2003 — Back to the Core

It was just the original three, John, Bill, and Ken this year. Presumably that had something to do with the fact that we went later than usual, in September. Bill had to work on Saturday and John wanted to go to the CU-CSU football game so we left on Sunday, another first.

So on Sunday morning we were on the road. We headed out US 285 to Pine Junction and then turned south, through Pine and Deckers, on to Woodland Park. At Woodland Park we turned east and went down the canyon to Colorado Springs.

Along the way we found out one of the hazards of going so late in the season—we got caught in a bit cold rain. Still, this is Colorado and it didn't last long.

We slipped through Colorado Springs and took the road out toward Penrose and to Canon City. In Canon City we had our first experience riding Skyline Drive, that very sweet one-lane bit of pavement that cruises along the top of the hogback overlooking the city from the west. Then it was on up the Arkansas River valley to Salida and Poncha Springs, where we spent the night with Bill's daughter Jenna.

On Monday we took the road over to Montrose and down to Colona and then up to John and Cheryl's home site, where their new house was under construction. Rough and full of loose gravel though it was, we managed to get there, though Ken decided he didn't ever want to ride his Kawasaki up there again. John's son-in-law, Clint, came up with a pot of chili and a case of beer and we sat around a campfire and partied. We slept that night amid the framing, Bill and Ken in their tents and John in his camper, which was already set up there for him.

From there it was on south through Telluride and on to Cortez. We got a motel in Cortez but immediately headed on south to the Indian casino south of town. As usual, Bill won and Ken and John lost.

We headed east out of Cortez to Durango and then cut south to another Indian casino, at Ignacio. After a brief gambling delay we continued on to Pagosa Springs, up over Wolf Creek Pass, and down to Monte Vista. In Monte Vista we tried out an interesting concept: watching a drive-in movie from the comfort of your motel room. This was the Movie Manor, a motel built around a drive-in theater with each room looking out on one of the two screens. You even have a speaker box in your room. It was interesting. A fun idea but not that well designed.

The following day we turned north, cruising up to Buena Vista and out on the Cottonwood Pass road to Cottonwood Hot Springs. This is a motel with bunks in communal rooms as well as cottages. The several pools were varying temperatures and you could even get massages, which Bill and John did. At night, after the kids are all gone, there's even a bit of nude soaking.

Back into Buena Vista in the morning and then up over Independence Pass to Aspen. John had found an amazingly inexpensive place to stay in that expensive town so we did. We ended up in a bar where a band was setting up to play and all their local fan base had showed up. A group of women were next to us at the bar and the one next to Ken struck up a conversation. Soon all of both groups were involved in a pleasant discussion, right up to the point where one of us mentioned Hunter Thompson.

Ken asked these locals if Thompson had ever had a chance of actually winning when he had run for sheriff. The woman who had initiated the conversation replied scornfully that no, he never had a chance, and did we think they were all stupid? Ken replied that it would be nice to have a sheriff who wouldn't arrest anyone for possession of marijuana. She then got quite nasty, pointing out that marijuana is illegal, whereas her drug of choice is alcohol. And by this point she had certainly had plenty of her drug of choice. We didn't stick around a lot longer.

We left Aspen the next day, heading back over Independence Pass, to Buena Vista, and then up US 285 into South Park. We turned off onto US 24 to Hartsel and then went south to Guffey, where we picked up a nice, narrow, sort of rough two-lane back road that wound us ultimately into Cripple Creek, our third gambling spot on this trip.

The plans here were unclear. We had not been able to get a reservation but when we arrived and asked they had a room. So we stayed. Otherwise, the plan had been to just head on home that day.

Again, Ken came up a loser but so did Bill, this time. John won a little.

And then, the following morning, it was back over to Woodland Park and the reverse route we had started upon, and home. Another year in the history books.

So hey guys, this is another of those trips where I don't seem to have any photos. If you have some send them to me to add to this narrative.

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