Day 20: Des Moines Iowa to Sault Ste. Marie - The sweet journey is over!

Start: Des Moines, Iowa
Finish: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Distance: 805 miles  Total to date: 6423 miles
Campground: Rode straight thru the day: 7:30 a.m. until 1:00 a.m.

Gas: Williamsburg, Iowa 3.479 gal @ $2.299 $8.00; Platteville, Wisconsin 3.640 gal @ $2.499 $9.10; Waupun, Wisconsin, 3.861 gal @ $2.569/gal $9.92; Marinette, Wisconsin 4.004 gal @ $2.499/g $10.01; Manisitque, Wisconsin  2.863 gal @ $2.449/g $7.01; Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 4.001 gal @ $2.549/g $10.20

Our goal today, was to ride, ride, ride to get to the Sault. There is a severe storm warning from Nebraska & Iowa to Chicago that is right behind us, and another for the northern part of the Dakotas, so if we take our time, we might get caught in it.

We just saw on TV that about 16 people were killed in flash floods in Zion National Park and Hillsdale, Utah. We were there just one week to the day. Al thanks his daughter Kendra for the timing of her baby-to-be as we left on our trip a week early so that he could be back to the Soo when she is due. We recall seeing mud on the roads in Arches National Park and Zion due to the small bits of rain that fell and can now appreciate the flood warning signs along the roads.

In Des Moines, we were sort of in the middle of "too far to ride the whole distance", but "too close to stopover"...so being as stubborn as we are, we decided to grit it out. Also, Al put on clean jeans so Donna thinks he did his laundry on a regular basis, so we have to make it before he gets his jeans wrinkly.

One thing about Nebraska...there are miles and miles of corn fields and the wind can be very strong whipping off those fields while it's not as flat, Iowa has miles and miles of corn fields and the wind was strong as well. It was more at our back as we are heading more northward and the weather is pushing up from the south. We saw a lot of corn. In one corn field, there was a green area that was just so, so green in contrast to the golden corn crops.

We rode to Dubuque, Iowa, one of the few places in Iowa with hills. Dubuque is on the state line of Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, and sits along the Mississippi River. It looks like a prosperous, educated and cultural city as reflected by the architecture and companies there. It was a great view of the Mississippi River from the bikes and I could see some riverboats running the river, but there is no place to stop while on the Interstate 80 to take photos.

We were going to go east to Iowa City, but just before that, we saw a sign about an accident on the I340, so we veered off on Hwy151 as an alternative. It was a bit slower as we were going thru some small towns. Also, the highway had little dips, enough to keep you bouncing and bouncing and bouncing. It was like riding a horse and being out of sync with the horse.

We eventually got to Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital. This looked like an interesting city with a beautiful State Cpital building. As we rode into the downtown area, it looked like the Capital Building in Washington D.C. We could not take a photo of it as we were on a busy roadway when we saw it. We got off track in Madison as my map was not detailed enough to take the quickest most efficient route and we ended up going thru the town a bit. I was just following signs for Hwy 151, but there were intersecting Interstates that might have brought us back to the northern part of Hwy 151 a bit faster.

Once passed Madison, we continued on Hwy 151 towards Oshkosh, Wisconsin and our connection to Interstate I41. We rode the interstate thru Oshkosh, Appleton and Green Bay. This area seems to be a mass of stores and outlets. Glad I'm not a shopper! The last time we rode thru Green Bay, the highways were fully under construction and we had to go thru a maze of pylons at dusk. This time, we still went thru a lot of construction, but it was not quite as bad and it was not at dusk. There were still a lot of little dips in the road that kept you bouncing, just like Hwy 151 in Iowa.

We continued up the I41 to Marinette, Wisconsin and there, crossed a bridge and the state line into Menominee, Michigan. We started down Hwy 35/Hwy2 East and just outside of Menominee, I had to slow down quickly as a deer came out of the brush at the side of the highway. As it was starting to get dark, we tried to follow cars in case there were more deer on the roads.

We continued riding thru the night until we got to St. Ignace. We saw a glimpse of the Mackinaw Bridge all lit up at night. It looked like a postcard!

We got onto the I75 and rode the next 50 miles to Sault Ste. Marie. We were going to fill up with gas before crossing the border, and as I pulled into the gas station, my camper spare tire fell off. Luckily it was at the entrance and not on the freeway where Al was riding closely behind. I think those dips in Green Bay must have loosened the tire.

So, we arrived in the Soo about 1:00 a.m., tired but feeling really good about a fantastic trip. After a good nights sleep, a shower and a chance to relax, we will get an opportunity to reflect on our 3 week journey to the mid-west canyons!

