Retired and Trippin

The evening of June 29th we saw the play, “Is He Dead” at the Creede Repertory Theater ( http://www.creederep.org/ ).  It was very entertaining,  one of the better plays I’ve seen. When we drove away from Creede at 6:05 am it was 41 degrees.  A short distance south the temperature dropped to 39.  We tried soaking up the cold for what we knew would be a hot afternoon. We rode South Fork and then east to Alamosa.  From Alamosa we took a detour north up Hwy 17 to see the UFO Watchtower ( http://www.ufowatchtower.com/ ).  It is a place for UFO enthusiasts to go to watch for UFO’s.  The lady who runs the place said something about some sort of vortex existing on the property.  Weird stuff, even for an open-minded guy like me. If the UFO Watchtower wasn’t weird enough we saw a male driving a Jeep with eye lashes over the headlights at a gas station in Alamosa, CO.  Hopefully it was his wife’s Jeep and he was just gassing it up for her. We continued east to Walsenburg, LaJunta, and La

Today was a no-ride day but we’ve had a good time with more to come. We started the day with a larrapin good breakfast provided by Stan and Julie.  We then walked to downtown Creede, where Stan gave us a tour of the Mineral County Courthouse.  I also got to chat with a deputy sheriff there.  The ladies did some shopping and came up with some treasures. Stan took us to the 4UR Ranch ( http://4urranch.com/ ) south of Creede for an outdoors fish fry (rainbow trout) picnic lunch alongside Goose Creek. Other foods, including burgers and hotdogs, were available.  It was very tasty and scenic.  No toilet facilities, however, so that was a challenge. I am updating this blog in the late afternoon.  When I’m done I will clean my motorcycle and then we all go to a play at the Creede Repertory Theater this evening. Tomorrow we head for home. For pictures from today click on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/goldwinger.shawnee/ColoradoDay8?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP7h

Before departure this morning Chris took a walk around Mancos and took pictures of a couple interesting houses; one old and historic; one just kinda weird.  She also photographed Mancos High School, built in 1909, the oldest continuously operating high school in Colorado. We took off this morning at 9:50 am.  It was a late start because we didn’t have far to go today.  Our destination was Creede, CO.  It was a pleasant 79 as we took off east on Hwy 160.  Just east of Mancos we saw remnants of a forest fire and it wasn’t too far from a home. We stopped in Durango so the ladies could do some shopping.  Carl and I sat around, walked a little, and watched the people go by.  We enjoyed lunch at Francisco’s Restaurante & Cantina and then Marge did some wine tasting before she purchased a few bottles to take home. It was 91 as we rode east out of Durango.  We gassed up in Pagosa Springs and then rode towards Wolf Creek Pass. It got a little cloudy and the temperature dropped to 61 a

We left our motel at 8:20 am.  It was another beautiful morning and the temperature was 72 degrees.  We rode north to Dolores and caught Hwy 145 north to Telluride.  It was a beautiful ride with views of mountain peaks, rivers, and lakes.  We were delayed just south of Telluride by a construction zone, which was made bearable by the weather, scenery, and the chatty stop sign lady. We stopped in Telluride so the ladies could do some shopping.  Imagine our chagrin when the town went dark . . . . no electricity.  We were told some people were stuck on the gondola. From Telluride we rode north and east (through another construction zone) to Ridgway and had lunch at the True Grit Café . . . . larrapin good food. With full bellies we rode to Ouray for some real shopping, this time there was no blackout. The Million Dollar Highway (Hwy 550) took us south to Silverton, where we enjoyed a cup of ice cream from Smedley’s Ice Cream Parlor.  We then rode south to Durango and west to our mo

We left our motel in Mancos this morning at 8:50 am.  It was a nice cool 72 degrees. Our first stop of the day was the Hovenweep National Monument ( http://www.nps.gov/hove/index.htm ) located north and west of Cortez, CO.  This park contains remnants of settlements of ancestral Puebloans that were built in the 1200’s. We had a good time with our mile long walk checking out the ruins.  The temperature was in the high 80’s to low 90’s with a nice breeze. Marge purchased an engraved stone in the gift shop and wanted to make sure Larry saw it because he gave her a hard time the last time she bought an engraved rock. After leaving Hovenweep we rode into Cortez for lunch at the Pepperhead Restaurant.  It was pretty good Mexican food.  A little foo-foo for our tastes but it was recommended by Tom at the motel. During lunch we got a phone call from our nephew, Rob, telling us he just landed his first full time social working job.  CONGRATULATIONS to Rob! After lunch we rode south of

