The KOA at Buena Vista was a really great place. Our camp site was somewhat secluded. It rained a little last night but not enough to wet the ground. We did wake up to a river of water flowing from somewhere towards the top of the hill to our west. It was quite a bit of water, enough to cut a pretty good ditch down the hill across our road and about two feet behind my Harley. It seems everyone in the camp had an idea as to the source but the KOA owner was too busy cooking breakfast to get to it. It was a good morning for a walk so I stepped back about 40 years and decided it was time to do a little exploring! You remember, we'd start following a creek just to see where it started or where it ended. We found all sorts of things back in those days. There was always a secret swimming hole somebody had located but didn't bother to spread the word. You might find the best place to play army in the world. It was the way we spent our days. At least till we discovered girls and all the ways we might be able to impress them. Back to the water leak... It didn't take long to find the source. About 150 yards up the hill was a water spigot. The leak was about two feet north of the spigot gushing out of the ground then meandering its way down the hill. The ground in this area was mainly sandy soil. I would assume the pipe had not been buried deep enough to handle the loads some of the heavy bus type RVs would place on it as they drove over the road the line appeared to be buried under. By the time we had packed the KOA owner had his hired help come to our campsite to dig a ditch further up the road from us to divert the water away from our area. That was a step beyond what is required. We greatly appreciated his concern but they could've used the time they spent on our ditch locating and repairing his leak. Again above and beyond. Kudos to the owner of Buena Vista KOA, a real business owner taking care of his customers. Bikes loaded we thanked the owners for their hospitality and once more put the wind in our faces.
Turning south on 285 we went to Poncha Springs, Colorado then left to Salida. With a quick stop at Wal Mart, can't remember why, we found the McDonald's. What an experience. We liked McDonald's for breakfast because it was fast and the food seemed to fill the need. This McDonald's was the one exception to the rule. Plenty of cars in the parking lot but no big deal McDonald's is always fairly quick. Through the doors, holy Toledo there were about thirty people in line! We stood there for about 2-3 minutes while another 5 or 6 people piled in the door behind us. The thing is the line was getting longer behind us and no forward progress could be noted. I am a patient person and this was vacation but... Turns out after a little observation, the manager on duty was focused on training a new employee on the only register they had open on the front counter. Patience was no longer a part of my countenance. I looked at Glen and think I muttered something like you guys can stay if you'd like but I saw a Sonic across the street from Wal Mart, I can get breakfast there. Out the door I went with Glen and Jim not far behind me. Actually I said Sonic and Glen's eyes lit up like a kid headed to the ice cream store, made me laugh. Sonic has a really good breakfast sandwich called a breakfast toaster, very tasty and plenty filling. The car hop even brought us a local paper to look at while we sat at the table eating our breakfast without any managers training trainees, screaming kids, grumpy old men or impatient wives. It actually was enjoyable. If I remember correctly Glen also got a burger with his breakfast sandwich.
The ride from Salida to Gunnison was rather uneventful, almost. Traffic was a little heavy especially west of the town of Gunnison. When you enter the Curicanti National Recreation Area the highway ribbons next to a lake, if I read the map correctly the name of the lake is Morrow Point Reservoir. It seems a lot of people like to camp, boat and ATV in the area. The lake was lower than I have ever seen it. The level of the lake was a definite indication of the severity of the drought impacting the western Untied States. The event worthy of the previous "almost" took place when a New Dodge 3500 pulling a new fifth wheel RV pulled out in front of us. No big deal, he had plenty of acceleration to maintain highway speed and not impede our progress for a while. The problem occurred when our line of traffic behind the trailer towing dodge was slowed behind a tractor-trailer doing his best to maintain a decent speed limit in the hills we were riding through. A couple of vehicles had gotten between Jim and I but Jim and Glen were still travelling together. Every time the truck/RV went around a corner he was leaving a trail of waste water on the highway and the mist of it was in the air as experienced by myself. I really was hoping it was an overfill on his freshwater tank but reality says I know better. Every curve my mad was getting worse. I'm either getting misted by his gray water (shower, sink waste water) or this was black water (guess!) and he just didn't feel like stopping at the dump station since he could leave the dump valve open while travelling down the highway and by the time he arrived at his destination he would have an empty tank and never have to mess with the nasty hoses or valves. Thanks buddy! I was ticked off! We finally got to a climbing/passing lane where I made sure I got beside him before he could capture the lane to get around the semi. As I pulled alongside his cab I slowed to match his speed. His wife was looking at me when she poked him in the ribs to get him to look at me. I wasn't using the middle finger when I motioned at him conveying my displeasure but I made sure he knew he better fix the problem. They immediately hit the shoulder with the flashers and as I topped the hill I looked back to see the driver and his wife bent over by the valves to fix his careless actions. I need a shower quick!
