Lots O Dirt in Colorado

[Rally_West]

On the 4th of July I met 2 good friends in my home town to show them around a bit. It all started when Joe took a little trip on his GSA and kept sending pics to me and Troy. Well, not ones to be outdone Troy and I talked each other into getting 990s and taking a little trip of our own...we invited Joe cuz we thought we should. Joe had to bail early so these are the pics with Troy and me.

Here are some of my pics...I am sure Troy and Joe will chime in as needed.


Wal Mart parking lot in Gunnison getting "supplies" for the parade in Crested Butte.


Balloonage in Gunny on the 4th.


A mid day cool off on the Numbers near Buena Vista...sadly I got NO pics from Gunny to the river as we had to HAUL ASS to get there...going over Kebler to Carbondale then over Independence. It was a HIGH speed trip.


East of Leadville...met the cutest barista in Leadville...might have to back there.



Trail Ridge Road in Estes Park...was a little nasty out...hail, snizzle (snowing drizzle), rain (lots), wind, etc.


Troy


This is when the visiblity was GOOD.


Pee Pee time.


Doctor Fucking Doolittle.


Oh My!

We spent a few days in Denver at this point. No real pic taking there...wish I had though...miss all my Denver homies. From here we rode to Woodland Park via Sedalia and Rampart Range. It was a deluge so there was no stopping for pics. Right when we got off the the dirt the sun came out.


Phantom Canyon is the SHIT...great railroad converted to road...cool history.


More Phantom.


More...


Still more...


Great hotel on Saguache...there were no rooms in West Cliff or Salida...it was LATE, we were tired. The owner (?) held the room for us, let us use his car to get beer, and was a generally nice fellow. Found a lot of nice folks in Colorado (it's been a few years since I was home last...won't make that mistake again).


Great road heading South out of Del Norte on the way to New Mex.


Same road.


Getting pretty high...


After we dropped a few hundred feet...was up over 12k for a minute.


Obligatory plug.


The view did not suck.


Couple of froot loops.


Poof...we in New Mex.


"I'm the King of the World"...oh my!


Back in Colorado near Pagosa Junction.


Cool old church in an abandon railroad water stop. Someone is taking really good care of the church...the rest of the town, not so much.






The town had a bout6 or so buildings still upright...some almost became our home for the night. Was a neat place for sure.

On to Mesa Verde...we kinda did the high speed tour there. I have been there and worked there a little too many times so Troy got the Cliff (get it?) Notes version. It was really hot and we had to get to Page that night.

The rest of the trip was haulin' ass to get back to go to work so no piccies from Mesa Verde on. Next time we will take more time in Utah, NM and Az...I know some really cool stuff there too...but that will be several months from now.

[GB]

Oh ya!! that's what I love about Co riding!!

We've created a new forum for short trips and I've moved your thread to Day Trippin'. Thanks for the report and great pics.. I'll be riding in Co next month

[prometheus rising]

Sweet Ride, great pics,

[Rally_West]

BTW...the trip was 2223 miles on the bike...A good portion was dirt...I will try to calculate it, but we basically only rode the road to get to dirt sections till we got to Durango from Gunny via Crested Butte, Carbondale, Buena Vista, Denver, etc.

[RonSavage]

Nice Report .

[dirtphoenix]

Great pics! Reminds me why I live here

[twowheelcossack]

Ah yes, many good times and miles on the "No Beer Left Behind Ride of 2010". I am glad to have shown two new inmates the light since getting my GSA Supertanker 2 years ago, and am glad to have 2 excellent riding fellows to temper my "gotta do 550 miles today" style of riding. Rem was a wonderful guide/host in Colorado and Troy was the ever willing accomplice in every endeavor of our trip. I was on the first leg of the trip with Troy before we met up with Rem. Here's some photos, first one here is coming out of Moab. Thanks to our decent booze choice and general low alcohol content of Utah, the hangover wasn't too bad. Troy looks a few degrees off kilter though (notice the hand on his saddle assisting his balance). I'm just sayin'.

[twowheelcossack]

This is an Ansel Adams-style rendition of the "4th of July Inaugural Flat Tire" sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon. I headed back to Crested Butte with Troy's wheel to find a gas station to pop the bead, and when I returned a passing motorist had given the 2 other guys in my party a cold one while they waited for my return. My friends did share though, and yes, the warm 1/2 quantity of Milwaukee's brew was sublime.

[twowheelcossack]

People are good and generous in Colorado...

[twowheelcossack]

Here's an Independence Day reveler in Crested Butte.





Okay it isn't, but I felt this photo deserved to be here. Specifically for two, perfect, reasons.

[twowheelcossack]

Looking over the Valley of the Gods, UT just outside of Mexican Hat. What a name for a town. Mexican Hat. Don't you love telling people you went to a town called Mexican Hat? I like turtles.

[twowheelcossack]

This is just the best town I've ever been to. Crested Butte. Best 4th of July parade ever. I got all mooshy about it here:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=598004

[twowheelcossack]

The fireworks show in Gunnison. That's me on the right doing my Wink Martindale impression. Troy on the left drinking what is apparently a glass of tar. I realized when I got home that the guy in the bear suit, although rather red-eyed, appears to be actually smiling despite the anonymity of the costume. Come to think of it, maybe he's smiling because he is red-eyed. God Bless America.

I am 40.

I am 15 pounds overweight. Okay, I am 20 pounds overweight.

I am having the time of my life.

[twowheelcossack]

This is the place in Utah where the road that I was riding goes past this old ranch that is far from a town.
Sorry to get all specific on ya with locations and such... (cue laughter). I powered back home 1200 miles in 2 days and this farm was one of the few places I felt I should stop. It was moving to see that despite it's age and apparent state of decrepitude, the craftsmanship used in it's construction helped to keep it standing today despite being abandoned since before any electricity had been run in the area. People's resilience and skill is astounding.

[twowheelcossack]

However, despite all the apparent resilience and skill, the bathrooms were frightening and the latte sucked. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.