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Colorado or Bust!
Ok, this is gonna be short and sweet! I just don't have the time for a full write-up right now. So you get the condensed version!
Day 1 - Rode from the Bay Area up to Austin, NV. Delta was nice, 88 was nicer. Nevada was hot but in some places not. Greg was happy and so was I. Paula was there a bit earlier than we anticipated. All is good. Camp just out of town. Fall asleep to the sound of thunder. Day 2 - Rode from Austin, NV to Escalante, UT. Another 450 mile day. Played dodge the rain drops while scaring up pronghorns. Loved the red rock and found camp among same. Pizza in Escalante ain't too bad! (Nor is the beer!) Day 3 - Hiked up Calf Creek. Water falls, I saw it. Rode the Burr Trail. Rode the ferry. Got nekid and swam in the lake. Rode to Monument after Greg bonks. Silly boy, what the hell do you think candybars are for? Day 4 - Rode the 17 mile dirt loop through Monument Valley. Awesome! Could have spent the day there but didn't. Rode to Four Corners. Navajo Police got radar, but we got intuition. No tickets, no laundry. Ugh, what's that smell? Anasazi cliff dwellings are entirely too cool! Day 5 - Greg bails, heads for home. Trys to dodge raindrops but instead head-ons thunderstorms. 700 miles to Eureka. Paula plays u-boat commander on Animas river. Nails thumb on rock. Rock yells ouch but Paula turns black and blue. Whups! Then play in the thunder and lightening storm over passes to Ouray. Hot water in tub never felt so good! Day 6 - Mining roads are fun! Mining roads are rough. Paula wedges foot between bike and rocks. Saves bike, turns foot into Cajun entree (blackened toes?). More fun riding up to Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Rain gets best of us. Still, it's worth the look-see and wet crotch. Day 7 - On to Moab. Stop for foot soaking in river. Swelling goes down and so does fish population. Maybe time for shower. Red rock is awesome! Camp on big brown river. Colorado it says. Ride up different mining trail. Paula's bike gets tired and lays down. Paula chooses to save foot. Bike sheds weight. Who needs two foot-pegs anyway? One should be good enough right? Day 8 - It's great in the basin. Least visited park in nation. Caverns underground, glacier at the top, campsite in between. Dinner at the Lux. Feels like luxury. Horses can drive? Day 9 -Up to Ely. Paula heads North, I head South and West. Watching sky for rain. I see it everywhere but over me. This is good. Cross the great state in one shot. Hit favorite hot spring in Cali. Soaking is good. Rain over Sierras. Lightening is intense. Seek solace in motel room. Staying dry is nice. Day 10 - Up at crack of dawn. No crack of lightening. Zoom up Tioga. Crystal clear and beautiful. Soak up sights before soaking up pavement. Evergreen and Cherry Oil are divine! Cross the valley and home. 3000 miles in 10 days. Not a bad trip if you ask me!
More to come, more to see, stay tuned for on-bike video of adventure. Also will post maps of locations and route.
Go here for Paula's pics! Vid 1 Riding into and through Escalante Vid 2 Chasing Paula Vid 3 Riding into and through Escalante Vid 4 Riding down into the Grand Staircase Vid 5 Running through the canyon. Vid 6 Chasing Greg along the backbone... Vid 7 Panoramic from the pass above Ouray Vid 8 Riding the Burr Trail Vid 9 Riding in Colorado Vid 10 Riding along the Colorado on Moab Cheers! Craig
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