’m talking immense. Maybe 15 miles East of Hartsel the valley is bounded by maybe 9000 foot mountains, and bounded on the West by 14,000 foot mountains. And they are on the entire horizon from South to North. Still topped with a little snow. Amazing!!
Can’t get a good photo of these very large scale landscapes. I’ve try for years and years.
The ranches in the valley, very likely actual working ranches, must be measured in square miles.
Out of Hartsel, US 24 continues downhill to intersect US 285. US 285 South of Buena Vista goes over Trout Creek Pass to reach this valley in which Salida is located. The Collegiate Range mountains are on your right as you come down the valley. Another spectacular sight.
A day filled with spectacular sights. Biker Trash Paradise.
I’m thinking that tomorrow I’ll go back to CO 9 and finish that ride northward. And continue North toward I-70. So long as no tiny-line road temps me.
I’ve been through Salida several times. Mary and I were here in 2004, or maybe 2006. Salida has been discovered. There’s a super Wal Mart here now. That’ll do in any remaining local businesses. I think there are no places left in Colorado that haven’t been discovered. Cripple Creek might be the next, shudder, Aspen or Telluride or Vail or . . . An uncountable number of Gated Communities are in Colorado’s future.
Tuesday June 1, Monte Vista CO to Canon City CO
Another glorious day moto road touring in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.
I have found a gold mine of wonderful roads and scenery here in the Southeastern corner of Colorado. West if I-25, of course. I-25 forms the Western boundary of The Great Flats Barrier, and you don’t cross over the boundary until you’re ready to accept the challenge and conquer The Flats once again.
I left Monte Vista on the big road US 160 heading East. The first objective road for today was CO 12 which runs by the Western edge of the Spanish Peaks mountains. And there are lots of mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation around these parts. US 160 gets to be very nice East of Fort Garland, especially over La Veta pass, and almost to the intersection with CO 12.
I rode CO 12 to Trinidad. What a beautiful ride and a great road. I have some photos, maybe one of them is good enough to share. The best place to stop was at Cucharas Pass, and that’s what I did. I startled a coyote when I walked off the road to take some photos.
As usual in these parts, if you leave the hot flat straight-roads semi-arid plain and go up into the cool twisty road mountains, you’ll have to come down again. So I did. But it was a great ride and beautiful scenery up there. And much cooler, too. About 10 F cooler than on the plains.
I had to take the dreaded I-State to get to the next road objective, CO 69 out of Walsenburg. I’ve been on this road one time before while I worked at Los Alamos. I recall that it’s another wonder ride and plan on checking it out.
Maybe half the road to Westcliffe, the Eastern end of the road, goes through a very wide valley. It windy here this afternoon, but not stop-riding bad. Past Gardner the road starts to run parallel to the Sangre de Cristo mountains. The road is up on the slope of the Eastern side of the valley and the mountains form the Western side of the valley. It a beautiful sight for miles and miles and miles and smiles. Probably for 15 to 20 miles beyond where I turn off to check out CO 96.
Almost right out of Westcliffe, CO 96 starts to head down out of the high valley. And not long after that the road is in a very narrow, twisty canyon. Wonderful riding. Later the road runs through the Wet Mountains. And soon after that the temperature starts to increase and all too soon, it’s 22 F higher here than when I left Westcliffe and ultimately here in Canon City the temperature is 25 F higher. Hard to believe.
What a great moto road touring day.
There are a couple other roads that I’ll try to get to starting tomorrow.
Sunday May 30, Dolores Co to Pagosa Springs CO
What a glorious day !!
Clear blue cloudless sky, cool high mountain air, gentle tail wind, spectacular scenery. There’s nothing more you can ask for.
Spent the morning on Mesa Verde and then rode over here to Pagosa Springs.
Another beautiful day.
Sometimes life throws big headwinds at you, trying to convince you that you’re going the wrong way. Tailwinds, on the the other hand, push you the way you’re going making it very easy to keep going and doing what you’re doing.
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