Day 14 – Murdo, SD to Burnsville!

Is there a person alive that isn’t building an ark???

We got up extra early and were fed and on the road by 8am.  It had rained the night before.  We got off in some pretty dense fog, but it let up after only 20 minutes or so.   It rained a couple of times in SD, but once we got to MN, all hell broke loose.  We still managed to make good time though.  I was a little worried by the lack of tread on my back tire, but I didn’t have any problems.

Our first stop was somewhere about 70 miles East of Murdo.  This was a nice view from the rest stop.

These are the pictures I wanted to take the whole trip.  Don’t ask why.  I’m just amazed at how big these things are.

   

After almost 4,000 miles, I can honestly say that Minnesotans are the biggest butt-holes drivers in the world.  OK, maybe only on 2 continents, but I’ve driven in France!

Total miles driven 4171!

Time for some new brakes on both bikes and tires on the Sabre.

Total gas= 114 gallons @36mpg

Total Fun = PRICELESS! 

Thanks Ludi!!!

Day 13 – Cheyenne WY to Murdo SD

No pictures today.  Why?  BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING TO SEE!!!!  Seriously.  Today was incredibly boring.  Half highway and half back roads.  The most interesting thing we saw was some cats at a gas station.  But we did about 420 miles.  Tomorrow is more of the same until we get home.

 We did stop on the side of the road in South Dakota to take a quick break and put on a warmer jacket and a cop car pulled up behind us to just check that we were OK. 

Oh, and then I did have the wrong hotel.  Oops.  I need some sleep…..

Day 12 – Loveland CO, Granby CO, Walden CO, Laramie WY, Cheyenne WY

Another good start to the day today.  We got off and going right on time.  The riding was very slow however because of a lot of traffic.  We entered the most incredible canyon.  Words nor this picture can describe it.  We felt like we were riding into a dead end.

  

In Estes Park, CO there were a lot of family oriented things to do from horseback riding and rides to a water park.

 

We saw a bunch of bikers when we pulled in here.  A couple of them had Italian license plates.  A long way to come!  Ludi was able to get a good espresso and we both got some good gelati.

  

In Rocky Mountain National Park, we saw some fantastic wildlife and scenery.

  

           

I couldn’t believe how beautiful these “red pines” looked.  We met some Minnesotans at a gas staion in Walden, CO and one of them told me that the trees are dying because of some kind of beatles and drout.  Still looked cool.

Colorado probably has more Scouts than any other place on earth.  This one was for sale and with the exception of the rockers, was in excellent shape.

  

Day 11 – Ouray CO to Loveland CO

Another good day.  Started right on time and the first thing we see, not a half-mile down the road is this beauty.  She just stood there and wasn’t bothered by us a bit.

 

We made great time on an almost 400 mile day.  It rained a little, but let up pretty quickly.  Both of us agreed that it was some of the most fun riding yet.  A lot of twisties and a lot of overtaking, which make it even more fun!  I had a mis-shift from 5th to 3rd when I tried to overtake that wound up at around 8,000 rpm without load.  That’s a red-face moment if there ever was one!

We were getting low on gas just north of Denver and literally had fumes when we pulled into a station.  It took us almost a half-hour to find one!!!

We’re staying at the Quality Inn and there must be a police convention or something.  This guy came particularly far

We also got the pix from the rafting trip developed at Wal-Mart.  We didn’t get prints so it only cost $3.70 to get them put on a CD.  I couldn’t believe it was that cheap!  Well, here they are….

                 

2956 miles and counting…

Day 10 – River Rafting in Ridgway, CO

We slept in today, which was a GREAT start to the day!!!  We went river rafting on a “class 2/3″ river which is nothing to speak of, but we had a ton of fun!  The guide, Tyler, was really cool and made it fun.  He gave us his private phone number and told us to give him a call if we ever want to to a class 4 trip or come back to do some snowboarding.  Ludi and I were in a boat with a father who is originally from the Isle of Mann and his two boys ages 12 & 9.  We all had a blast and got very wet.  The water was 45 degrees or so, but it felt much warmer.  I was suffocating with the waterproof jacket and life jacket we got, so we stopped to strip down.  It was still hot with the jacket on, so Tyler decided to try to sink us (not really, but got very wet).  Probably the best $70 I’ve ever spent.  Most of the trip was overcast which was actually nice.  Otherwise we would have cooked.

 I took a bunch of pictures with a waterproof camera that I bought, but I have to get them developed when we get back.

