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 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!
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