Regarding the maps, I am putting numbers on the route which correspond to where the pictures were taken at. Let me know if you think that it's worth the effort.
Some more information and a disclaimer here at the start:
I consider myself an amateur, perhaps an advanced amateur, photographer, and a rider of compentent skill. Which means I am always looking to get better at both. I too have a tendency on my trips to not stop everytime I see a great landscape or roadside item that I would like to shoot. Sometimes it was because there just were not any pullouts, or the lack of shoulders made it too dangerous, and sometimes I just want to get into and/or on with the ride. I did however make a much greater effort on this trip to stop a lot, so the overall coverage of the routes is better then usual for me. But I still left some big holes in the routes photo-wise. So you will not see any photos of Monument Valley (you can find good ones of that place almost anywhere), and I did not, alas, stop for all of the truly great vistas in southern Utah, esp. the ones just outside of Blanding and Kanab. And there are other places missing as well. So there may be some days with very few photos, but I think there are a few here from most of the roads that were new to me, and some of the ones I have been on previously. Anyhow, I'll ride all these roads again someday and take more photos then.
Also, you will not see any animal shots this time. Not that I didn't see them, they were everywhere on the rural roads I tend to ride. Same with old buildings. I just did not stop and shoot them this time. I did shoot some pics of the outrageous wildflowers that lined the roads in the Cascade mountains in Oregon, but they tended to be the ones that did not come out so well, or I just failed to capture them well enough to show.
And then my camera's: I took two, a Canon A530 point and shoot which I kept in my tankbag for instant access. I also purchased a Canon D40 (it lived in the topcase) just before leaving, but I did not spend much time learning it's operation. I have owned a Canon A2E since the mid-90s, and we have a D60 at work, so I know them pretty well. But a lot of my photos came out with less then sharp focus. Sometimes that was cause I was too lazy to get off the bike and/or remove my helmet at pull-overs, and sometimes I am not sure why they were not sharp. Anyhow I may decide to post some of the less then sharp ones anyways. We'll see.
Here is the overview map which shows the entire route. I left on July 2nd, at about 10am, and arrived home on July 13th at about 8:30pm. No camping this trip, all motels.
Here is the map of Day 1.
At the bottom of the hill from my house, 1 mile from home, I could not resist taking a few departing shots of the reservoir and dam:
The town of Nederland is at the west end of Barker Reservoir:
The top of the dam:
Water rushes over the top; this normally only happens for a few days each summer, when the run-off fills the reservoir. It was quite a bit later then usual this year, and is lasting a lot longer as well.
The Spillway. The dam is about 170 feet above the creek, and about 660 feet across. It was finished in 1910, and is one of the first ever to use pre-stressed concrete.
OK. Time to leave.
I did the first leg on I-70, cause I live here and have seen it all before a few times, and I knew what roads I wanted to ride while in Colorado; Highway 133 and Highway 145. So I was interested in getting over to the western slope pretty quickly. Unfortunately, I ran into 2 construction zones, and a heavy rain shower, so I only did 248 miles this day, instead of my planned 400 or so.
This first set of pictures are of the Colorado River, a couple hundred miles downstream of it's headwaters in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is fast and deep as it runs through it's first major canyon (Glenwood Canyon) on it's long journey to the Sea of Cortez. And the rail line on the bank opposite the highway is in constant use. It is the major railway thru Colorado to lands west, used by freight, coal, and AMTRAK trains.
This is one of the last stretches of Interstate 70 to be completed. The construction of it was delayed for a long time by Colorado citizens who wished to spare this most beautiful canyon from the traffic. But in truth, the traffic was already there, it was just restricted to going 45 mph on the 2-lane blacktop, which was almost entirely just a few feet above the level of the river. I have been here long enough to remember many trips before, during, and after the construction. I think they did a pretty goood job of it, but people race through it now and rarely stop to admire it's beauty.
I stopped for a snack because I was tired from the 125 miles of interstate riding and waiting, and to shoot my first pictures. Just as I was about to leave these guys pulled up. This rest stop is about 16 miles from the city of Glenwood Springs. I asked someone what the deal was. They said it was a 3 hour round trip including the bus ride out and the rafting back.
I got all suited up again, and just as I started my motor, a train came by, so I hopped off the bike and got a couple of shots of the AMTRAK going by with the tankbag camera.
Mt. Sopris is a beautiful mountain with a lot of spirtual connotations for the residents of area. It sort of stands alone, and can be seen well from a lot of locations. These shots are on the start of Highway 133, just outside of Carbondale.
As you can see from this next picture, there was a rainstorm up ahead which is actually why I stopped here. I wanted to see which way it was moving. A lot of times around here if you just wait a few minutes you can avoid a storm. As I sat there checking it out, a fairly big bolt of lightning came down a couple of miles away. But I was about to enter a steep walled canyon, so I was not too concerned.
As it turned out I got pretty wet. The storm only dumped on me for about 10 miles or so, but it was a pretty hard rain. I had thought it was smaller then that, and did not put my rain gear on. Also I knew I had a ways to go for the day, and so I figured I would dry out fast anyways once the sun came back out, and that is exactly what happened. I always wear textile gear on these trips, and though my jacket is not waterproof, my pants are pretty good with the smaller storms. Here is a shot looking back at the storm from the other side.
That shot and these next two are at the top of Wilkerson Pass, about 8500 ft., not too high for a Colorado mountain pass. The route between Carbondale and the pass follows the Crystal River. Nice name, and a really beautiful creek, it is quite fast, probably some superior fishing territory. I used to go camping there, but they don't allow it within ¼ of the banks anymore, and the canyon is only a couple of hundred feet wide most of the time. It also goes by the town of Redstone, a national historic district and home of the Redstone Castle. Google it.
and the sun comes out and I begin to dry out.....
The pass is the beginning of a really beautiful 43 mile long ride through first, a stunningly beautiful aspen grove followed by an alpine meadow, and then a very twisty fun canyon, after which the canyon gradually widens a bit where the coal mines are located, in Somerset and then near Paonia.
The mine near Somerset. The coal mines of Colorado are underground. I can actually hear the trains that carry this stuff go by at night, all year long, on tracks that are about 4 miles south of my home. They have to whistle as they pass thru a town down there.
And the mine near Paonia.
Highway 133 ends at Hotchkiss, an area of low lying and arid desert-like hills interspersed with fruit orchards. I got stopped for a while at a traffic construction site just outside of Hotchkiss about 5pm, so knowing I wasn't going to make it to where I had hoped to that day, I decided to just retire early.
Here is the place to eat in Hotchkiss, it's on Main street, which is the highway thru town, which is now CO92. It is mostly beef dishes on the menu. I tried some Mexican, always a gamble, but I was in the mood for some. It was passable, nothing to write home about. On other trips I have stopped in here for an ice cream break. The motel down the road was good, fairly new,and reasonable at $66 for a (almost) holiday weekend.
End Day One
