Riding around Colorado with Sydnee

We woke up at 7:30, but it was pretty cold outside, so we went had a leisurely breakfast in the lobby.  They had something that looked kinda like scrambled eggs, sausagish patties, hash brown triangles, and waffles.  I had some eggs.  Sydnee had some of everything.  She was really hungry.  Eggs, sausage, waffle, bagle, banana, and I'm sure she had more once I went back to the room.

Back at the room I dampened a towel, then went out to wipe down the motorcycle.  It had rained a few times through the night so the dirt was well soaked and came off easily.  I started packing stuff back onto the bike.  We were ready to go by 9:00.  It was still a bit chilly, but the sky was clear and the sunshine felt great.

We turned West on Highway 160 towards Monte Vista, then North on 285 toward Saguache.  We stopped there to buy a snack and take a break.  We hadn't taken a single picture all the way across the San Louis valley because nothing really jumped out at us worth picturing.  That is one big valley.

From Saguache, we turned North West on highway 114.  Ita seldom travelled road that leads up to Gunnison.  It's mostly used when highway 50 is closed over Monarch Pass.  We had to use it 2 summers ago when a big accident closed highway 50, and I remember thinking that it was a real hidden jewel of a road.

We cruised along the empty road enjoying the fresh air and the views until the storms begin to gather along the tops of the mountains to either side of us.  Nothing ever descended into the valley we were following, but the temperature began to drop.  Eventually we climbed out of the valley and into pine trees as we got near Cochetopa Pass.  By the time we reached the top, it was 48 degrees, completely cloud covered, and Sydnee was very chilly.

We stopped for a quick picture and to let Sydnee put on my big coat.  We took down the Pacific side of the pass and quickly broke back out into sunshine and more warmth.  The scenery got even better as we rode one, and eventually we entered a pretty little canyon with red rocks that wound along beside a little creek (probably a river).

It was so pretty that we turned around and rode back down, then back up.  We really liked that 10 mile section of road.  By the time we'd ridden the canyon for the 3rd time, the clouds were closing in behind us.

We arrived in Gunnison a little after noon.  I checked the weather on my iPhone and saw big storms all around us.  We weren't going to ride very far without getting soaked.  After a bit of thought I decided that we were going to stop in Gunnison.  Maybe we could do some riding after the storms passed, but I had no desire to try to ride over Monarch Pass with those storms around us.

We checked into the Comfort Inn, then went to get lunch at the "Gunnisack" restaurant.  I've eaten here before and it was pretty good if a bit heavy.  Sydnee barely ate half of her burger, and I had a roast beef dip sandwich.

After lunch we went to Walmart to look for a pair of gloves and some swim goggles for Sydnee.  They didn't have either one.

We rode a few miles North to see if the storms were breaking, but they weren't.  So instead of riding, we went back to hotel and got our swim suits.  The hotel had a great indoor pool and spa.  I sat in the spa until I was so sleepy I was going to drown.  Sydnee really wanted to stay, but I explained why she couldn't be there by herself.

We went back to the room and I took a short nap to break the lethargy the spa had caused.

By now it was after 3:00 and the weather map showed that most of the storms had passed.  We got on the bike and headed West on highway 50.  I could still see storms North of us, so we couldn't ride up to Crested Butte.  I figured we could ride over to see Blue Mesa Reservoire and maybe even ride up the North side of Black Canyon (one of my favorite roads).

We were half way down the reservoir before I realised that I hadn't bought gass before we left Gunnison.  The bike was down to 1/4 tank.  I was pretty sure I could get back to Gunnison on the gas I had left, but it would be a close thing.  I stopped to check for the nearest gas station and the GPS showed one just 5 miles farther on.  I've had allot of bad experiences in the past with bad directions from a GPS, but there were about 4 more gas stations beyond that one.  So I carried on.

The first station was closed, as was the second, and third.  The 4th had gas, or so the guy thought.  Only one gallon came out and I'm sure it was pretty nasty gas having come from the very bottom of the tank.  But he told me the 5th station really existed and had allot of gas and was only 3 miles farther on.

We got our gas and a few snacks from the guy in the little convenience store.  I felt allot better with a full tank, but I'd wasted another 40 minutes in getting it.

The sun was sinking now and I decided not to ride the North of Black Canyon.  In hind sight, I had plenty of time and the weather was holding, but I rode back to Gunnison.

We stopped at Taco Bell for dinner and it hit the spot for each of us.  And was allot cheaper than the last few meals.

We went for another swim back at the hotel, then watched Shrek the 3rd in the room with some microwave popcorn.

Interesting Rock formations


Pretty walls around us


Sydnee really likes Rocks


Sydnee also likes the sky


Freezing on Cochetopa Pass


Storms gathering around us


More rocks


Our favorite canyon


More of the canyon


Is this a river, creek, stream, what?


Tall canyon walls


More walls

Cruise Around Colorado with my Granddaughter

I bought my first motorcycle over 7 years ago and took my first long multi day ride just 5 months later.  I've loved touring on the motorcycle ever since.  I like the relaxed feeling of the wind whipping around around me.  I especially like riding on long lonely (and mostly empty) roads.

My granddaughter Sydnee started riding with me about 5 years ago.  We started with very short rides usually lasting no more than 15 minutes and slowly progressing until she's now always after me to do 2 and 3 hour rides.  She especially likes big loops that include lunch.

Last year she started asking when we were going to do a multi day ride like I'm always blogging about.

So here we are.  It's finally time to take her on a 3 day ride around the state.  My goal is to have a fun time without having it turn into a long, boring, and painful ride.  It's been further complicated by work, school, a soon to be born grandchild, and weather.

Luckily I had planned several different routes for the ride.  The worst storms are supposed to go North, we will now go South.

