Day 6: Ouray to Durango via Million Dollar Highway

     Today was another opportunity to ride the Million Dollar Highway to Durango and back.  I had ridden the Million Dollar Highway on our way to Ouray.  I wasn't happy with my first ride of the famous road.  It includes several switch backs and many climbs and descents along with a number of curves.  It had been a while since I had ridden a motorcycle on a long trip and I have only had this bike for a month.  These two factors meant me tentative on our Million Dollar Highway on the ride in.  So, today was an opportunity for me to get into my grove and just enjoy the ride.  We left early in the morning with a destination of Silverton.  We had heard that the city was a wonderful place full of interesting shops and great restaurants.  So climbed aboard the bikes and begin to climb out of the valley and onto the infamous Million Dollar Highway for the first 21 mile leg of our journey.  Ouray to Silverton is the most "intense" part of the highway.  I settled into my first curve and suddenly the "rust" on my riding skills and the love of my new bike took over.  I glided in and out of the curves as if I had been doing this my whole life.  I felt comfortable and any tentativeness I had from the first trip into the  valley was gone.  Before I knew it the 21 miles passed in no time.

     We arrived in Silverton and parked at the southern part of the city.  We begin walking the stores.  We found wonderful shops full of interesting gifts, T-shirts, and my favorite - local history books.  I carefully selected the one local history book for my reading pleasure - a book on the history of the Million Dollar Highway.  Very appropriate, I thought.  We then found a lunch stop at the Handlebars Saloon.  The Handlebars Saloon seemed appropriate given that I work at New Mexico State University and the mascot, Pistol Pete has a handle bar mustache.  The soloon was also appropriate in that it was decorated with a number of preserved animals from local fish to deer heads.  The saloon also included patches from a variety of police departments.  We ordered lunch.  I had a pulled pork sandwich with ham and bean cowboy soup.  Both were wonderful and amazingly satisfying.  After paying we crossed the street and explored the shops on the other side of main street.  Before we knew it our time was up and we needed to return to the bikes and mount up ensuring we arrived at the Durango Harley Davidson Dealer in time to wipe down the bike and participate in a bike show.
     The 50 miles stretch between Silverton and Durango does not include as many switch backs as the stretch between Silverton and Ouray, but the portion was no less challenging.  This section of the highway included a wonderful climb and descent, but on several stretches there is no side rail.  The road even narrows at one point.  The ride was still amazing and the comfort level with my bike through the curves made me look forward to the return trip to Ouray later in the afternoon.  We arrived at the Durango HD dealer and lined our bikes up with the other bikes from the GTG (Get toGether) that we were participating in this week.  It was very cool to see all of the Harley CVOs in one spot.  The workers at the dealership each picked their favorite bike and an award was given to the first and second favorite bikes.  It was a great little opportunity for us to interact with the HD dealer.
 

   After the favorites were picked, we mounted up to head north on 550 (the Million Dollar Highway) to Ouray.  The GTG event and day was culminated with a group dinner.  What a wonderful ending to a great day and great event.  Tomorrow many of the participants head for home.  We are fortunate in that we have a few more days in Ouray visiting our friends from Denver. 

Day 5: Alpine Loop by Jeep

After taking day four off and getting caught up on laundry, a little shopping in Ouray and completing a work out, I was ready to get back to the road.  However, the road today was not to be taken on two wheels but in a four wheel jeep.  The Alpine Loop can be accessed off of 550 near Ouray and takes us through some of the most beautiful country in this area.  We also took the Loop through

Cinnamon Pass to Lake City and then back through the Pass to Silverton where we caught 550 on the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray.  The Alpine Pass tests drivers with the rocky, steep road.  Needless to say this was not the smoothest ride of the week.  However, it may have been one of the most beautiful rides.  One of the sights along the way included old mines, broken down by time and inactivity.  The mines were reminders of the days when these mountains were the home of the some of the braves adventurers hoping to get rich.  The snow was still present and so were the snowmobile tracks reminding us of the winter adventures that these mountains provide for the current residents.  The roads are relatively clear of snow, but there are portions of the road where you ride along a snow wall, reminding you just how deep the snow can get during the winter months.  With the warm temperatures, the winter snows are melting so there were many times along the road where the water crossed the road.  There were also many times where the water falls were running, providing for some wonderful views and pictures.  The road also included opportunities to see the wildlife.  We were fortunate enough to see marmot, billy goats, deer, moose, and many little chipmunks.  The loop was a wonderful way to experience the area and appreciate the well paved roads of our normal travels.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Day 4: Enjoying Oury, CO