We finally got around the truck, Jim and Glen caught up and we cruised on down the road. We eventually came across the entrance to Black Canyon of the Gunnison and made the turn North. After paying our entrance fees to enter the National Park, excluding Jim (he used his park pass) we discovered Black Canyon of the Gunnison to be quite an interesting place. I have a fascination with canyons and the life residing in the depths and heights of these craggy places.
We could have spent a lot more time in this place but we still had quite a few miles to cover and more to see.
Leaving Black Canyon of the Gunnison we rode west to the town of Montrose. Time for lunch. On the east edge of town was an Arby's, good enough for me, Roast beef sandwich, Dr. Pepper and a cherry turnover. Good lunch. A couple of blocks further west we fueled the bikes and turned our noses to the south on highway 550.
Highway 550 is one of those magnificent roads that leaves one of the most impacting memories one can experience on the US highway system. It's not apparent until you reach the town of Ridgeway, Colorado. The town of Ridgeway has a notable claim based on the fact that "the Duke" old John Wayne himself filmed a great portion of the original "True Grit" here. It's one of those things a person could easily overlook if you drove by on 550 without making the turn into town and reading some of the history. South of Ridgeway is the town of Ouray, Colorado. Ouray is another tourist town rather small in size but big in heart. We stopped for a few minutes for pictures but the sun was beating down intensely and we were ready for cooler weather. Heading out of town is quite a climb with a couple of really nice turnouts for photo opportunities. <I'll add a picture of Ouray here later>
We saddled up and continued south on 550. Red Mountain pass is an abandoned iron mine that has had no demolition done to the company grounds. A majority of the mine shafts, elevators, equipment, company buildings, and some company housing are still intact and make great photo opportunities. The environmental impact of a commercial mining operation is very evident in this area. I've been through here a dozen times in the last 25 years and still see no evidence of the area naturally recovering from the mining operation. Good or bad, depending on your opinion, it is a clear reminder of the need to be in a leave it as found condition in the future. Great steps have been made in the past 20 years to enact reparation efforts across the US to such sights. We appear to be making progress towards environmental restoration.
We had almost made it to Silverton, Colorado without putting on the rain gear but it appeared necessary to get it put on or get soaked in the next 5 minutes. We pulled over on the shoulder of the highway and raced for the rain suits. While donning our rain wear a couple of Harley's pulling trailers passed us but as soon as they rounded the next curve they decided to mimic our actions and get ready for a real downpour. We passed them as they were buttoning up and pulling out behind us. We hadn't travelled 2 miles when it started raining. We rode by Silverton proper without any inclination to stop for pictures. We pulled into the local convenience store, shut the bikes off and found a leaning spot under their awning. We were closely followed by the two Harley's pulling trailers. Four of them three of us and a dry spot worked out pretty good. Turns out they were from Hays, Kansas out for a week long ride. Really nice folks. We all were laughing and enjoying the fresh coffee or whatever else we chose to drink. It's funny how many people have gotten so accustomed to smart phones. I think all of us checked our smart phone weather apps several times. The radar on all applications showed quite bit of rain to our south. We couldn't decide whether to wait it out saddle up and ride through it. Another group of riders pulled in to fuel up, completing their objective they pulled out and went south. Glen and I looked at each other and without saying a word headed for the bikes. There was no way we were going to let anybody make us feel like the foursome in the movie "Wild Hogs" hiding under the tarp in the rain. We pulled out and headed up the mountain. We also ended up catching the group in front of us at the next pullout. We had run out of the rain but for some reason I had no desire to stop. It was getting late in the day we still had plenty to see and camp was still a ways south of us. I felt guilty for not pulling over because to our east was one of the most vivid double rainbows I have ever seen.
