Day 1 - March 24 2026 |
| Fox's First big Motorcycle Ride |
It's spring break for my grandkids. Klair says her kids have a bunch of "hangouts" planned so they can't go do any multi-day activities. I would have loved to take them all to the Grand canyon or something else epic. So instead I'm going to take my grandson Fox on a long motorcycle ride. I thought about asking if he wanted to go, or even asking where he'd want to go, but when I talk to Koren (his mom) she said that given the choice he'll just sit home all week and play video games. So we're just going to tell him he's going on this ride.
I picked him up Monday night and we did let him play some video games and watch some TV. I went to bed early since I'll be riding all day. Nannette made him go to bed at 9:30. I did hear some of their conversation, Nan ask him "why do I have to tuck you in when your mom doesn't?". He said "cause you spoil me."
I woke up at 6:00, showered, ate some breakfast, and went to do a little bit of work. I didn't hear a peep out of Fox until 9:00. Usually when he stays with us he's up with me at 6:00 but not today.
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| Trying on the mask and snorkel and pretending to swim |
I had made him some eggs and bacon so he ate those then we packed up the bike and got ready to leave. One goal of this trip is to take him swimming and teach him how to use a mask and snorkel. He's going to Hawaii this summer and that will be a helpful thing for him to know how to use. We tried on his mask and made it fit but there's no way the swim fins made for 3-year-olds was going to fit. So we rode over to Target to look for bigger ones. They didn't have any.
We gassed up the bike and started to head south towards Pueblo. Normally I would take highway 115 down to highway 50 but there's a great big fire on Fort Carson and the road is closed. So we took the freeway all the Way down to Pueblo and then took highway 50 over towards Canon City. Traffic wasn't bad but I hate freeway driving and don't like highway driving much better.
It was about 86° so we stop to get cold drinks then drove her out of town on highway 50. Just outside of town we turn off onto skyline drive. We took pictures at the entrance and then started driving up the road. It's a one-lane road the climbs up on top of the ridge and then drive straight down the top of that Ridge for about 4 miles. We took a bunch of pictures. He kept saying " what a view!"
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| The entrance to Skyline Drive |
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| Hobgacks Recreation Are on Skyline Drive |
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Fox on Skyline |
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| Riding the Hogback |
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| More Skyline Drive |
We got back on the highway and drove about 20 mi until we reach the turnoff to Royal gorge. I was saddened to see a bunch of the restaurants in this area were closed and several look like they were for sale. I've eaten a lot of meals in this area because one of my favorite rides is to come out this way then go north and a little bit east through Guffy and cripple Creek, then back home.
We turned off towards Royal gorge and drove the 5 mi out to the parking lot. It cost about $50 for both of us to get in. We took the gondola across the board and then started walking down the trail. We saw people zip lining across the gorge as we were crossing. It looked pretty cool and Fox really wanted to try it. I told him we would check after we finished looking around.
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| Glass Floor in the Gondola |
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| Bridge from the Gondola Area |
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| Train at the bottom of the Gorge |
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| Rock Climbers on a guided tour in the Gorge |
We got off the gondola we started walking down the path. A lot of things were closed but we took pictures and enjoyed the views. There's a pretty interesting playground set with slides bridges and other things but Fox had no interest I'm doing any of that. He also didn't want to ride the merry-go-round. We did go watch the movie about Royal gorge and how it was built, it was pretty entertaining.
Finally you got to the bridge itself and all fox had to say is "So why are we here?". I asked if he didn't think it was kind of cool and said yes but I don't think he was all that impressed. The train was just going through the gorge beneath us. It was barely going at walking pace. There is an open cop car with a bunch of people in it. I asked Fox what he could see and he said,"I train car filled with coal". I asked him several times but he just couldn't make out the details. Maybe it's time to get him a real eye exam.
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| Crossing the bridge |
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| View from the bridge |
After we cross the bridge we grabbed ice cream cones and sodas and tried to sit down in the shade to relax. There was a wasp on the table so Fox kept jumping up and running away. He said if one stings you it will just keep stinging you until you die. I told him if it stings me I'm going to kill it it won't have a chance to kill me.
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| Another trip in the gondola |
After we finished our cones we got back on the gondola and rode across to check out the zip line. It was open but unfortunately they have a minimum weight of 125 lb and Fox just didn't make that so he couldn't ride. He was disappointed
We got back on the gondola and again got the glass bottom car. Once we started going I had Fox lay on the glass and act like he was about to fall he loved it and I got some interesting pictures is he pantomimed falling.
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| Help I'm Falling |
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| Photo op |
We got all our stuff packed away and suited back up, then started back towards the highway. I had thought about stopping along the Arkansas River to take pictures we've already got a lot of pictures so we just rode enjoying the scenery. I haven't even picked out a hotel yet so when we got to Salida I pulled over in some shade and started browsing hotels.com and found one right across the street from the aquatic center.
