Rockies Gold 2007 - Day 3

Our first official day of Rockies Gold 2007. Dave Turley had suggested a number of routes for us tourists to enjoy so the first order of business was to decide which way to go. The road to Durango an Cortez looked good so we headed out.

Frank needed a camera so we stopped at the local Walmart Where he promptly got in way over his head. In a nutshell, he bought a bargain digital and wound up taking it back and buying a better one that had a viewfinder the next day.

The trip to Durango was spectacular. (I'm going to risk overusing that word). The first 3o miles to Ridgeway are unremarkable, then suddenly you enter the Uncompahgre National Forest with a brown river on one side and rocky outcroppings on the left.

The canyon gradually narrows until you arrive in Ouray, a quaint little tourist town in the south end of a box canyon. The highway is carved out of the cliffs at the edge of town and you can look back down on the tops of the buildings as you zig-zag your way up the slope.

Continuing south you pass steep gorges, waterfalls, a short tunnel, an avalanche shed and of course more beautiful scenery.

With so many photo opportunities, there is a genuine risk of overload. The rest of the ride through the mountains was just as beautiful but for a motorcyclist the ride was just as inviting. Traffic was light and the sweepers and tight turns were plentiful. A light rain started to fall which turned into a toad strangler before we got back down to Durango. Going up the switchbacks the rain accentuated the oil slick left by someone ahead. With no guard rails and corners hidden by rock walls, it was time to use extra care. We were reminded of the grade by the acrid smell of burning brakes. This stretch of road is not to be missed.

Once we finished the winding descent and arrived in Durango, the rain storm was behind us and temperature were in the 90s. But it was a dry heat. Our wet clothes were dry again and we were sort of missing the rain. Not for long. As we turned north again out of Cortez the red rocks closed in on us and thundersorms once again threatened. We stopped near a pass south of Telluride for a shot of a rock. The clouds parted and the rain held back long enough for a picture.

We skipped the side road to Telluride proper and opted for the 20 minute wait for construction on the main road instead. Road construction is liable to be encountered anywhere in the mountains and usually entails waiting for a caravan cautiously sidling by gaping dropoffs where half the roadway is somewhere much farther down the canyon than it is supposed to be. At any rate, as we sat absorbing the drizzle, we had time to discuss the roads and the prospects of making it back to Montrose in time for the 5:00 seating at the Fiesta Guadalajara.

Once we were underway again it looked like we would be on time - that is until we encountered the second road closure. This one involved one way traffic and a mudslide. The crews were working on the source of the mud but did not seem interested in the mile or two of red goop covering both lanes beyond the slide site.

We slipped and slid down the hill and finally reached a point where the ooze was able to find its way to a culvert or some other escape route. The steady rain kept the mud in a consistency somewhere between toothpaste and vaseline. It was a relief to find the cutoff to Ridgeway and back to town.

We arrived in town just in time to go directly to the restaurant where our tablemates were able to enjoy the rare ambience of two motorcylists who had spent the day on the road in torrential downpours, 95 degree heat, and a couple of miles of mud road. I felt like I was back in Alaska.

More to follow...