Day 8: Telluride to Monument Valley

Day 8 got off to a rough start. The bed in our room was more akin to a bowl than a bed making sleeping difficult. I checked road conditions first thing and got the bad news. Highway 550 would not open until 8am and would have alternating 1-way traffic with a pilot car. That didn't sound like a very fun ride down what is supposed to be a very scenic road, thus we opted to take the alternate route.

Highway 145 took us on a much more south-westerly course which shaved almost 100 miles from our original route. We were nearly alone on the road and encountered few other travelers going southward. On a few occasions, we caught ourselves complaining about the low 40-degree temperatures then remembered it was going to be hot at our destination. Kitty and I talked about how we were going to miss the alpine forests of Colorado and before we knew it, we descended into the high desert near Cortez.

I try not to be judgemental when rolling into a new town, but Cortez was giving me a Breaking Bad vibe. This was reinforced after chatting with a man who was walking his dog by us after our breakfast stop. He was a former Ventura resident who moved there because his wife took a job there and told us that Cortez was a rather rough burgh. We took that as our cue to move along without doing any further exploring.

The air warmed as we rode toward the Four Corners Monument and green disappeared from the landscape's palette. The road quality deteriorated considerably, which seemed uncharacteristic compared to all the previous CO roads we had been on. Arriving at the monument, we made our way to the center so we could get the obligatory photo standing in more than one state and browsed the wares of the native American booths. Okay, it's getting hot, time to get moving again.

Heading northwest toward Utah, we came around a bend and were startled by some jackasses hanging out at the side of the road. We were under the impression that the open range signs referred to cattle, but in these parts there were wild horses and donkeys too. After a brief refuge from the heat at a gas station in Mexican Hat, we crested a hill and caught our first glimpse of Monument Valley in the distance. After seeing it in photos and movies, I thought I would be prepared for the scale of it, but it was bigger than I imagined. Had it not been for the heat, we would have explored more, but we settled for several photos instead.

Day 7: Denver to Telluride

We bid adieu to Denver just before 8am and headed southwest into the mountains. The skies were gray today and temperatures were lower than we anticipated. Again, Colorado impressed us with its beauty as we raced along sinewy rivers, through gorges and across the high plains.

During a fuel stop, Kitty saw another couple ride past and the woman riding pillion waved at us enthusiastically as her hair whipped around in the wind. Colorado does not have a helmet law like we are used to in California, but I much prefer to have that protection in place law or not. When we caught up with the couple, we were climbing up Monarch Pass and the temps were in the low 40s. I glanced over at the sign at the summit where the continental divide is marked: 11,312 feet above sea level. We're going to be drunk on oxygen when we get home.

After blasting across the high pains, we arrived in Montrose where we filled up the tank and the skies darkened. Suddenly the sky grew bright with a flash of lightning and thunder followed very shortly afterward. Heading south on highway 550 the sky opened up and made a mess of things. Thankfully, it cleared up before we arrived at our hotel. There is a fire burning south of us, but hopefully it won't force us to use a different route tomorrow.

We arrived at 2pm and The Angler Inn was abandoned of staff with a realty sign out in front, making us wonder if something had happened since I booked our reservation. Without cell reception, I used the phone in the abandoned lobby to call the number that had been left on the closed door to the front desk. It went to voicemail, so I left a concerned message wondering if we had a place to stay or not. Since we couldn't get a hold of anyone, we rode into Telluride to check out the town. Telluride was beautiful and small, reminding me of the Santa Ynez Valley 25 years ago. We strolled along the main drag for a little while before going into Brown Dog Pizza for a bite to eat. They serve their pies 'Detroit style' in a square pan and we opted for the 3-1-3, which was very tasty. I noticed that I had a voicemail after we finished our meal and it was someone from the hotel indicating that they don't have a front desk person until 3pm and that check-in was 4pm. I can understand that sometimes an early check-in is not possible, but for no staff to be on-site was pretty unsettling. We spent a bit longer in Telluride taking some photos and then headed back to get checked in.

Upon returning to the hotel, we were given a key to our room and as we approached it we heard what sounded like parents and children trying to murder one another. This was not the relaxing retreat that we had envisioned, so we returned to the desk to request a different room. Heading upstairs, we noted that the cacophony was no longer audible and we went into our room. Unfortunately, we didn't notice that the bed had a rather bad sag to it until it was too late to change anything about it. This made for a lousy night's sleep. We felt really let down by this establishment.

