'Merican Month at 40

[Land]

Originally Posted by WaywardSon

Wish you had checked out Tentspace before coming through Paducah...

I may head through there on the way home.

What are the hours of the National Quilt Museum?

Chris

[DirtDabber]

Originally Posted by Land

I'll say it before one of the Peanut Gallery (most likely either DirtDabber or phideaux) does :

You don't have to be grown up to do a trip like this -- just look at me.

Chris

Aren't you still in high school?

Originally Posted by Land

Hey, Mark, do you remember that picture that you took of me on the ride with DirtDabber last year at the Eastern Rendezvous? You know, the one that you took a while after I did this ? It conveys this basic idea:


Take a look at that one again. I'd post it for you, but I don't have a copy handy.
Maybe DirtDabber does.


Chris

Speaking of high school.....

[Land]

After we left the park, we saw that haphazard parking of cars along the roadside and gawking tourists that tells you that there's probably an interesting critter in the area, so we parked haphazardly and joined them.

Supposedly, there was a bull moose "right down there!" Some woman had a cellphone pic. Mary Elizabeth saw the pic. I was busy gawking. We didn't see the bull moose, but this'n trotted by.


So after we ate lunch in Grand Lake on July 2, we started making our way toward Breckenridge. I had moose droppings for lunch, BTW . And soup. (The moose droppings were little fried jalapeno poppers.)


In Breckenridge, we both got our hair did.





We also took a gondola ride.






Up over Hoosier Pass we went.






We stopped for lunch in Alma, the highest incorporated town in North America. If you do Mosquito Pass, you'll probably pass through Alma.
A funny thing happened in Alma. A guy working at the bar/restaurant was chatting with us and mentioned what a great place to raise kids Alma is.
He mentioned the low crime rate in the small town and the fact that it was legal to smoke weed in Colorado.

Old South Park.


We cruised downn to Buena Vista for a little ride break,
then headed to Salida, where we dropped in on Hayduke at Fat Tees, and I bought a new Safety Third t-shirt. You'll see it soon. While we were in the store, Bonnie Abbzugg stopped in from her store a couple of doors down. I'm looking forward to seeing Duke and Tami at WestFest in a matter of hours now.

Salida is a cool town.




This Willys was parked on the street.



On the way out of town, Madame Librarian cheked out the liberry.


I know that some of you are here for the Colorado dirt and vistas, so here's a little preview of a few days later.


Stay tuned,
Chris

[Land]

DirtDabber, that pic certainly expresses what I wanted to "say" to our bud Red Bud, but I was thinking of the one with the double salute.

Chris

[Land]

From Salida, we headed up to Cripple Creek for the night. I love the road out of Salida (CO 50?) that runs along the Arkansas River.

The next morning, we had reservations on the excursion train out of Canon City through the Royal Gorge. I needed a little dirt, and Phantom Canyon Road is a shortcut to Canon City. After a little ride around Cripple Creek to show Mary Elizabeth the "donkeys at large," we headed through Victor to Phantom Canyon Road.

We were kind of watching our time, so we only stopped once (and then only 'cause I needed a potty break ).

I handed Mary Elizabeth the camera while I did my bidness.











She's such a smartass sometimes.


It was not far from here, on this Colorado dirt road miles from most everything, that Mary Elizabeth said to me, "This is one of the best vacations that I've ever been on!"

God, I love this woman!!

(For some context, she's been to some pretty amazing places -- with me and without me.)

We made it down to Canon City and caught the train. It's a great little ride and worth doing if you're in Canon City and have the time. The train goes through the gorge, then it reverses and brings you back through. The Royal Gorge -- "the grand canyon of the Arkansas River" -- is stunning.


























Not a bad way to spend the morning and early afternoon of Independence Day.

Next,

Colorado Springs.

Stay tuned.

Chris

[hojo in sc]

Chris you said: If you do Mosquito Pass, you'll probably pass through Alma. Looking at Google Earth, Mosquito Pass looks like a dirt road, probably would be fun on a GS.

[Land]

Originally Posted by hojo in sc

Chris you said: If you do Mosquito Pass, you'll probably pass through Alma. Looking at Google Earth, Mosquito Pass looks like a dirt road, probably would be fun on a GS.

Howard, it IS fun on a GS. (Though the pass itself was closed when I was there a couple of weeks ago. I went quite a few miles back on the road to the pass, though. ) That teaser pic a few of my posts back -- the one with the snow on the mountains in the background (last pic in post 48) -- is the Mosquito Pass road.

Chris

[hojo in sc]

Originally Posted by Land

She's such a smartass sometimes.


Chris

Don't get mad, get even!

[DirtDabber]

Originally Posted by Land

DirtDabber, that pic certainly expresses what I wanted to "say" to our bud Red Bud, but I was thinking of the one with the double salute.

Chris

Oh, you want the one where you are actually riding the bike......rather than taping it back together.

[hojo in sc]

Originally Posted by Land

Chris

Tell me about that foot bridge, and did you notice the truck coming right at you!

[Land]

After the Royal Gorge, Mary Elizabeth wasn't hungry, but I was, so we popped into a BK so that I could have a quick burger. (4th of July, remember. Hey, it was what was available. )

We met this fellow there.

Hank was on his way to the BMW MOA rally in Redmond, OR, from his home in Memphis. If you were in Redmond, you may have seen him riding around the rally with that beige patio umbrella that you see between the fender and tub deployed to give hime some shade. Cool guy.

We spent the late afternoon and early evening in the Garden of the Gods after checking in to a motel in Colorado Springs.


Just a little change in lighting.




















Look! a motorcycle!




We finished out the 4th of July in, umm, an English pub. How wrong is that?

I really should hit the road for WestFest. I'll need to do about 650 miles today if I'm going to make it. I may roll in tomorrow.

Stay tuned,
Chris

[Land]

Originally Posted by DirtDabber

Oh, you want the one where you are actually riding the bike......rather than taping it back together.

Yeah, the riding one. You gots?

And it wasn't all that much tape. It was mostly zipties.

Chris

[Land]

Originally Posted by hojo in sc

Tell me about that foot bridge, and did you notice the truck coming right at you!

The "foot bridge" is actually a car bridge from the 1920s or so. The Royal Gorge Bridge. It's 1200-plus feet above the river. I paid the silly expensive fee a few years ago and rode across it.

The truck followed us both ways. The train had been shut down for a few days because it had started a couple of little fires in the gorge. My theory is that the truck was there for fire safety, but I don't know.

Chris

[DirtDabber]

Originally Posted by Land

Yeah, the riding one. You gots?

And it wasn't all that much tape. It was mostly zipties.

Chris

I am packing the truck for a little family vacation of my own so I won't be available for every becon and call you have. We are going to the fine state of Kentucky for a week.

To my friends here in Georgia, I promise not to bring shame and embarassment to our fine state......I have made all reservations claiming to be a resident of South Carolina.

Chris. I will take my phone with internet access so I can check in here. I am sure you will appreciate that.

[Land]

Thanks, Clay. I like the anonymity of that shot.

Red Bud knows 'zackly who that guy is and who that double salute was -- and is! -- for.


Have fun in KY -- -- and tell Jan and the boys hello for me.

Oh, and they'll know you aren't really from SC. Yep, they'll know.

Chris