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.