Day 6: Pike's Peak

Today was a long day, but a good day. We hit the road early so that we could grab a bite in Colorado Springs before attempting to ride up the peak. We were about halfway there when the mountain came into view. Pike's Peak towers over its neighbors and its summit has no foliage, I was starting to feel intimidated.

After a delicious breakfast at a restaurant called Over Easy, it was time to head up. The morning air was already cool and we wondered how much further it would drop on the way up. The ride near the bottom is really beautiful and verdant with lots of trees. The road is smooth with sweeping turns and heat views. Once you climb above the tree line though, it gets intense. There are few guardrails and steep drops everywhere. Knowing how fast the guys who race up this mountain go gives me a whole new respect for them.

When we finally made it to the top, the temp reading on the dash said 40 degrees and there was a stiff breeze blowing. Walking from the bike over to the sign with the elevation on it felt laborious. At 14,000 feet, the effective oxygen level is only ~60% of what you get at sea level due to the reduced atmospheric pressure. Suffice it to say, we walked slowly to the various lookouts to take in the views.

Heading back down the mountain, we made a few stops at some of the lookouts for photos, then took a different route back to Denver that wasn't the interstate. Gorgeous landscape and roads; motorcycling paradise.

We capped the day visiting with two of Kitty's dearest friends from her previous life in Colorado. Lycia and Justin were wonderful hosts, and I can see why Kitty holds such a fondness for them. I hope we can return the favor when they next find themselves in California.

Day 4: Eastbound & Down

Today was the final leg of our eastbound journey and it got off to a rocky start. To the people that were in room 21 last night with the TV cranked up and conversing loudly at 4am: may the fleas of a thousand camels infest the fur of your nether regions. In my failed attempts to fall back asleep, I also realized that I forgot the parking pass I printed out for Denver. This caused a detour to print out the pass at the local FedEx office.

Once we got underway, all of that previous nonsense was forgotten. Interstate 70 follows the landscape that the Colorado River has carved over millions of years. I find it amusing that this was the first time seeing it in Colorado rather than on the CA/AZ border or in the Grand Canyon. I wish that it was as green back home as it is here.

The further east we went, the more often we saw peaks with snow on them. Passing through Vail, we started to climb in earnest and stopped at the top of the pass at over 10 thousand feet. I felt winded just pushing my motorcycle into its parking space; my hat's off to the people I saw bicycling up the pass. Vail pass was just the warmup though; the continental divide awaited.

A while back, I saw a truck towing comparison that the testers referred to as the "Ike Gauntlet" since it went from the bottom of the grade to the Eisenhower tunnel at the top. Having ridden up it myself now, I can agree that it's one hell of a stress test. 11,158 feet at the west end of the tunnel caused my bike and I to both feel short of breath. Descending on the other side soon brought relief and the cool, refreshing air grew much warmer.

Approaching Denver, we could see the great plains further east, stretching on with all of the excitement of a tortoise on ambien. I can't imagine how monotonous diving out there must be, especially after going through Utah & Colorado. I'm looking forward to our return trip in a few days.

Day 3: Cannonville to Grand Junction

After a restless night's sleep in Cannonville, we woke before 7am, got some coffee from the minimal breakfast offerings at our motel and hit the road.

Highway 12 was a spectacular ride. Smooth pavement, almost nonexistent traffic, and incredible vistas. Kitty and I marveled at how beautiful the scenery was. I hope that the GoPro footage comes out OK when we get home since I can't preview or edit it here. There were a few spots where you're riding along right on the crest of the mountain and it drops off to either side. The scenery reminded me of Tioga pass somewhat, but without the confinement of the Sierra Nevada - the expanse of the terrain was huge here.

After that amazing ride, we rolled into the remote town of Boulder (Utah) and checked out Hell's Backbone Grill for breakfast. Holy hell, they make some fantastic food. Everything on both of our plates was delicious and was absolutely the best meal of the trip (thus far). I had the hungry haymaker and Kitty enjoyed the super spicy chile migas. Highly recommend dining here if you are in the area.