The silver Ridge Lodge was $98 including tax for one night. There's a pretty good size room with two queen beds. I thought about going out to a restaurant for dinner but both of us were a little bit tired and we'd been in the sun quite a bit today so I just ordered Domino's. A medium pepperoni pizza and ate chicken wings.
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| Our Room |
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| Let me present our refrigerator |
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| A Fox in its nativ habitat |
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| Dinner |
I let Fox play on the switch while we waited and I started editing my insta360 photos and uploading them. The pizza came after 20 minutes and I ate two pieces pretty quick. Finally had to make Fox turn off the game before he'd start eating but then he devoured three pieces pretty quick. After half an hour we started getting ready to go to the aquatic center. It's so close we don't even need to ride the motorcycle we just put on our suits, a shirt, and our shoes without socks and walked over.
It cost about $25 for both of us to get in. Since it was Fox's first time there he had to take a swimming test or he'd have to stand beside me the whole time. He did a lot better on the swim test and I thought he would. He did freestyle the whole length of the lane and the lady said he's just fine.
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| Salida Aquatic Center |
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| Snorkelling - he suit was constantly trying to come off |
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| Jumping off the diving board |
Our goal was to get him used to wearing a mask and snorkel. He started trying to do it in a deeper section of the pool where he couldn't touch bottom and that didn't work well. We switched to the shallow end of the pool and the water was very warm there, probably 100°. It felt really good.
The shallow water also worked a lot better. I taught him how to slowly and smoothly put his head underwater so the snorkel wasn't constantly filled with water by diving deep, then I showed him how to blow the water out of the snorkel and within a few minutes he was happily paddling away looking at the fish starfish and seashells painted on the bottom of the pool. He enjoyed it.
He also enjoyed going off the diving board and I took a few slow motion videos of him diving. I swam a few laps just to get loosened up, then took a few pictures of him snorkeling around. He got pretty good at just keeping his head under floating along and moving himself through the water I think he'll do great in Hawaii.
After 7 people started going home and soon there weren't many people left in the pool. There was one older lady that Fox played beach ball volleyball with for 20 minutes. I think she enjoyed it every bit as much as he did. And finally it was time to leave. The pool closes at 8:00 but they like people out of the water by 7:45. We were there close to 3 hours.
We just put our shirts and shoes back on because we just had to walk across the road. As we were crossing the highway, the lady that Fox had been playing volleyball with joined us crossing the street. She told Fox she was following him because she had so much fun. They went to the hotel next to ours.
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| Walking back to the hotel - Fox doing his Forrest Gump impression |
Once we are back in the room I made Fox grab stuff and take a shower. He got his pajamas but when he went to look for his underwear he couldn't find any. I guess he'll have to do the Big hero 6 thing, front side, back side, inside out, front side, back side. He's got underwear for several more days I guess.
Once he was done with the shower he ate the last piece of pizza. I'm going to shower and finish the chicken wings.
DAY 2
I woke up at 5:30. The temperature outside was in the low 40s and the hotel breakfast doesn't open until 7:30 so put in earbuds and listened to a book while playing freecell. I wanted to let Fox sleep as long as possible, but it turned out I need not have worried. When it came time to wake him up, it took allot.
The hotel breakfast was a typical eggs, sausage, waffles breakfast done cheaply. They didn't have the typical belgian waffle maker that flips, they had a regular waffle maker that just opens. No pre measured cups to measure waffle batter into just a squeeze bottle to guess at. I guest the best is that it was free and filling.
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| $4.89 a gallon - During Trump's Iran War |
It was still pretty cold out so I let fox play video games for a bit while I finished packing the bike. Then at 8:30 we headed off. It was still in the low 50s so I kept the speed down to about 5mph under the limit. It was a nice morning with almost no traffic is that was easy to do. I let a couple cars pass as soon as they came up on me.
My original plan was to turn south and head toward Westcliffe then make our way to Bishop Castle, but I checked a couple of motorcycle chat boards and found out that over the last few days it's been really hot there by noon. Neither Fox nor I wanted to have a hot sweaty ride, so we opted not to go there. I thought it would be Fox's first time there, but his mom had taken him before.
After about 20 miles I pulled into a picnic area to let Fox play a bit. He got off the bike and asked for his coat. I didn't realize he wasn't wearing it. "Why didn't you tell me you were cold?" I asked. He just shrugged. "We even have bluetooth intercoms, and if those don't work, hit me on the head and shout I'M COLD and I'll stop." He just stood there sheepishly so I gave him a hug and told him I was sorry. I think this is a part of "Learned Helplessness" where kids think they should wait for adults to notice their problems and solve them rather than speaking up. I made sure he knew that he should never have to suffer like that in silence. And I felt really bad for not noticing earlier.
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| Arkansas River |
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| Skipping Rocks |
We were parked in the sun so he warmed up quick. He picked his way down to the Arkansas River and practiced skipping stones. He got a few 4 skippers in and felt good about himself. He also showed me that his coat always has a pair of binoculars in the pocket. So he spent some time looking for animals on the surrounding hills but didn't spot any.
