Breakfast was pancakes, I think a ticket was $2 for all you can eat pancakes at the KOA kitchen. We won't talk about the number of pancakes consumed by the three of us. The only thing I'll say is Jim and Glen really took a liking to the offering. All the packing was complete, breakfast was consumed, laundry was done and a bottle of Gatorade had been consumed. Time to put our faces into the wind.
Highway 36 south then immediately turning south on highway 7 will bring you to the east of Long's Peak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longs_Peak) I don't always trust the accuracy of information in wikipedia but the pics are great! Not many places along highway 7 to pullout for pictures so we continued south to Raymond,Colorado turning south on highway 72. We took a restroom break at the grocery store in Nederland, consumed some more Gatorade and learned that the local law enforcement doesn't know what it means to return a wave based on being courteous. Just south of Nederland we turned south on highway 119 towards Idaho Springs, Colorado.
Idaho Springs is one of those towns that you'd like to stop and explore but just never seem to take the time. My opinion is based on the premise that since Interstate 70 passes through and somewhat above Idaho Springs it ads an air of nervous energy to travelers. Every time I'm in Idaho Springs it feel like I need to hurry whatever I'm doing and get back on the road. That's too bad it looks like an interesting town. We did try to spend some time there stopping at the local barbecue joint, enjoying some pretty decent food. Oh yeah, I'm not the food critic here.
This is the point where we broke our rule. It's really my fault. We didn't have to. There was an alternate route. We really could have kept it from happening. I made the choice. It was... Interstate travel! I decided we needed to ride through Eisenhower tunnel. It's really no big deal but it was an opportunity I felt like we needed to experience. It was about 45 miles to the exit for Breckenridge. We jumped on the Interstate and proceeded west. I set the cruise on the speed limit and rode in the right lane, Jim and Glen were behind me... somewhere... Eisenhower Tunnel came into view but no area to pull over on the east side. There was a place but the Colorado Highway Department discourages stopping before the tunnel and patrols the area moving people along. The west side of the tunnel has a pull off area.
We hit the west side pullout shut the bikes off and took a photo opportunity. It looked to me like one of the tunnels is named the Eisenhower Tunnel and the other is name The Johnson Tunnel? Why do we always refer to it as The Eisenhower Tunnel ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower_Tunnel)? Probably because most of the country wouldn't know who the Johnson was. Turns out he was a Colorado Governor. So at the west end of the tunnel I had to ask myself was it worth the breaking of our rule? I think so. We mounted back up and proceeded west on Interstate 70.
Our destination was Leadville, Colorado and the headwaters of the Arkansas River but traffic was picking up and I forgot which highway I wanted to exit to for Leadville so I screwed up. My goal was highway 91 south my action resulted in a turn south on highway 9. We exited and travelled south far enough before stopping we decided to continue on instead of back tracking. I don't have any objections to back tracking if I know the goal is really worth the effort. If we had a 100% consensus I would have turned around and corrected my mistake but it wasn't to be. We turned south on highway 9 out of Breckenridge towards Fairplay, Colorado. Another stretch of road without much to see and entirely too much traffic travelling entirely to fast to be gawking at scenery on a motorcycle. We pulled off at a designated pullout for a trail head or recreation area and got Gatorade out of the cooler. While sitting enjoying the liquid electrolytes I happened to look at an information sign.
I remember being involved in a lot of outdoor adventures in the late 70's and through the 80's that immediately came to mind when I saw this sign. It seems back then if you were a backpacker/climber/ski bum/outdoor enthusiast the best way to convey your image was to cover your vehicle with equipment manufacturer's stickers. The stickers covered all arena's of outdoor activity, Black Diamond, Patagonia, different Rope and Climbing manufacturers, ski equipment stickers especially if it was telemark oriented, you get the idea. The ultimate outdoor bum was elevated to culture status if the stickers were on his VW bus or a Subaru outback. They visited places like El Dorado Canyon, Yosemite, Quartz Mountain even Chandler Park west of Tulsa was famous for it's bouldering. I was not a climber but my younger brother was outstanding. He had the VW bus with stickers and duffle bags of equipment. He lived the life, I was jealous but not motivated to tag along. Another plug for him is he was mentioned in several climbing magazines and a book titled "Stone Crusade, A Historical Guide To Bouldering In America" author was John Sherman, copyrighted 1994 published by The American Alpine Club. We actually built a climbing wall in the backyard at our dad's that was 40 feet tall with an overhang and a platform at the top for lawn chairs so we could enjoy the scenic view of our old Turley neighborhood (now that's funny!). Back to the sign. This particular sign invoked all of those memories and thus qualified for a picture and inclusion in this blog. Each sticker was placed by an individual who has a unique story. The highway department supervisor who has chosen over the years not to replace the sign with all the stickers has a story. Every person who has looked at this sign and wondered what it was all about has a story. I'd really enjoy hearing some of their stories. Faces into the wind we turned south.