Every trip needs at least one day to get caught up on laundry and wander the town.  Today was that day.  A leisurely morning with breakfast was followed by a 30 minute workout in the fitness room.  While laundry was being done, it was time to clean the bike just enough to ensure that it still looked presentable.  Next came a trip through Ouray.  The city includes many buildings from the late 1800s and early 1900s.  The buildings are Victorian and remind you of the cities mining roots.  The architecture is well preserved.  The buildings today are home to various shops and eateries, but still retain their names that tell you their original purpose.  From the opera house to the Beaumont hotel, a stroll down main street says much about the early history of the city.  One shop is also the Historical Society, home to some wonderful pictures that take one back in time.  The Outlaw bar and grill was a wonderful dinner stop.  Included with dinner was a wonderful piano player whose songs ranged from 1940s swing, to movie tunes, to pop.  Just the kind of day one needed to rest up for the adventures that lay ahead. 

Day 3: Ouray, CO to Gateway, Co

     A Monday away from work is a wonderful day.  A Monday on the bike is a fantastic day.  The weather forecast called for 30% chance of showers. So we made sure we had our rain gear packed and headed out.  The destination today was Gateway, Co.  Gateway is home of the Gateway Car Museum, which contains a collection by John S. Hendricks, chairman and founder of the Discovery Communications, Inc.  As a historian, I have come to appreciate popular culture as history, so you  can't find any one item more influential on popular culture and history than the automobile.  Beside, as someone who grew up in Michigan, the automobile capital of the world, the love affair with cars comes natural.
     We began our ride with clear blue sky.  We started north on U.S. 145 toward Telluride and Norwood.  This stretch of road to Telluride is known as the San Juan Loop.  The road was beautiful with sweeping curves.  We were able to maintain a pretty steady 60 MPH.  Wildlife is abundant in these areas and we were treated to a full array of animal life along the way.  We saw deer near the side of the road that ran away as we slowed and jumped on our horns.  I'm sure they heard us coming before we saw them.  We also saw our compliment of snakes, lizards, and squirrel in the road. Most were alive.  We also were introduced to the cattle gate signaling the presence of range cows.  We even saw a heard of those walking along the side of the road.  
Just past Telluride we continued on US 145 and veered onto US 141 where we entered a stretch of the road through the canyons.  The red canyons provided a beautiful backdrop to the continuation of the sweeping curves.  I could feel any lingering stress from work escape my body as I took in the breathtaking beauty of the canyons.  One hundred and twenty five miles after leaving Ouray, we arrived at the Gateway Car Museum.  What a wonderful gem tucked away in the canyons of Colorado.  The

beautiful adobe exterior masked the modern displays that awaited us inside.  The modest $15.00 entry fee ($10.00 for military or seniors) provided us a few hours of enjoyment as we explored every inch of every car organized by the eras beginning in the 1920s through the mussel car area of the 1970s.  The star of the displays was a concept car, the Oldsmobile 88.  This beautiful vehicle was worthy of a room of its own.  I was impressed as the car spun slowly to show off all of its beauty.
  Just past Ouray via US 141, US 50 and US 550.  The canyon stretches along US 141 were equally as beautiful as the morning route.  Here we stopped to see the Driggs Project, a reclamation and interpretation project that involves stabilizing the remaining structure of the Driggs home.  Located on Bureau of Land Management land the project attempts to preserve a 1914 structure built by Lawrence Driggs, a lawyer and entrepreneurial during the early 1900s.

Lunch involved a stop at the Gateway General Store.  There we discovered a wonderful little dinner parked along side the store.  The typical fare included chicken sandwich, burgers, hot dogs, fries, Tatar tots, and shakes.  I ordered the bison burger and sat back with my 32 oz Gatorade to
rehydrate.  A relaxing moment before mounting up to complete the 135 mile ride back to

     When we arrived back to the Twin Peaks Lodge, we were tired, but highly satisfied with a wonderful day on the road that touched my historic nerves.  The beauty, coupled, with recollections of my history readings about the West proved to result in a very satisfying third day on the road. By the way, we never had to dodge showers or rain during the day.  While we could see the rain in the distance it always seemed like we rode where it wasn't.  That made a fantastic day just perfect.   

