Day 10. June 4th. Grand Junction/Fruita Colorado to Telluride, Colorado.

After riding into Fruita, CO from Provo, UT, the next day we departed for Telluride, CO.  I had never ridden into Telluride from the north and had no idea what to expect.  I planned the ride to start with touring Colorado National Monument which was just a few miles from our hotel in Fruita.  From there I planned to ride Colorado highway 141 connecting with highway 145 into Telluride.  What a surprise in incredible beauty Dennis and I were to experience.

We rode a few miles to the entrance of the Colorado Natl. Monument Park. As I pulled up to the entrance the Park Ranger asked why we didn't have any babes on the back of our bikes, just as I was passing him my "Senior" lifetime park pass... he quickly answered his own question with, "Oh I understand now". 

 

As we entered the park the road began to quickly climb and the lack of guard rails made it so more exciting.  Just a few blocks of stone to mark the edge of the road.

It was another prefect day with temperatures beginning the day in the low 50's. In the photo to the left you can see all the erosion which has taken place over the many years. In the picture below you can see Dennis riding up the mountain and the lack of any type of railing made the ride feel as if you were a part of the scenery.

 

 

As we climb higher and traveled around the rim some pretty cool views came into view.  The morning sun made some of the photos difficult to take, but as we continued around the rim the sun began to play in our favor.  Still as I have said in previous posts, every minute gives you a different perspective, based on sun and clouds.   The red rocks seem to enjoy showing their beauty and strength when basting in the sun. 

 

Here is picture of Dennis pointing out the road below as it winds its why through the floor of the park and begins its ascent. 

 

Just a simple turn of your head and another incredible view comes into play.  You are struck with the magnitude of what surrounds you and you think of the millions of years it has taken to create these different rock formations.  I find it hard to believe that many of the rocks just don't give way today...   I know rocks do come down over time and with the help of water and freezing temperatures.  BUT, the real indicator are these big yellow signs which read, "Watch for Falling Rock.".

Below are several of the photos I took through out the park. There were so many more shots I could have gotten, but we would have literally been in there the entire day and as it was we spent 2 hours, knowing we still have about 190 miles to Telluride.

 

In the photo to the left is Independence Monument.  It is scaled every July 4th and a flag is raised.  What a challenge to climb.

 

Below is a great picture I took while Dennis was overlooking the valley floor below.  I like how the camera captured the dead wood to his back side and the rail before him. 

 

 

 

Here I am out on the "Grand View".  You know this work, if I recall on most of these National Parks was done in the 1930's, so I do question how well maintained all of this is.  It's a little scary walking out on these platforms, knowing from the signs below, that these rocks can fall! What you can't see in this photo is the drop behind me.

I really like the photo to the left. It gives you a sense of the terrain running through the park.  Just a few yards on the other side is a nice drop to the canyon floor. Walking around up here I was keenly aware of rattlesnakes and kept my eyes open. The only sign of wildlife I saw though was this little guy.  A Plateau Lizard, seen below.

 

 

 

Always being mindful of catching a great shot of  our rides, I took this one walking back up from an overlook of our Harleys.

Here a are couple of Dennis showing off his climbing abilities. Nothing seems to phase him.  In the second  photo there wasn't much between him and the valley floor.  For the life of me I really don't know why he left his helmet on for these shots, since there really isn't anything inside it to protect.

 

 

In an effort to keep Dennis alive I told him we needed to pack up and get moving on towards Telluride.  Although it was only 190 miles south of us, I knew it would be a long ride with the stops for photos and later finding time to feed him.  As we pulled out of the park we got on highway 340 over to Grand Junction and shortly thereafter picking up highway 141 heading southwest and later onto highway 145 which would take us back east to Telluride.  Although this was not the most direct route it, I hoped would provide us with some nice riding and great scenery.  We weren't disappointed on either account.

 

Turning onto highway 141 no further than a quarter mile we were stopped by a train crossing and waited a few minutes for the train to pass. Then it was throttle up and in no time we were winding our way up into the mountain and along the Uncompahgre National Forest. http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/uncompahgre-national-forest-outdoor-pp2-guide-cid9416.html

 

Every turn exploded with another unexpected view.  You wonder how it can get any better and a few miles later, you see it.  Each day we ride I think, it can't get any better than today, and it does, over and over again.  Keep in mind too, the weather has given us an opportunity to focus on the surroundings, and not have to worry about riding conditions and staying dry.  It was just PERFECT!

 

How can you top this photo below. Riding in between the rolling terrain with a large formation staring you in the face, only to have a larger mountain in the background towering above the one on the foreground.  AND to top it off, the further back mountain is snowcapped.  Like I said , "just PERFECT!"

 

 

 Riding though here I was constantly reminded of John Denver's song...Rocky Mountain High.