Day 19: Cheyenne, Wyoming and heading to the Sault

Start: Cheyenne, Wyoming
Finish: Des Moines, Iowa
Distance: 657 miles  Total to date: 5349 miles
Campground: Motel 6, Des Moines, Iowa $56.00

Gas: Sidney, Nebraska 4.354 gal @ $2.299 $10.01; North Platte, Nebraska 3.300 gal @ $2.879 $9.50; Kearney, Nebraska 2.752 gal @ $2.999/gal $8.25; Lincoln, Nebraska 4.297 gal @ $2.559/g $11.00;Shelby, Nebraska 2.846 gal @ $2.549/g  $7.25; Des Mones, Iowa 3.043 gal @ $2.299/g $7.00

We left Cheyenne with a mission to put on a lot of miles and try to get home quickly. We feel we ended the trip once we left the Rockies in Loveland. Also, my Aunt Pat Kelly just passed away and we would like to make it to the Sault for the funeral. It seems that each of our trips we have to head to the Sault for a funeral!

So here's a clarification...THE WORLD IS FLAT!!! We left early and rode 80 miles at 80mph on the I80 for and the scenery didn't change a bit. It's flat praire with grasslands. A bit out of Cheyenne, we crossed state lines from Wyoming and entered Nebraska.

We road another 80 miles at 80mph on the I80 and the landscape is still flat...SO, We road another 80 miles at 80mph on the 80 and the landscape is still flat....So, as far as Nebraska is concerned, the world is flat. I could use this same photo over and over again as it doesn't change!

One thing about Nebraska...there are miles and miles of corn fields and the wind can be very strong whipping off those fields.

As we rode, the temperature started to rise and it went from 94 degrees to 99 degrees. We had to stop a few times for gas and to also refill our water. We didn't stop for photos as I could use the same photo for almost the entire day. The only things I wanted to take photos of, but couldn't, was the grat monument overpass in Kearney, Nebraska and also the huge, huge cattle facility near Ogallala, Nebraska which must have had a 1000 head of cattle.

Once we passed Ogallala, the winds really picked up due the temperature being around 99 degrees. It was hitting us very hard from the side and we really had to hang on because of the strong gusts. This continued for most of the afternoon until we got to Omaha, which is on the Nebraska, Iowa state line.

Once we got into Iowa, the terrain changed a bit to more of a rolling farmland. No more flat plains like Nebraska. We wanted to make it to Des Moines so that we could have a good start for a long run to the Sault. We just learned that Aunt Pat Kelly just passed away and she was the last of the generation that included Grandpa and Grandma Furkey. So, instead of heading back to St. Catharines, I will go to the Sault.

So, it was not a photo taking day, but a day to ride and ride and ride to put on as many miles was we could. Tomorrow, we will change our previously planned route to one that gets us to the Sault the fastest way.

D18: Salida, Colorado to Cheyenne, Wyoming HEADING HOME

Start: Salida, Colorado
Finish: Cheyenne, Wyoming
Distance: 318 miles  Total to date: 4692 miles
Campground: Motel 8, Cheyenne, Colorado $60.00

Gas: Copper Mountain, Colorado 2.47 gal @ $3.119 $7.71; Loveland, Colorado 3.850 gal @ $2.859 $11.01

Well, it was another bitterly cold night last night. Al was even cold with his duvet. When we got up, it was 41 degrees, but it was colder during the night. There are a lot more coloured leaves than there were a few weeks ago. At least the horses in Salida were enjoying the weather.

We left Salida towards, taking Hwy291/24 North towards Buena Vista and Leadville. There was still a haze over the valley. This was pasture land, but the more north we rode, the mountains got larger and the area was more known for historically for mining.

I stopped on Hwy 24 to take a few photos when about 4 Porsche and Ferrari drove by. A short time later, a few more drove by until I had counted about a dozen of them. I think that this may have been one of those exotic car rental routes as it was really in the middle of nowhere.

As I got to  the outskirts Leadville, I took a photo of the old mining building and then drove into Leadville. Leadville sits in a high mountain valley at an elevation of 10,430 feet and has some partially snow-capped peaks.  Many of the buildings there are vintage looking. We were going to stop in for a coffee, but the local restaurant had a waiting line. Where we parked our bikes, there was an old building that appeared to be the centre of the cosmos, or that is the way it was promoted.

We left Leadville and rode a bit north to Interstate 70, the same Interstate we came in on. It is the only rode crossing the Rockies in this area, so this an area where we had to duplicate the route. Once again, we rode thru the 1.6 mile long Eisenhower Tunnel. We had no traffic issues going east, but the line-up going west thru the tunnel was over 3 miles long and was at a stop and creep pace. People there will be in line for hours.

We went down the Interstate until Idaho Springs where we got off and took Hwy 32 and Hwy 72 North towards Estes Park. We wanted a scenic route to Estes Park before we left the Rockies and headed home. One of the quaintest places we rode thru was Black Hawk. I thought it should have been called Black Jack as there were so many casinos in the town. What was nice about the place was the unique homes in the town. They were Victorian style and each of them had their own colour scheme.

It was a nice ride thru the backroads and one of  them was known as the Old Stagecoach Road. We met some real red-necks here, especially in Rollingsville...not the most friendly type! .as we approached Estes Park, we could see Mt. Roosevelt and the other mountains we climbed when we went thru the Rocky Mountain National Park.

