Colorado Cruiser: Riding to Arizona for my son's wedding

When my daughters got married, the stress levels around the house began to rise at least 3 months before the weddings.

Here I was just a week or two from my son's wedding with hardly any stress at all.

Is it being the father of a groom rather than the father of a bride? Or is it Kyle and Laura vs the other wedding couples? It's probably both.

Kyle and Laura both live in Colorado Springs but they were also both born in Arizona. When got engaged, they decided to get married in the LDS Mesa Arizona Temple and to get married sooner rather than later. Late October is a great time in Arizona, the temperatures are still warm without being hot, and it will make a great break from the oncoming cold in Colorado.

When they told us the plan, my first thought was "Will the weather hold so I can ride the motorcycle down?" I decided not to worry about weather and storms. If a storm happened, then I'd have to drive a car down, otherwise I got ready for a motorcycle ride.

So the time has finally arrived. There are 8 days remaining before the wedding and the weather is fantastic. We had some very cold days last week, but by Wednesday the temperature was back up in the 60s and 70s during the day.

DAY 1

I was in no big hurry to get going today. I'm only going about 250 miles to Montrose, so I didn't need to hustle. I helped Nannette get her stuff ready so she could fly down to Phoenix.

By 9:30 I was packed and ready to go. The ride started with an old friend, highway 115 down to Penrose. I've driven this highway 2 or 3 times a month for the last 6 years. I was a prison service missionary for the Mormon church, and I'd go down to the federal prison to hold church services. It was just a bit cold this morning, probably 54 degrees, and I was wearing my mesh jacket and gloves.

I stopped in Canon city for a short break and to drink some water, then I started my favorite part of this ride, US highway 50 along the Arkansas River. The river winds through a series of canyons and takes the road right along with it making for a very fun ride. Add the white water on the river and the fall colors along the river and it was a great ride.

I was almost sad when I reached Salida and left the river.

I grabbed a quick lunch at sonic, then followed highway 50 up into the mounts to Monarch pass. I don't know how many pictures I have on Monarch pass, but now I have one more. Normally the parking lot at the pass is filled with cars. Lots of tourists, mountain bikers, hikers, and people riding the gondola to the top of the mountain, but not today. There were only 2 cars at the little store so I was able to take my time getting my picture. Usually there is a mass of people lined up by the sign to take a picture.

After Monarch I descended the mountain and road through Gunnison. On the far side of Gunnison, the road begins to follow along the shore of Blue Mesa Reservoir. There are some astonishing rock formations. I stopped for another picture.

I reached Montrose easily by 4:00 and checked into the Black Canyon Hotel. It's an off brand hotel but it had good reviews. I liked the room.

For dinner I decided to take a chance on Indian Food. I got Chicken Tika Marsala and Nann bread. It was much better than I'd hoped for and ate every last bit.

Now it's barely 9:00 and I'm done uploading photos and writing this report. I've even spent a while planning my route for tomorrow.

Rather than just riding directly toward Blanding, I'm going to turn North toward Grand Junction, then take highway 141 back south through some rugged canyons.

Kyle and Laura