Day 2: Sante Fe, NM to Ouray, Colorado

We awoke early on Sunday thinking we would just enjoy a leisurely morning in Santa Fe browsing the Farmer's Market.  What do bikers do first thing in the morning when they are on the road?  They check the weather. The Weather Channel was showing that rain was going to move into the Ouray area around 2:00 p.m.  Suddenly, a change of plans.  Rather than a nice walk through the Farmer's Market, we packed and check out.  We were on the road again, with similar mission of dodging rain. However, this day it was even more important for us because we knew we would be riding through the winding foothills and eventually the Rocky Mountains.  We headed north from Santa Fe and took

US 84.  One of our amazing finds along the way was Amphitheater Park in Tierra Amarilla.  The area is home to the Hopewell Indians.  The little park provided a great back drop for pictures and provided a clear indication that we were entering the foothills of the Rockies.  From Tierra Amarilla we proceed until we arrived at Pagosa Springs.  Pagosa Springs was the site of our lunch stop.  Here we found the Malt Shoppe and stopped in for a brief bit to eat.  Clearly the Malt Shoppe was a popular place as all of the indoor booths and many of the outdoor

tables were full during our 45 minute stop over.  We checked our Radar app and was sure we would have good weather for the next 50 miles to Durango.  Sure enough we did.  We stopped in Durango at the Harley-Davidson Dealer.  This gave us a chance to check the weather as clouds clearly indicated that rain was in the area.  The Harley Davidson Dealer also owned the next Harley store in Silverton.  So, a quick call to the Silverton store provided us information that it was not raining there yet, but that we should plan for rain.  We donned the rain gear and headed to Silverton.  Little did we realize we would be riding through some of the most beautiful roads in the U.S.  The Million Dollar Highway is amazing.  It also makes the Dragon, in North Carolina seem tame.  The twisty road with steep climbs and steep descents tests the most experience riders.  I must say I found myself nervous and excited all at the same time.  I knew we were high into the Rockies when I began to see snow along the road.  The peaks still showed traces of the heavy snowfall from the winter. 

After a brief gas stop in Silverton, 550 (still the Million Dollar Road) turned even more twisty with hair pin curves that had to be taken at 25 MPH.  Certainly, much of what I learned about turning a bike in a small space came in handy.  The 24 miles between Silverton and Ouray passed quickly despite the slow speeds.  Glad to be at our destination, we pulled into the Twin Peaks motel. 

Day 1: Las Cruces to Sante Fe (I-25)

We started our trip to Colorado at noon today.  We pulled out of our house, stopped at the nearest gas station and merged on to I-25 for our 280 mile ride to Santa Fe.  Two years ago, we had made the trip to Santa Fe from Toledo, Ohio.  Certainly this 280 mile trip was much different than the 1500 mile trip from Toledo.  As we left Las Cruces, New Mexico the temperature on my new Road Glide ride 98 degrees.  Little did we know that the weather we left would not be anything close to what we would find further down the road.  The ride up I25 was fast and winding.  Then 100 miles into the ride it began to rain.  We had been watching the clouds gather as we road up I25.  Now we were looking for a safe place to pull off to put on the rain gear.  Thankfully an overpass, few and far between in New Mexico, appeared and we pulled off.  We donned the rain gear and boarded the bikes heading for our first destination.  A friend recommended we stop in San Antonio, New Mexico (not to be confused in any way with San Antonio, Texas).  In San Antonio we would be introduced to the Owl Bar and Grill.  Here we entered a typical bar and grill, but with an Owl theme.  I couldn't resist taking pictures of the owls on the wall and sending them to a friend in Toledo who loved Owls.  Certainly social media makes sharing our rides and adventures much easier.  While we enjoyed an overpriced, greasy, but delicious green chili cheeseburger we launched our radar app to monitor the rain showers.  We quickly realized we had a brief window of time to make it to Santa Fe just ahead of the showers.  We paid, rang the bell indicating we had good service (the tip reflected that also) and quickly mounted up and got on down the road.  The decision was a good one because as we pulled into Socorro to gas up, we could see the showers coming toward us.  With a full tank of gas and a mission we pulled out of Socorro and merged onto I-25 toward Santa Fe.  Riding the Interstate is wonderful when you want to make time.  New Mexico speed limits are wonderful and 75 MPH was welcomed.  With the cruse control set at 75 we were able to stay just ahead of the weather.  Soon, we were exiting the interstate in Santa Fe heading for our wonderful hotel.  We decided to stay down by the plaza.  The plaza is often a "happening" place with shops, restaurants and entertainment.  We stayed at the La Posada de Santa Ana. 

We pulled into the hotel, checked in and headed to our room.  The room was not a typical hotel room, rather it was a stand alone casita.  The quaint casita included an outdoor patio and made for a charming historic reminder of the history of Santa Fe.  After checking in we made our way to my favorite steakhouse in Santa Fe, The Bull Ring.  Here we had a suburb meal.  The Bull Ring is well known for its steak and prime rib.  Tonight was not exception.
While pricey, the steak melted in our mouth and proved to be a wonderful ending to a good first day on the road. By the way, the temperature when we arrived in Santa Fe was 68 degrees - just another wonderful day on the road covering 280 miles and experiencing a 30 degree temperature drop.