It was 64 degrees when we rode out of Salida at 8:25 am, westbound on Hwy 50.  After gassing up in Gunnison we rode west into the Curecanti National Recreation Area ( http://www.nps.gov/cure/index.htm ), where we turned southbound on Hwy 149 towards Lake City, Creede, and South Fork. We rode over two passes, one over 11,000 feet elevation, and one over 10,000 feet.  In Lake City the ladies did some shopping.  Chris looked for a shirt in the half price boxes where she found several she liked but none were her size.  What a pisser because she found some good ones.  i n Creede we stopped for lunch at MJ’s Café. At South Fork we took Hwy 160 westbound to Durango and our destination for the evening, Mancos, CO.  Along the way we observed smoke from two, maybe three, separate forest fires. In Mancos we had reservations at the Enchanted Mesa Motel ( http://www.enchantedmesamotel.com/ ).  It is an old school flat motel, originally built in 1954, but it is in very good condition.  It is o

When we uncovered our motorcycles this morning we found ash on the covers and the trailers.  The ash came from the area forest fire.  It was 81 degrees when we left Colorado Springs at 8:15 am. We rode south on Hwy 115 and it appeared and smelled smoky a ways south of Colorado Springs.  We rode Hwy 50 into Canon City, where we stopped at Dinardo’s Cider Mill and Farm Market.  Chris and I scored some cherry cider and jalapeno stuffed olives. Our next stop in Canon City was the prison museum, which is in the former women’s prison building right next to the existing Colorado Territorial Prison.  It was an interesting and sobering experience. As we left Canon City westbound the temperature was 95.  We rode Hwy 9 north to Guffey, CO where had lunch at the Bull Moose Lodge. The food was good but we had to wait a long time for it.  Also, as I was maneuvering in the parking lot I dropped my motorcycle.  I hit my right leg on the bike as I hopped off so I now have a scraped and swollen ri

The big news today was temperature.  We left Hays shortly after 8:00 am under blue clear skies with a temperature of 72.  It was nice . . . . . . for awhile. We exited I-70 onto Hwy 40 westbound at Oakley, KS.  Hwy 40 from Oakley to the Colorado line is dubbed the Western Vistas Historic Byway ( http://ksbyways.org/western_vistas ).  We reached Colorado a little before 10:00 (MST) and it was 95 degrees. Not too far into Colorado we hit 100 and the high for the day was 104.  It was 98 in Colorado Springs. We had an early lunch in Kit Carson, CO and then a cold beverage break in Rush, CO.  It was good to get out of the heat. As we approached Colorado Springs from the east we saw smoke on the horizon.  From a long way out we could not tell where the smoke was coming from.  Eventually we could see it was from a fire in the mountains west of the city.  Perhaps you saw it on your local news? We stopped for the day at a Clarion Hotel and enjoyed a cooling dip in the pool.  We then had

Carl, Marge, Chris, and I met at Carl and Marge’s home to start our ride to Colorado.  We departed at 1:20 pm.  It was sunny and 84. We rode Interstate 70 west past the stench of Lawrence,  past the exit to the wonderland of Manhattan, to Junction City, where we stopped for gas and a break. After one more water break we arrived in Hays, KS at about 5:30 pm.  Our motel for the night was Sleep Inn.  We had dinner at a good little Mexican restaurant across the street, walked to WallyMart for necessities (like a deck of cards and a camouflage cap), and then turned in for the evening. It got up to 91 degrees today, which did not seem too bad.  I got a call from Jim in Colorado Springs and we learned it is supposed to reach 97 there tomorrow.  Looking forward to that???? For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BnkZcEpzjMdaBjhjYbRLZrbSnVMCsEOod7Bk_WG0t2c?feat=directlink