Colorado Bike Trip

On June 11th I did something I have wanted to do for a long time. I went on a road trip with my best and long time friend (since 7th grade) Craig Terry. The first day we rode our bikes to Moab. It was the last day of the cold spell we had in June so we had to bundle up a little. Besides the coolness the first day the entire trip was beautiful. This picture was taken at an overlook in south central Utah on highway 70. Sorry but pictures never do the scenery justice.

Just before we arrived at Moab we took a tour through Arches National Park. The formation you see behind us is called "balancing rock". Check out the good looking dudes in leather.

Day 2 took us from Moab to Cortez Colorado. Craig got a shot of me packing for the day.
Here is a shot of me riding just south of Moab. Sweet Bike, Huh!Here is Craig on his Harley. He says I ride a lawn mower because mine is a Honda. You tell me who has the best looking bike!

I never knew how beautiful south eastern Utah is. The Monticello area is gorgeous! It was so green. I found this sandstone hill to be quite interesting with a hole in the middle. Mother nature amazes me.

We stopped to see the Monticello Temple. This is the first of the "smaller" Temples that President Hinckley commissioned to have built.

After we reached Cortez and unpacked we rode to Mesa Verde, the Anasazi cliff dwellings. Here I am hiking down some stairs to the ruins.

This place was neat. It is fascinating to see how people lived long ago. They believe this place was occupied between 12oo and 1300 AD.
Day 3 took us on the most beautiful road I have ever been on. We took a loop from Cortez through a small town called Dolores, then up to Telluride, the famous ski resort, then on to an old mining town called Ouray (youray) and then to another famous mining town called Silverton. From there we rode to Durango and then back to Cortez. It was a full day of the most incredible scenery you could imagine. Check out how green this river valley was.

We stopped for a break on this old wooden bridge that crossed the river.

This is Trout Lake in the Colorado Rockies.

Downtown Telluride. Kind of a mini Park City. Check out the waterfall coming off of the glacier in the back ground. The falls go right into a donut glacier. The next picture is a close up. (As far as my camera would zoom)

They had a little street fair going on.

A shot from above the town of Ouray. On the way out of town you take a switch back road that takes you higher and higher until you feel like you can't go higher. Then you cross what they call the "million dollar highway". It was scary because on one side of the road there is a wall that goes straight up forever, and on the side, the side we were riding, a drop off to the river, maybe a thousand feet, with no shoulder and no guard rails for a couple of miles. Needless to say I didn't get a picture of that area while I was riding. Sorry.

Then we came to the summit, elevation 11,018 feet. WOW!

This is the town of Silverton. It looked like a movie set. There is an old coal/steam locamotive that takes people from Durango to Silverton for a full day excursion. Like the Heber Creeper but a little faster.

Craig thought he was a movie star.

This is the old train as it is approaching Durango.

Day 4 was a long day. We went from Cortez (south west Colorado) all the way to St George. This is the Four Corners monument. I heard it's not really the actual spot. This just fools people because the actual survey hub is in a tourist unfriendly spot. Now I can say I have been there. Whoop dee doo!

We rode all the way across the top of Arizona through the indian reservations. Not worthy of a photo. Then we went through Paige Arizona and crossed the bridge at the Glen Canyon Dam that holds back Lake Powell. Soooooo Cool!


A shot of the marina.

We rode nearly 1500 miles on the trip. At one point Craig pulled back next to me and yelled, "997 miles! I'll raise my hand when we reach 1000". So I got my camera ready and our 1000 mile mark is now photographic history. As you can see, the top of Arizona isn't much to look at.

From Paige we went to Kanab and then through Zions Park from east to west. As we entered the park we got behind another group of bikers. It was fun to ride with them for a distance. That is me in the rear by the Zions Park sign.

As we came around a bend in the road and down a hill we looked up ahead and saw an amazing site. There was a big horn sheep perched on the top of this huge rock. You might have to zoom in to see it. We were way down below it. My camera was zoomed in as far as it would go. Then it hopped off the back and disappeared. Who knows how it got down.

I have fond memories of coming to Zions Park as a kid with Mom and Dad and Dutch Aunts and Uncles. We would ride through these tunnels and Dad would honk his horn.

The morning of day 5 was spent relaxing around Linda's pool. Then it was homeward bound up I-15. Linda, Thank you for being such a wonderful host. We have so much fun when we are with you. I love you so much.