This particular pair of rainbows was stacked one over the other. The colors were exceptionally bright and well defined. It obviously received rave reviews from everyone on the highway that day since it seems everyone had pulled off the road to view the pair in amazement. Guys and rainbows though is kind of like a guy using the word pretty as one of their descriptors for too many things. Just doesn't fit. At least rainbows didn't fit until I had a revelation several years ago. I had been reading a lot of the old testament studying the character of our Creator. The study of Yahweh's character as written in the old testament reveals a multitude of traits often overlooked in much of the teaching I have enjoyed over the years. Since we're dealing with rainbows I will only tell of my moment in the old testament regarding the rainbow. After the great flood of Noah's time Noah built an alter to give thanks and worship the Almighty. After Noah complied with Yahweh's instructions for his offering Yahweh entered into a covenant with Noah. A covenant which the Creator of all things said he would never break, he made a covenant with Noah that he would not destroy the earth with water again. The sign Yahweh placed in the heavens as a reminder of that covenant was the rainbow. I have looked at rainbows most of my life, they are fascinating reflections of sunlight on the water molecules refracting light in different colors of varied hews and intensity. That's the science of rainbows in a really simplistic explanation. My favorite explanation is a rainbow is a vivid reminder of the greatness of our Creator and His love for us by His entering into a covenant authored and honored by Him. Sorry for the lost photo op guys!
We rode into Durango in front of the two groups trailing behind us. Not that it mattered, we just happened to get there first. We didn't stop to look. We didn't stop for fuel. We went through town as if there was no tomorrow.
East of Durango, about 5 miles out, is the Durango KOA. This was absolutely the best KOA we had found. Turns out they had won campground of the year for the entire KOA organization. Out of all the KOA's anywhere we were at the one chosen as the best of the best. The folks at the Buena Vista KOA had called ahead and got us reservations. When were preparing to leave earlier in the morning I had a nagging feeling about finding a campground in Durango on a Friday night. Finding a camping spot and even motel/hotel rooms on the weekend can be perplexing at the beginning of a weekend especially in southwest Colorado. We had checked in and headed to our camp site within ten minutes of pulling in the parking lot. Once the tents were in place we began discussing dinner options. Glen and I decided to partake of the pizza offered in the office of the KOA. Turns out they make it themselves. No store bought pizza's here. Jim was anti pizza for the whole trip but would have eaten Mexican for every meal if we had suggested it. Jim went to town. Glen and I went to the office ordered our pizza then headed for the pool. 15-20 minutes later we were eating pizza by the pool reflecting on the adventures of the day. I forgot to mention the folks from Kansas pulling the small trailer arrived about 30 minutes behind us and were camped 20 yards from us. Very nice folks. They had their camps setup, trailers unhooked and headed for dinner by the time we got our pizza by the pool. They were entertaining and enjoyable to visit with. They also presented Glen and I with an idea for our 2013 trip. We needed trailers behind our Harley's. I'll reserve the pros and cons for another blog.
The water in the pool was probably very refreshing at 3:00 pm but at 8:00pm it was rather cold. There was a rather steady light breeze blowing which added to the chill. We enjoyed the pool for about a half hour but the mosquitoes were rather aggressive and I was ready to warm up. After the pool it was time for a shower then head back to camp. Darkness was all around us so the discussion turned to the topic of Jim being able to find our campsite in the dark. About the time we started discussing Jim's challenge we heard his bike circling through the campground. He eventually found us got parked and headed to his sleeping bag. Glen and I sat at the picnic table and did what we do best, talk about things that would bore the socks off anyone but us. We discussed trailers, trips we wanted to make over the next few years, modifications we wanted to do to our bikes. We talked about how easy conversations with strangers were on these trips. We adjourned to the tents around 10:00pm.
At 11:00 pm a suburban with a mom, dad and four girls pulled into the campsite between us and the folks from Kansas. I was sleeping good until the vehicle doors started opening and closing at a rate that would make a GM test facility proud. It seems conversation at elevated volumes was the order of the day for them. At 11:51pm they turned on a lantern with lumen's comparable to the sun! That was it, I let go of my normal peaceful demeanor. All it took was a blunt request to revert to flashlights instead of trying to mimic the sun. I'm really a fairly laid back person but I have an issue with others being inconsiderate to those around them. The light immediately went out and conversation volume levels went from an 8 to a 2. Sleep returned quickly. It was a really long day and I really hadn't given enough time to reflecting on all we had experienced and visually absorbed. I slept soundly.
Next post... (steam trains, more canyons and the land of enchantment...)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep it clean...