Of course I saw a Scout Traveller for sale which makes me want to take a trip out here in my Scout!  Tons of Jeeps driving around on trails here.  Ouray/Ridgway is one place I’d like to come back to on vacation again.

 Tomorrow we ride through Poncha Springs and Salida to Loveland, CO.  366 miles of more mountain riding!  Then we have one more day of mountain riding before the 2 day trip back home.

Since I don’t have pix from today, here are some that I am finally getting around to stealing from Ludi…

 Day 1….. getting ready!

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Day 2 — Sturgis

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Day 3

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Day 5 – Joe puts parmesan cheese on his pizza (fyi, Swiss people don’t put parmesan on pizza)?!?!?!?!?!?

Day 6 Yellowstone

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Day 7 – Moab, UT

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Day 8 – Rico, CO to Ouray, CO (the yellow house was the brunt of a few jokes)

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Day 9 – Rico, Durango, Silvertown & Ouray Colorado

We had a short day today because we changed the trip to not do Arizona.  The hotel in Rico was a converted “flop house” for miners.  It was very rustic and cool.  Had a good restaurant and the best breakfast yet.  The bathroom was detached, which was a throwback to staying in Bivio in Switzerland.

The ride was great.  Nice “twisties” most of the way.  Durango was a pretty neat town.  We walked around the “old town” a little and met a young couple that had a stray dog.  Ludi trains dogs in Switzerland and wanted to know what breed it was.  They were pretty excited about that.  Silvertown was half closed, but a nice little town.  Ludi was pretty happy because he was able to get a “real” espresso.  He’s had to suffer with the coffee available at most places. 

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 We got rained on almost the whole way from Silverton to Ouray.  We met a couple from Iowa while we took refuge in a tunnel for a while.

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We’re also finally able to do laundry, which we desparately needed!!  Looking forward to eating a good meal and crashing early.

The plan is to do river rafting tomorrow before heading on so it will be nice to have another “down” day.

2546 miles down, a bunch more to go!

Day 8 – Moab UT through god knows where to Rico CO

This was by far the strangest and best day yet.  Last night when we checked in, I learned that I made the reservation for JULY 12th, instead of AUGUST Th!!!  Duh!  They were nice enough to refund me 50% of the cost.

The hotel was pretty good though.  We were dead tired.

This was a cool picture of what I thought was a cloud atop this hill.  Ludi thought it was exhaust from a reactor.

These were some pretty cool canyons.

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My wonderful GPS took us on a couple of “shortcuts” that at first were crazy on the bikes we were on.  An enduro type bike would have been much better.

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Ludi, taking the opportunity to leave his mark!

  At one point, the dirt road turned into a 10% falling grade.

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Not just once, but twice the GPS took us past perfectly good paved roads in favor of a 6 mile long dirt road that paralleled it.

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From the outside, the hotel in Rico, CO looked like a dilapidated building.  It was really cool though and had a great restaurant!  Yes, it had wireless as well!

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Ludi’s TV!

We’ve changed the itinerary, so instead of going down to AZ and NM, we’re going to spend an extra day in Ouray, CO and go river rafting.  It sounded like a better idea than sweating our butts off for a couple of more days.

Day 7 – Rock Springs WY to Moab UT

HOT HOT HOT!  Only 101 today.  HA!

Another good day for the bikes.  I figured out that the last two mornings when we were ready to leave, there were a couple of bees flying around the bikes.  I’m taking this as a good omen!!!  The following are just some neat pix.  LOTS of great scenery.  We were on US191 the whole day.  Part of it was spent riding through a canyon that was just amazing.  We’re planning on modifying our trip because neither of us are keen to keep riding south into constant 100+ degree days.

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Day 6 – Three Forks MT, Yellowstone, Rock Springs WY

We had a looonnnngggg day today!  Didn’t get to the hotel until 11pm.  Lots of pix of wildlife and nature that I’ll try to post tonight.  Headed for Moab, UT today (day 7).

Day 6 – part 2.

Well, it was a great day.  Yellowstone, wildlife, Old Faithful, etc.

These guys were just standing on the side of the road.

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There was a big fire in 1988 and this is what it looks like now.

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I really liked this view from a small bridge in Yellowstone.

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Natural Springs in Yellowstone.  The sulphur smell was harsh!

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Old Faithful.  We only had to wait about 45 minutes before it blew.  It goes on average every 92 minutes.  I took some video with a digital camera.  I don’t think you’re supposed to hold the camera “sideways” though!  DUH!

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Cool little falls….

I liked the look of these mountains.  It reminded me of a scene out of LOTR—