It was a chilly night, so we didn't leave until after 8:00.  We also decided to have breakfast before leaving instead of stopping somewhere.  Sydnee said she'd like to try a soft boiled egg,so I showed her how to cook, crack, and eat a soft boiled egg.  She even put salt and pepper on them.

By 8:30 we were on the road.  We took the freeway through Colorado Springs, then hopped onto highway 105 towards Canon City.

I gave Sydnee the pocket camera.  I also mounted my new Ricoh Theta onto the side mirror of the Goldwing.  The Theta takes 360 degree panorama photos and movies.

Our first stop was Skyline Drive just outside of Canon City.  It's a road that climbs up and runs along the top of a ridge just outside of the city.  We took a bunch of pictures on the way up.  I also took a spherical video as we rode along the top.  It will take a while before I can post the video because the laptop I brought isn't powerful enough to do the conversion

I've always enjoyed riding highway US-50 along the Arkansas river.  We saw allot of fly fishermen along the way, and several white water rafting groups.  By the time we got to Salida, we were both hungry but we couldn't agree on anything to eat.  Sydnee vetoed McDonalds, Wendy's, Subway, and a few other places.  The KFC was closed, so we wound up at one of my least favorite places, Sonic.

It was 60 degrees out, partly cloudy, a breeze was blowing, and we had to eat in the shade.  I got an Asiago chicken sandwich and couldn't finish it.  It was tasteless and rubbery.  I think I'm taking Sonic off my list for anything except snacks.

From Salida we turned South into the San Louis valley.  As we climbed up the pass, the clouds began to thicken and darken.  By the time we descended the far side of the pass we were surrounded with mountains and storms.  There was rain visible within just a mile or two of the road, but nothing on us.

We got out of the pass and out on the flat of the valley before the road started to get wet.  We still weren't getting rained on, but the spray from cars ahead or passing us made the windshield a bit dirty and I worried that we'd have to stop if it got so bad I couldn't see.

Another 10 minutes and a few rain drop hit the windshield.  Then harder and harder until we seemed to catch up to the storm from.  It rained hard on us for about 30 seconds until we broke out the front side to dry roads and no rain.  There was some wind, but not much.

We stopped half way across the valley at the Colorado Gator farm.  I'd been here once before with my daughter Klair so I knew what to expect.  Sydnee though was in awe of all the reptiles.  There were huge turtles walking around the rooms.  We watched a couple try to get over a barricade to get at each other.

Then a guy welcomed us.  He directed us to a small area to wait, then walked over to an ice chest and pulled out a small aligator.  It was about 2 foot long.  He said it's name what Chompee.  He carefully showed Sydnee how to hold Chompee so it couldn't bite her while I took pictures.  Then I held Chompee, then we both held it.  His skin was both soft and hard.  Kind of like a really good pair of boots.

We walked around the buildings and saw huge pythons, rattle snakes, kaymans,and a whole lot of aligators.

At the far end of a couple of alligator pens we came across a great big turkey.  It was very colorful.  It also seemed to be mad because it was all puffed up and strutting around us.  It kept dragging some of its feathers and made a loud scraping noise.  We took some pictures and videos then turned to go back.  It followed us about half way down the  path before finally letting its feathers settle back down and letting us go.

From the Gator Farm we rode the last 15 miles into Alimosa.  I had originally planned to ride on to Taos New Mexico, but we decided to call it a day here because we'd stopped so much and the storms were again surrounding us.  So we headed for the Super 8 motel where I knew they had a good indoor pool and spa.  We weren't checked in for 10 minutes before Sydnee asked to swim.  I had allot of pictures to shuffle through so while she swam, I sat on a nearby table to sort and upload.

She swam for nearly an hour before my laptop battery started to die and my stomach started to rumble.  I realized that only Sydnee had eaten breakfast and I only ate my onion rings for lunch.  I had done allot on nothing but onion rings.

We rode back toward town and started looking for somewhere to eat.  Sydnee didn't want to eat anywhere with "bar" in the title, such as a bar and grill.  Nor did she want any Mexican food.  Eventually it came down to KFC or chinese.  As we rode for the 3rd time through town, she spotted a sign on the chinese place that said they served Sushi and the decision was made.

She got a couple of California rolls and I got a seafood combo with allot of vegetables.  We were both very happy with our meal.

Before we came back to the hotel though, she'd spotted a "Nestle Tollhouse" cookie place.  So we stopped by to get some.  I limited her to 2 cookies, then weakened myself and got a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie.  They were delicious.

Back at the hotel we both changed into suits (hers was wet and freezing).  I sat in the spa for about 30 minutes, then ran back to the room to dress and grab my now fully changed laptop.  I made Sydnee sit at a table while I changed.

I worked for another hour on photos while she swam, then we came back to the room.  I wrote this blog while she watched some TV.

We haven't decided what to do tomorrow because we don't know what the weather will do.  Maybe Gunnison, maybe Buenavista, but probably more North so that Sunday can be a very short day.



Cruising Colorado - Shaka


Sydnee taking the top off her soft boiled egg. (Note she's a little endian)


Ready to go


Cheyenne Mountain at the South end of Colorado Springs


Storm clouds gathering over Pikes Peak already


The view from Skyline Drive


A selfie from Skyline Drive with Canon city behind us


Sitting and thinking on the park bench - Skyline Drive


Sydnee's Selfie


Another Selfie from Skyline Drive


Sonic - so cold she has to eat her blizzard in the sun


Chompee the aligator


Fighting turtles. The guy said they try to flip each other on their backs


Chompee again


Agressive turkey


Nice indoor pool


Sushi for dinner

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to figure out how to put panoramas into my blog yet.  I'll keep trying and maybe tomorrow I'll figure it out.  In the mean time, you can browse them on my google plus page.

Clays Google Plus album