Great to meet all of you at Dwight and Judy's place on Friday. Sorry I couldn't do the ride, but I absolutely HAD to be back in Denver on Sunday, so I left 6am from Prescott to Ouray, Colorado... just under 600 miles. Tried to stay off the interstates, went through Strawberry, Pine, Payson, and Heber to Holbrook (plus a quick detour through the Petrified Forest Nation Park). Had to jump on that dreaded I-40 for awhile, but jumped off on to US 191 to Ganado and then 264 to Window Rock. While topping off, I was talking to a local who recommended taking BA 12 to Tsaile and then BA 13 over the Chuska Mountains... WOW! What a nice, twisty, red rock road that was... absolutely gorgeous! The view from the top of Shiprock and the Farmington Valley is pretty nice, as well.
I rolled into Durango around 5pm and was a bit groggy... totally planned to hunt down a room. But, after a sandwich, I felt revived, so decided to head to Montrose over 550 ("The Million Dollar Highway"). Talk about eye candy... there's SO much snow in the mountains it felt like I was in the Swiss Alps.
By the time I got to Ouray, I was definitely shot for the night... not a bad place to grab some rack time.
I left Ouray at a leisurely 9am and took US 50 east through Gunnison and over Monarch Pass to Buena Vista and Leadville. Then, back down I-70 east into Denver. While gassing up in Gunnison, a local rolled in on a '67 Scrambler...
Again... great to meet everyone and I hope to make it again next year. I'll make sure to leave time for the ride next time, too!