Before I forget Pat's nickname in the climbing community was "splat"strong (pg.193). Just for you bro!
At Fairplay, Colorado we turned south on US highway 285. Fairplay has a history of mining like so many Colorado towns and can share that all, almost seem to be the same story but once you get below the surface of the story and look at the details each place is unique along with the characters involved in the story and walking out the steps history has chosen to make note of.
We rode to Johnson Village, got gas and started looking for the Buena Vista KOA. Turns out we had passed it about a mile back. This time we retraced our steps. Got our camping spot and enjoyed the remainder of the day lounging and cruising around Buena Vista, Colorado. The owners of this campground were very friendly and accommodating. They offered Glen an extension cord to use for the night. We set the tents up threw our baggage inside walked up to the office and sat down in the chairs or benches they had provided and talked to quite a few visitors. A storm had developed to the east and to the west. The wind was bumping 30 mph gusts. I was wondering if the new tent was going to maintain its composure. Several gusts pushed the poles almost to the ground. I kept waiting for the unsettling SNAP of a pole reaching its yield limits. Never happened. Good tent. Once we were settled that the storm wasn't going to destroy our tents we inquired about eating establishments worthy of our monetary sacrifice. Several places were mentioned but we ended up at a place called the Coyote Cantina in Johnson Village. Mexican again. No big deal. Coyote Cantina had good food, great atmosphere and friendly service. In one room they had John Denver's old motorcycle hanging from the ceiling. A green enduro the brand I do not remember but it was cool!
Our waitress was quite attractive in her oversized tee shirt blue jeans and hair tied back loosely (no sarcasm at all she was very pretty), she also was very busy and seemed to be overseeing the other staff while maintaining a watch over her tables. Based on the name on our receipt her name was Brooke. Turns out she was from St. Louis, Mo. and had somehow landed in Buena Vista, Colorado. We were all playing the old guess the waitresses age game, she had really great blue eyes, we guessed from early twenties to 28 or 29. Turns out as we were leaving we got in a discussion and discovered her oldest daughter had just graduated high school. She had three kids, the middle one had MS if I remember correctly. They were preparing to move back to the St Louis area to be closer to family and hospital's with the ability to treat his condition quickly. I add these details to really address the opportunities presented if we'll just take the time to listen. What can we do in a situation like this? Have compassion, pray, listen. I am a person that believes every encounter happens for a reason, even it's its just a wave. Somebody needs your smile or your hello or your wave or maybe twenty minutes of your day to get something out that has or is making their life burdensome. This is one of the great things I've noticed on both trips, 2011 and 2012, if you'll listen people will share.
After a Coyote Cantina dinner Jim went back to camp. Glen and I went to Buena Vista parked in the Ace Hardware store parking lot, they were closed, and took pictures of the surrounding mountain vistas. We talked about the day and the trip. We headed back to town. Finding a local grocery store, we re-stocked Glen's ice chest with Gatorade then headed to the local car wash. We combined all our quarters pulled both cruisers into the bay and rushed through a bike wash. Bike washing complete we headed back to camp, parked the bikes, headed up to the office and visited with more strangers. This is a great place. The stars viewable in the high desert of Johnson Village were absolutely phenomenal. Each one placed by the Deity's loving hand. This had been an interesting day. Not much in the way of scenery comparable with the past few days but the encounters with people were outstanding. Said a prayer for the girl at the cantina and her family to have peace through the tough challenges and days ahead of them, opened the tent and greeted the backs of my eyelids as if they were my long lost best friends. By the way I think she said whe was 37, don't quote me on that, and aging quite nicely.
Next post, "Flat landers, rain, outstanding ride!"
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