Colorado; July 27, 2014

Today we were caravanning with Eric & family. We left Colby at 8:45 and it was 72 degrees under mostly sunny skies. A short distance west on I-70 and we were in mountain time zone, which gave us another hour for the day.

We were deprived of an early sighting of the Rocky Mountains because of clouds at the mountains. We stopped just west of Denver for lunch at Panera’s.

Then it was off for Idaho Springs and a trip up Mt. Evans to the south. I dropped my trailer in the parking lot at the bottom so I didn’t have to pull it up the mountain.fixin to go up Mt. EvansWe stopped at Summit Lake before motoring to the summit. It was very crowded, being a Sunday afternoon. But we found parking at the top and just started walking around when a park ranger started warning of lightning close by and telling folks to return to their cars. I’m not sure how protected we were after we returned to our motorcycle. On the trip down we stopped for photos of a marmot and a herd of antelope (I think).

A short way down (we were still above timberline) a horrendous hail storm hit. Chris and I were out in the wide open with no protection other than our helmets, jackets, and clothing. It was a very painful experience. It got so bad I just stopped along the edge of the road and tried to protect Chris’ legs. A very kind couple stopped next to us and offered to drive Chris to the bottom. Chris declined. Then another kind couple stopped and offered a blanket for protection from the hail. Chris accepted this offer which provided her legs relief from the pounding. The hail finally passed. I took a picture and started back down but now the road was completely covered with hail.a break in the hail storm (a painful experience)We rode a short distance and the hail came again. I stopped again and waited for it to stop. When it did, I started down again and found that Eric had stopped a little further down. We made it to a roadside parking area with a restroom. Chris got into the van with Eric and fam and we all started down again. It was hairy riding on the hail covered road but I tried to stay in car tracks and the further down we went the more clear it got. We made it down with no mishaps. Eric’s van already had a small crack in it and the pounding from the hail increased its length. No known damage to the motorcycle or trailer at this time.

Then we were off to our cabin/home near Alma, CO (between Breckenridge and Fairplay). On the way we experienced another first – a runaway truck ramp that actually had a truck in it – having taken the safety net afforded by the ramp.

We found our cabin, which would be our home for the next five nights. It is very nice.our home for 5 nights (near Alma, CO)

We rode 388 miles today and never experienced a temperature over 79. With the exception of the hail storm, it was a great day! We enjoyed the time with Eric, Molly, Jenna and Ben.

Chris is very happy as she gets to mark an item off her bucket list – to spend several days in a cabin in a remote area.

For pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/6041152174946710337?authkey=COTUpaG9g4aMLg

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