 Click on this and play his song while you finish looking at the rest of the pictures.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwARpaKHx_w

 

As we rode further down highway 141 we came into the town of Gateway and stumbled onto the Gateway Canyons Resort, and... was this place nice!  You have to click on here and check it out.  Just out of nowhere it was there, and I mean nowhere.  http://www.gatewaycanyons.com/?_vsrefdom=gateway-ppc&gclid=CLzb7amX1rcCFSVk7AodCjgARg



   

There was even this vintage Good Humor truck located next to the outside diner car.  Some pretty cool stuff and an auto museum was just around the corner.

That looks like Mr. Softee in the driver's seat, but I know better.  Those who remember this truck will certainly remember the sound of the bells as he came through your neighborhood.  Also, do you remember the driver wearing that change belt around his waist.  I always thought it was really cool. 

In case you forgot here it is strapped to his belt. Guess I got a little off subject here.

Back to the real show. 

Leaving Gateway I felt like I was driving through Zion National Park.  In Zion you are in the valley and the cliffs soar above you.  Solid walls of red rock look like they must have been cut to be so flat in appearance.  Here is a shot of my bike up against one.  Now remember the sign from Colorado National Monument which reminded you to pay attention to rocks on the road, as well as the possibility of rocks falling on you as you drove by.  Well, Dennis points out to me a precarious rock, perched just above me which at some time I would imagine it will find its way to the roadside, or on top of some car...or maybe even motorcyclist.  Yow!

 

Here is a shot of Dennis riding to Telluride.

 
Like I said, every curve presented another photo opportunity and incredible view

 

Days on the road out west and you are sure to hit construction zones.  Out here when they decide to repave or gravel over tar, which this photo is, they use a pilot vehicle to take you to the end of the construction.    Great way to get a broken windshield or chipped paint, not to mention all the dust.  They can go on for miles.

 

Moving closer to Telluride the terrain becomes more green and a departure from all the red canyon rock.  More snowcapped mountains and you can feel the temperature change as you ride up in altitude.

 

 

In the photo below is  Telluride, Colorado, as we appoarch.  http://www.visittelluride.com/discover-telluride 

 

 

This is my second trip to the city.  A few years back we took highway 145 out of Cortez on a ride to Moab and the Arches National Park and pulled into Telluride to check it out.  Three days later we were back on the bike.  Dennis and I got lucky again with the weather, Approaching the city from 50 miles out you could see the afternoon storms firing up in the mountains.  By the time we got to the city a storm had just moved on and as you can see the skies were a pretty blue.  We pulled into the Hotel Columbia and got two rooms since Elaine and Linnea would be staying the night, along with Maggie, our Shih Tzu, who insisted she make this trip as well. 

 

The nice thing about staying at the Hotel Columbia is the gondola over to Mountain Village is just across the street.  http://www.mountain-village.co.us/  We parked the bikes, checked in, the girls showed up a few minutes later and off we went to Mountain Village riding the gondola, to get a quick bite to eat and see the view of Telluride as we went up the mountain.   We decided just to grab a hot dog, yep, they sell hot dogs, to hold us over 'til dinner.  So four hotdogs, one with chili, a soda each and $32.50 later our belly's were full and my wallet was empty.

 

Mountain Village has some pretty cool homes surrounding it and in the woods.  I really liked this neighborhood with the mountain in the background.  I can imagine what it looks like in the winter when the mountain is covered in snow.

The following are shots from the ride up and down the mountain back to Telluride.  Not sure I would want a home sitting next to the gondola but looking down on them they are quite impressive the way they blend into the mountain.  Lots of money for the homes here.  Homes in town are listed for  1.2 million to over 6 million and they are small.  Estates in the mountains are well over 10 million.  Coming into town is an area of affordable living, where you must be employed in the town to live in.

The last picture in the sequence is the town of Telluride which looks like it sits in a stadium by the way the mountains surround it.

 

 

As we get closer back to our station to disembark the homes to the left in town are the expensive ones since they are closer to the gondola.  Our hotel is the beige brick building with the turret style corner and Elaine and Linnea in the station with Dennis peaking out from behind.

 

 

Here is a picture of the gondola leaving the Telluride Station and headed up the mountain. 

 

That evening after dinner we took a bus ride around town and Maggie joined us...Below is Maggie waiting for her first bus and then on the bus.  She was so excited and running about checking everyone out and letting them know it was her first ride. 

 

 

 

 

After the bus ride we went back to the hotel and sat around to figure out our next days activities.  The girls decided to head back home to Bella Vista, Arkansas while Dennis and I were going to ride to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and over to Bella Vista, Coloroado, via the Cottonwood Pass, and 12,126 feet...  

 

Miscellaneous pictures of dinner, my calamari and our dessert creme brulee.

 

 

 

That's pretty much for our day 10, June 4th... so see you on June 5th when Dennis and I conquer the ride over Cottonwood Pass and 14 miles of dirt road to get there!

 

 

More to Come.