There's a lot of Color Between Phoenix & Aspen

[jrproper]

Awesome stuff... looking forward to more.

[lrgart]

Beautiful work Dave. Our Ozarks are pretty, but I sure miss those aspens! Thank you for sharing

[arjones]

Man, I always have a blast looking to your photograph! They are amazing. And you are really blessed to live so close to those fantastic places with the Colorado River and its turns and colors. Absolutely awesome (hum, I really don't know if there is an expression like this in english, but you figure this out)!

Thanks for sharing,

Arjones.

[Mala Suerte]

I'm flying in to Grand Junction tomorrow for a job interview Wednesday. Your pics just add more reason for hoping I get the job. Amazing.

[Shaggie]

beautiful work as always Dave

[dave6253]

Originally Posted by DurtKlod

We were supposed to go camping up north of Durango this summer and we never made it. Seeing your pictures reminds me to try harder for next summer!

You should! I'm not sure why I haven't yet spent much time up there on 2 wheels before. I need to return to ride some of the high passes on the KTM.

Originally Posted by Blind Mule

Subscribed

Thanks, BM!

Originally Posted by Bob

More awesome pics Dave! You captured the moment, as usual.
Thanks

Hi Bob! It's always great to see you are following along.

[Dieselpwr]

amazing pics. what camera?

[dave6253]

Highway 92 just kept delivering great curves and outstanding colors.




At one point I passed a couple motorcylists at an overlook. They appeared to be mounting up.
A few minutes later I stopped blocking the traffic lane for a quick photo. I knew I had been
riding too fast to expect traffic to catch up from behind, but then I wondered...
Maybe those riders were coming this way just as fast?




After a longer stop at this overlook I was surprised the riders had not caught up yet. I was preparing to leave when finally,
three motorcycles pulled in. I chatted with the riders who told me they had just happened upon the 2 motorcycles I had seen.
One had crashed into a gulley to avoid a deer and had probably broken his ankle.
The riders told me they left after they knew help was on the way.


Black Canyon of the Gunnison




I hated to hear another rider was not having as much fun as I was.
I guess it's only motorcyling heaven if you keep the rubber side down.

I saw more motorcycles on this road than cars.

[dave6253]

Originally Posted by Conductor Tex

Great pics,went to Durango in Sep and the trees were turning then,but pictures are no match for yours!!!

Thanks, Conductor Tex!

Originally Posted by 2eddies

+1 for the super twisty, super nice stretch of Hwy 92. Ridden it on the superbike and the GS and had a fantastic ride!

Was in SW Colorado in September to ride the high dirt passes around Silverton, Telluride, Lake City. Your timing with the aspens turning was better. Nice pics Dave as always...

Thanks 2eddies! I ended up with great color in some areas, but was about a week late for peak color in the higher and farther north locations. The heavy winds of the past week and the night I was in Utah stripped most of the aspens of their leaves.

Originally Posted by Signal

Thanks for joining another one Signal!

[dave6253]

I headed up Highway 133 through several small towns and farming communities.









It is clear I'm running out of time for sightseeing. My goal was to find a campsite on the other side of McClure Pass...
Before nightfall.




But as I headed up the pass, I couldn't help it.




I just HAD to stop...

[dave6253]

McClure Pass Sunset Panorama

[thegraydog]

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concretion

Can't work out how to quote the picture, but those little marbles you find around sandstone are concretions. Adorable!

[dave6253]

Originally Posted by Nightstalker

Another great report Dave!

Thanks for coming along, Terry.

Originally Posted by jrproper

Awesome stuff... looking forward to more.

I've got a couple more days worth coming. Thanks!

Originally Posted by lrgart

Beautiful work Dave. Our Ozarks are pretty, but I sure miss those aspens! Thank you for sharing

The aspens are my favorite as well. We've got them here in Arizona as well, but I was also searching more twisties. The combinations of fun roads and aspens of Colorado made it a wonderful trip. I've been to the Ozarks plenty, but have never ridden there... yet. Thanks!

[dave6253]

Originally Posted by thegraydog

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concretion

Can't work out how to quote the picture, but those little marbles you find around sandstone are concretions. Adorable!

Thanks for the info. I found this quote from the Wiki article the most helpful.

Moqui Marbles

Moqui Marbles, hematite concretions, from the Navajo Sandstone of southeast Utah. Cube is one centimeter square.


Moqui Marbles, also called Moqui balls, and "Moki marbles", are iron oxide concretions which can be found eroding in great abundance out of outcrops of the Navajo Sandstone within south-central and southeastern Utah. These concretions range in shape from spheres to discs, buttons, spiked balls, cylindrical forms, and other odd shapes. They range from pea-size to baseball-size. They were created by the precipitation of iron, which was dissolved in groundwater. These concretions are argued to be a terrestrial analogue of the Martian hematite spherules, called "blueberries" (Chan and Parry 2002, Chan et al. 2005).

The photo you were referring to.



I should have known the Navajo Sandstone is sedimentary rock from the old sea bed. My initial thought of the small round balls were that they were similar to the volcanic hailstones that are found in places such as the Chiricahua Mountains of Southeastern Arizona. Since these were not very far from the volcanic areas of Northern Arizona I thought they must be volcanic. Thanks for finding the real explanation of these things.

[dave6253]

Originally Posted by arjones

Man, I always have a blast looking to your photograph! They are amazing. And you are really blessed to live so close to those fantastic places with the Colorado River and its turns and colors. Absolutely awesome (hum, I really don't know if there is an expression like this in english, but you figure this out)!

Thanks for sharing,

Arjones.

Thanks brother! I am pretty lucky, huh? I didn't move to the Southwest until I was an adult, so these landscapes are still the stuff of childhood dreams.

Originally Posted by Mala Suerte

I'm flying in to Grand Junction tomorrow for a job interview Wednesday. Your pics just add more reason for hoping I get the job. Amazing.

Grand Junction, huh? That would be a sweet place to live. I passed through there this summer. Check this out just outside of town...

Originally Posted by Shaggie

beautiful work as always Dave

Thanks, Buddy!