2024 — Taking It Easy

OFMC 2024 route

Once again it was us three, Dennis, Ken, and Bill. Bruce was a maybe and then a no, once again. Dang. Oh well, three is a good number. We left on a Wednesday for a change, the idea being to avoid coming back into town with the weekend traffic jam. Don't say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

This trip was intended to be some easy riding, pretty much sticking to Colorado. Consequently, we met up at the Starbucks in Golden and got a fairly late start, only to head up Golden Gate Canyon with the intention of stopping in Black Hawk for lunch. This first picture is from a pit stop on our way up Golden Gate Canyon.

We figured this would give us an early shot at some gambling, as well. We each put $20 in a machine and promptly lost half of it so we figured this was a good time for lunch. After lunch Dennis picked a machine and we quickly won back all our loses, plus $2.50, so that seemed like a good time to get rolling for real.

For real is a relative term in this case, though, because we were only headed to Hot Sulphur Springs. We took the Central City Parkway over to I-70, to US 40, over Berthoud Pass, through Winter Park and Granby, and there we were. Grand total of mileage that day around 100.

The idea of this trip was to play tourist. To stop and do the tourist things and visit the tourist sites that we have just passed by so many times. In Hot Sulphur Springs that meant hitting the hot springs. Nothing like hot water to ease the knots from all those grueling miles (100!). Plus there was a lot of eye candy to enjoy with a surprising number of very attractive young women in some pretty brief outfits.

There aren't many eating options in Hot Sulphur Springs so we headed out the next morning and made it on over to Kremmling for breakfast. Except that we had a hard time finding any place to eat in Kremmling as well but finally found something. Also, it was darn cold. The ride from Hot Sulphur Springs to Kremmling was actually almost frigid. And it was still cool leaving Kremmling.

We headed south and made the run down to I-70 at Silverthorne, jogged up to Copper Mountain and then over Fremont Pass to Leadville and down to Buena Vista. Along the way, near Buena Vista, we took note of the place we would be coming back to later. Today was our day for zip-lining.

But first we needed to get to Bueney and get checked in at our motel. We were too early to check in, though, so we had a burger lunch in the park. By then one room was ready, and the second soon after, so we dumped all our stuff and headed back to the zip-line place.

Our guides were two young guys, one who had multi-colored hair and about 20 piercings on his ears and nose and elsewhere. A real talker whose set spiel kept us all entertained. That's him with the blue hair in the photo below. The first several runs were nothing special but the fifth was really fast and fun. We still agreed we had no big desire to do it again but were glad to have done it this once.

The next morning we headed over Cottonwood Pass, down Taylor Canyon, to Almont and then south to Gunnison. (The photo below the zip line photo is at Taylor Reservoir.) Then west on US 50 headed to Montrose.

One problem. The bridge over the Blue Mesa Reservoir at the west end had been closed some time before due to structural issues with the bridge. But Ken had done some research and by his understanding, the bridge was now open for one lane of traffic for smaller vehicles. So we're good. The only options would have been to turn at Almont toward Crested Butte and take the good but unpaved road over Kebler Pass to Hotchkiss, then take CO 92 to Delta and then south to Montrose; or head south at the east end of the Blue Mesa Reservoir toward Lake City but then take the Lake City Cutoff to rejoin US 50 west of the bridge. Also unpaved, and not as good a road as Kebler Pass.

Things started looking dicey, though, when we got to the turn-off to Lake City and there were signs saying US 50 ahead was closed. Ken was in the lead and decided to press on on US 50 in hopes that it would work out but the only traffic west of that junction was fishermen and campers.

Sure enough, we got nearly to the bridge and were stopped. No, the bridge was not open for anyone. The guy we spoke with said we had to go back and take the Lake City Cutoff and it was timed.

We needed to be there at 12:30 to make the window or we'd have a wait of several hours. We didn't have much time. We hustled back, got on the right road and were making good time when we got stuck behind some guy hauling a big camper. Still, we got there just in time to sail right through the makeshift gate they had set up without stopping, behind about 100 other vehicles.

It was about 20 miles of dirt and while Ken thought it was not bad (he was on his V-Strom), Dennis didn't like it but accepted that there was no alternative, while Bill hated it and said later he would have just gone home or something else if he knew how bad it would be. Dennis and Ken were glad Bill didn't know how bad it was going to be. So we made it on to Montrose that day.