Just as we were getting into the city limits of Estes Park, I stopped to take a photo and Al rode on a bit. Somehow, we lost each other and it took over an hour to reconnect. I waited at the entrance of Estes Park and after a long wait, I thought he may have gone on down Hwy 34 East towards Loveland. I decided to go that way and when I got half way there, I stopped in Drake to try and charge my phone so I could contact Al. I met a local named Chris Plunkett who was originally from Detroit, and he called Al so we could reconnect. It was very nice of him to go out of his was like that.

Once we got back on the road, we headed down Hwy 34 to Interstate 25 and then headed north towards Cheyenne. There was a storm coming in, so we decided to take a motel for the night and head out early in the morning. Cheyenne is in a wide open plain area and the winds get strong as there is nothing to buffer them. We didn't want to get caught in bad weather in this area.

So, our trip is basically done. We will be taking the fastest route home as we saw and did just about everything we had planned. We will be putting on big miles to get back, so I probably won't be blogging until I do a bit of a trip summary.

This turned out to be a great trip and it's kind of a let down that we have to end it.  Gotta start planning for next year's trip!

Day 17: Durango, Colorado to Salida, Colorado along the Millionaires Highway

Start: Durango, Colorado
Finish: Salida, Colorado
Distance: 256 miles  Total to date: 4644 miles
Campground: RV Park, Salida Colorado $30.00 for a tent site. Best we could do on short notice

Gas: Durango, Colorado 1.67 gal @ $2.989 $5.00; Montrose, Colorado 2.758 gal @ $2.899 $8.00; Salida, Colorado 3.098 gal @ $3.019/gal  $9.35

Park Fees: No fees again today...Hoorah!

Well, it was a bitterly cold night last night and I had to get up and get an extra blanket to cover me in my mummy sleeping bag. We're definetly out of the hot, hot desert. We had a bit of a late start as we had quite a bit of company before we left. There was a retired couple from California that really, really liked to talk. We also talked with a couple from Texas that were on tour and they were almost as chatty. Before we left Durango, we rode down the main street to get a flavour of Durango. It's a busy town that is trying to use the old town atmosphere theme to get tourists. Didn't see to much downtown as it was Sunday, but yesterday, the downtown was bustling.

We headed north on Hwy550, also known as the Millionaire Highway due to its rich mining history. It goes through the San Juan Mountains, the wildest and ruggedest peaks in the Colorado Rockies and starts a bit north of Durango, some say it starts at Silverton and ends in Ouray.  This was the start of possibly the most scenic route of the trip.

The mountains were getting high around Silverton and fall was in the air. You could see the colours of the leaves changing to their fall colours. Just before Silverton, I stopped at a pullout overlooking the town and everything in the town looked so miniature from my vantage point.

The ride is exciting, because the country is so beautiful, the mountains high and the ride along steep inclines that have no guard rails make it a bit intense at time. There are guard railed pullouts and other pullouts to take photos from. The switchbacks are severe and the speed is low but the views are fabulous. The most intense part of the ride took place at Red Mountain. Luckily we were riding on Sunday as the road was closed most of the day during the week due to construction. In one climb, I remember looking almost straight down at a puny looking transport, far below.

We stopped in Silverton for a few moments and then continued on our way. About 80 miles down the road, was the end of the Millionaires Highway, but this is where all the construction was being done. There, there was a very steep ride down, with a few single lane stops. I recall seeing how they were fixing the outside lane and it was sheer cliff at the edge. Where they were repaving had absolutely no shoulder...it was just a vertical drop.

We stopped for photos of an old mining area at Red Mountain. There was a small mining shaft building and some old tressels. The mountain was blood red and the banks of the creeks below were a bright orange. Beautiful!

You might have thought I did not have a camera due to all the great photos that I missed. However, it took us a long time to get to Ouray because of the photo stops I did make...wish I had the opportunity to take a lot more. We were wondering if we would ever make it to our next destination for the night. However, once we got out of Ouray, the scenery flatten out and we rode a smooth, quick ride to Montrose.

From Montrose, we took Hwy 50 eastward. This was an amazing ride even though we were out of the mountains. We seemed to be in a semi-arid area where the big hills had virtually no trees and were either covered in thin grass or sage. It was pretty. The ride was super. I don't think we had a straight section of highway. We rode long curves after curves up the hills and long curves after curves down the hills. It was so smooth and relaxing.

Past Montrose, we rode past the Curecanti National Recreation Area which is a series of man-made reservoirs. The striking blue water against the barren big hills was a beautiful contrast. The Blue Mesa Reservoir is Colorado's largest body of water and was created by the Blue Mesa Dam. It is about 20 miles long. There are 2 other large reservoirs in the area.

Once we got to Gunnison, we could see bigger hills and soon we were back into the high mountains. The largest we climbed today was Monarchs Pass, almost 11,000 feet above sea level. It was a long ride down for the next few miles.

It was starting to get a bit late, so we decided to stop in Salida for the night. As we entered the valley where Salida is, the whole area looked like it was in a big fog. I guess the fogginess was due to the forest fires in Utah, Nevada or California.

Tomorrow will be our last day in the mountains as we will take a scenic route to Loveland and then I guess we will be Interstating it back home for the quickest route.

So, here's my blog...we made it thru the Millionaires Highway and it was quite the ride!