We got back on the highway (with a coat on this time) and sped up a bit. It was now in the mid 60s and felt great. We talked allot about canyons vs gorges and where the Royal Gorge is related to where we were at right then. Somehow we also got onto the subject of photosynthesis. I asked him where most of the mass of a tree came from. He said the dirt and the water.
So I asked him to describe photosynthesis to me. CO2 comes in and with sunlight and chlorophyl it turns the carbon into sugars and releases the oxygen. It took him a couple minutes to realize the plant took in "air" and gave off "air" but it kept the carbon which is a solid. So most of the mass of a tree comes from the air around it. It blew his mind when it finally struck home but it also made sense. That was cool to listen to him use his brain to figure that out for himself.
Eventually the road crosses the river over a bridge and you can see the river go off to our right into the start of the Royal Gorge. At the same time the road climbs out of the whatever canyon/valley we've been in. As we topped out, we turned left up highway 9 rather than continuing toward Canon City.
We rode up highway 9 for about 8 miles then turned off onto what I've always called "The Guffey Road" I'm sure that's wrong, but it what sticks in my head.
This is one of my favorite roads in the whole world. It's a small 2 lane road that winds through the gullys and over small hills headed ever higher up the Pike's Peak foothills. It follows the landscape rather than being ploughed through it in a straight line. We ride through alpine meadows with views in all directions. In the late spring and early summer it's often filled with wild flowers and massive green trees. Now though, it's brown and often bare but the views are still there.
We stopped for pictures of the back side of Pike's Peak. Fox wanted to try to hold up the mountain so I tried to frame him doing that. He got a kick out of it.
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| Pikes Peak behind us |
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| Holding up Pikes Peak |
We came to the main Florissant to Cripple Creek highway and turned toward Florissant. Fox had never been to the fossil beds so we decided to do that. I missed the turn the first time past and had to backtrack 2 miles. It doesn't cost much to go in but I have the lifetime pass. We watched some of the video that talked about how badly the fossil beds have ben pillaged over the years. I guess they even tried to cut up some of the logs to take to a worlds fair once. Only since 1969 have the beds been protected.
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| Massive Petrified Tree Trunk |
We walked around for a while as he read the signs and learned how petrified wood is formed. He thought it was interesting. At one point he wanted to start the 2 mile walk out to some of the more distant exhibits but I was unenthusiastic so we kept it to a shorter walk.
By now it was 1:00 and I was getting hungry. Fox was all for McDonalds but I said we needed something more epic. I've never really found anything compelling in Florissant or Divide and today was no different. When we got into Woodland Park I often stop at the Hungry Bear cafe but it was closed so we walked next door to the Bierworks. I always see motorcycles parked there so I figured it would have good food. Boy was I wrong. The lady looked at me kindly and said "We don't have much to eat here, it's more about the beer". But she recommended we go back half a mile to the Red Diamond Gastro Pub.
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| Red Diamond Gastro Pub |
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| Kimchi Ruben |
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| Inhaling his Root Beer Float |
I wasn't sure what that was, but I was sure my buddy Mike would like it. We found it OK and the lady seated us and gave us menus. Then she said to Fox "If you don't find anything you like, we also make Burgers". And that's exactly what Fox got. Cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard, and pickles. Said said there pickles were unique and she'd bring them on the side. I got a Kimchi Ruben sandwich.
Fox's burger was great he said. The pickles were extra sour but he liked them. He didn't put them on the burger, just kept eating the chunks separately. My Ruben was ok but the kimchi kind of clashed with the russian dressing. Both trying to be the spicy element. I wouldn't go out of my way for another.
When Fox ate most of his burger I let him get a root beer float. He absolutely destroyed that. It was gone in just a few minutes.
Back on the road and now it was in the mid 70s and rapidly getting hot. It's all down his from here towards home via highway 24, one of the most dangerous roads in the are because of all the turns and the high speeds everyone wants to drive.
We hopped off the road at Green Mountain Falls and took the side road for a bit. It was quiet and much cooler off in the trees, but it didn't last nearly long enough. Back on the highway for another 10 miles, then we exited again to come in the back way through Manitou Springs. We often come here to play the penny arcades and walk the touristy shops. But we didn't stop this time, we rode slowly through town then took the back entrance into Garden of the Gods. I go through this park every chance I get.
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| Balance Rock |
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| My Favorite Picnic spot in Garden of the Gods |
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| Garden of the Gods |
After we left the garden, we took another back way over to Woodmen road which kept us several hundred feet high above the city. But eventually, we hit the real Woodmen road and 8 lanes for frustrated commuter traffic all the way to my house. It was 88 degrees by the time I pulled into my garage and both Fox and I were sweating. Boy was it nice to talk into the nice air conditioned home.