From Montrose the next morning we were headed to Durango. We stopped to get a picture for John at Colona, then Ouray, over the pass, and time to stop in Silverton. We were in the Harley store (clothing, no bikes) when about 40 bikes came rumbling in. Had the worst meal of the trip at a place that caters to tourists coming in on the train, and watched the 40 bikes rumble out. Then we headed out but didn't get far when we were stopped by an emergency on the road ahead. We couldn't see what it was but we didn't have to wait too long and when we started rolling again we passed a bunch of bikers with their bikes pulled as far off the road as possible for traffic to pass, all with very long faces suggesting one of their group had had something pretty bad happen right there. That was sobering.

We got in to Durango pretty early and had to wait to get in the room so we just sat in the lobby because it was very hot outside. At this time Bill confirmed the vibe Dennis and Ken had been picking up from him that he just has lost interest in doing these trips. He said he has suffered from anxiety all his life and it has gotten more so on long rides like this. Also, the other biker's mishap just out of Silverton added to his negative feelings. He said he didn't want to go to Mesa Verde--which was our next planned stop and another we-always-pass-it-by tourist stop--but ultimately he concluded it made sense to just cut out that night and move the rest of the trip up one day. If possible. And it was. Ken canceled at Mesa Verde and got a full refund and Dennis & Ken were able to move our other reservations up one day.

So Durango was our golf stop. The golf course is up by the college on a ridge or mesa overlooking the rest of the city and very scenic. We spent the better part of the day there. Back at the motel, we hopped on the free trolley, which took us downtown where we found a nice restaurant and also visited the very interesting Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum.

With Mesa Verde cut out of the schedule, we only had 18 miles to go the next day to get to Ignacio, our gambling stop for this trip. We had plans to stop at Chimney Rock National Monument the following day so Ken proposed that instead of going straight to Ignacio we take US 160 east to where it meets the road coming from Ignacio, which runs right past Chimney Rock. Make that turn, stop at Chimney Rock, and then go to Ignacio. It's a plan.

We got to Chimney Rock and whatever expectations we had they were not met. The monument is quite new, only open for a year or so, and for the moment the road in is gravel. Not something Bill or Dennis is enthusiastic about. At the visitor center there was not much yet. The only buildings were restrooms and a building housing a gift shop and a small museum. The main area of interest in the monument is up on the mesa and that road is also just gravel. We did not ride up there, although they do offer a shuttle bus, which we also declined. So it was not a lengthy stop.

Ignacio is Ignacio. It's all about the casino. We had to wait awhile to get checked in but that's just not an issue in a casino. We did explore the whole casino/resort including the exercise room and the swimming pool.

In the morning we headed back on the road we came in on, rejoined US 160, on to Pagosa Springs, and then turned south on the road down to New Mexico, to Chama. Chama seems to be fading so it proved difficult to find a place to find ice cream there but we finally did. Then it was on Cumbres and La Manga Passes to Antonito. This was where we encoutered the herd of cattle some years ago but this time there were no cattle to be seen. You might have thought it would be fairly easy to recognize where we ran into the cattle but it wasn't. Ah, history.

We got to Antonito figuring on a lunch stop but Antonito doesn't seem to have much to offer so we pushed on, through Alamosa, and ultimately just made it on to Fort Garland, our stop for the night.

Fort Garland actually has a choice of restaurants so we picked the closer one and walked down. The food was good but there was no air conditioning and the fans weren't helping all that much. On the walk back we stopped at a place advertising Amish baked goods and ended up eating some fresh-from-the-freezer, still frozen (no microwave) fried pies.

Our route home from Fort Garland had several options. Bill was considering going north on US 285 and stopping at Jenna's. Ultimately, though, we all decided to just slog it out, going east on US 160 to Walsenburg and north on I-25. The ride to Walsenburg was nice, as always, and I-25 was I-25. Through Pueblo, and the mess of Colorado Springs, but Bill had had an idea. How about if we get off at Monument and take the back road up to Sedalia and stop at Bud's Burger Bar for burgers. Done.

We walked into Bud's and the place was busy but Bill and Dennis, being regulars, knew that if there was room at one of the big round tables you just ask if you can join the folks already there. We did, and found ourselves sitting with a couple guys who said they were on a quest to find the best burger in the region. We talked burgers and Bill pulled out his phone to show them a photo of a burger he had had recently. They recognized it and knew where he had gotten it. We were impressed.

After the meal we went back to the bikes and the trip was at an end. Ken turned right and Bill and Dennis turned left and another--perhaps the final--OFMC ride was history.

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