After our delicious meal, we continued north and climbed into the mountains. I was quite surprised that the trees weren't the usual conifers, but appeared to be birch. Kitty corrected me that they were aspen, which I had never seen before. I feel like I keep repeating myself here, but the scenery was fantastic. Much to our delight, the road wound through the forest like a roller-coaster. Ever since departing from our breakfast stop, we had noticed some dark clouds on the horizon. While descending the mountain and its aspen forest, those clouds made good on their threat. Kitty and I pulled over to close all of the vents on our jackets and helmets just in time before the rain hit. It felt like a microburst, though not as violent as the one that hit Santa Barbara a while back. The rain fell hard and we were buffeted by strong blasts of wind but our jackets kept us dry.

We got a brief reprieve from the rain as we started to head east on 24 into Capitol Reef National Park. Utah's famous red sandstone was on full display here, making us feel like we'd been transported to Mars. Stopping briefly for some photos, the rain caught up with us again and we headed out. I'm pretty sure it doesn't rain on Mars, but that's what was happening here. When it finally stopped, the Martian landscape was becoming lunar landscape with red becoming gray. This lasted until we reached Hanksville for our fuel stop.

The heat had come back at this point with my dash reading 85F; at least our jacket shells were drying off. Hanksville to I-70 was what I expected much of Utah to look like: a slightly better version of Nevada. Zion, Bryce, Grand Staircase and Capitol Reef had recalibrated my expectations.

Once on I-70, I dropped the hammer to try to get us to grand junction quickly. Surrounded by grasslands, we could see the Rockies beckoning us in the distance. After what seemed like several hours, we finally crossed into Colorado, hit the 1,000 mile mark for our trip and arrived in Grand Junction. Now to rest and refuel before our ride to Denver tomorrow.

Day 2: Vegas to Cannonville

I didn't post anything yesterday since just about everyone I know has driven from LA to Vegas at least once and knows there is nothing to see. Well, other than the miserable Memorial day traffic that was fortunately going the other way.

Kitty & I woke up before 6 and got a simple breakfast at the Starbucks downstairs. Afterward, we loaded up and hit the road heading north on I-15. I had never been further than downtown Vegas before, so everything was new today. The landscape stayed bleak until we got to mesquite and the virgin river brought some welcome green to the scenery just before entering Arizona. That's when things began to get interesting.

A bit further ahead, we entered the Virgin River gorge which was quite dramatic compared to the blasted landscape prior. It was nice to go around some bends for a change. Exiting the gorge landed us in St George where we took a break and fueled up the bike.

Utah has not disappointed thus far. The scenery leading toward Zion (and later Bryce) reminded me of Sedona with all of the red sandstone. Truly spectacular rock formations there. Kitty took most of the photos, so I'll post some links to them later. With the heat rising and no good place to stash our gear, we decided to forego any hiking and move onward to Bryce.

We merged onto US 89 at Mt Carmel junction and headed north. What a beautiful road! The Virgin and Sevier rivers both run parallel to 89 and are such a lovely sight after so many years in drought stricken [southern] California. Trees and meadows flanked us with incredible mesas distant on the horizon and there was little traffic since it was Tuesday.

Finally, we made it to highway 12 and entered Red Canyon. I felt like a kid at Disneyland starting at big thunder mtn, only this time it was much bigger. Again, we didn't have time to explore in depth, so we took photos and rode onward. As the elevation increased, the temperature mercifully dropped and we found a spot to stop for lunch. Since we were so close to our lodging, we checked in and dropped off some of the luggage before going back to check out Bryce.

9115 feet above sea level. I didn't realize how high up we were until we arrived at rainbow point and read the elevation sign. The view eastward from there was breathtaking, with the sun dropping low and lighting up the mesas. The pine forest was cool and the air was so clear, it was a welcome change from yesterday. Time to rest up for tomorrow's journey to Grand Junction.

On the eve of a new adventure

I think we are just about ready.

Tomorrow morning, Kitty and I begin our 3000+ mile journey to Colorado and back via motorcycle. Panniers are packed, reservations are made, and new places will be explored.

I'm looking forward to the journey and hope that I'll have the energy to update the blog at the end of each day. Photos will likely be posted on Instagram.

Cheers!