Monday, June 19, 2000
Twilight Peak
Train
Wil at Molas Pass
Molas Pass Marker
Molas Pass Viewpoint
The scenery gets even better. We rode west on US-160 to Durango, then turned north on US-550 and rode past Purgatory and Twilight Peak and continued into Silverton for lunch and a look-see.
Silverton existed solely because of the millions of dollars worth of silver and gold mined from the surrounding mountains. Besides the courthouse, grand hotels, and magnificent Victorian homes, Silverton once had 40 saloons and "sporting houses." About half of those buildings survive today.
The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, now known as the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, was constructed in 1882 to carry passengers and freight. Today, the railroad still carries passengers between Durango and Silverton.
Mount Mitchell, which reaches to 6,684 feet just a few miles up the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville, North Carolina, is the highest mountain peak east of the Rockies. The Colorado Rockies make North Carolina mountains look kind of puny. Silverton nestles in a mountain valley at 9,318 feet.
We continued on north to Ouray (pronounced "uray") and Ridgway. South of Ouray, we crossed Red Mountain Pass, which is at 11,008 feet. We didn't realize just then that, though there is at least one pass over 13,000 feet elsewhere in Colorado, Red Mountain Pass was as high as the roads would take us on this trip. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture there, but we did take pictures earlier at the 10,899-foot Molas Pass south of Silverton.
From Ridgeway, we turned southwest onto Highway 62 to Placerville, then took Highway 145 to Telluride, where we stopped for a snack. Telluride must be a very busy ski resort in the winter, but this time of year it looks much like any other small, isolated town except that the shops and restaurants are a bit trendier than you would expect. Even in summer, though, there are tourists hiking, climbing, camping, fishing and bicycling. After about an hour of watching, we decided there must be a Telluride town ordinance that requires each resident and long-term visitor to own at least one dog.
Continuing southwest from Telluride and through Dolores, we stopped overnight at a KOA in Cortez, Colorado.
Tuesday, June 20, 2000
Mesa Verde
Balcony House
Balcony House
Four Corners
Today, we visited Mesa Verde National Park near Cortez, Colorado. There are over 600 cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. The average dwelling has only five rooms, but some are much larger.
It's fifteen miles from the park entrance to the visitor center, and several more miles to the cliff dwellings. If you visit, plan to spend at least an entire day or even two days here.
Gordon and I toured Balcony House, one of the larger dwellings. It's definitely a great place to view, and the scenery is incredible. The ranger guided us down the cliff on a trail, and then up a thirty-two foot ladder to the dwelling.
The dwelling is constructed entirely within a sort of wide, shallow cave high on the cliff wall. Most of the walls, windows, and doorways are amazingly plumb and level, though some of the later construction was sloppier. The builders carved each rectangular block from stone and hauled it up cliff. Notice that they didn't bother with railings along the outer edge of the courtyard. (This was pre-OSHA.)
To exit Balcony House, we had to crawl through a twelve foot long tunnel, and then climb another sixty feet of ladders and stone steps.
After leaving Mesa Verde, we rode back through Cortez (we hate to backtrack, but it wasn't far) and down US-160 to Four Corners, the only point in the United States common to the corners of four states (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona).
The trip to Four Corners took us close to Shiprock, New Mexico, one of the settings familiar to those who have read Tony Hillerman novels, or so I'm told. I guess I'll have to read some of them. There are Hillerman books for sale at just about every stopping place. We could see Shiprock clearly from our closest approach, about 20 miles northwest of it.
We continued west on US-160 to Kayenta, Arizona, then took US-163 north through Monument Valley to the campground at Goulding's Lodge in Utah. Sorry, though we were awed by the rock formations, we didn't take any pictures in Monument Valley. What were we thinking?
The campground is bordered by two steep cliffs, and it's very nice. It was peaceful until about five carloads of teenagers and their chaperones arrived just at the start of the quiet hours. In order to choose a campsite, they had to drive each car, crunching gravel, around the loop three or four times. They decided to set up camp in the empty spaces right next to ours. After that, they cooked dinner, and the large group went about the noisy task of eating and socializing before finally settling down. It was a long night for Gordon and me. It almost made me wish we were on Harleys when we started up our engines early the next morning. (For you trademark purists, that's Harley-Davidson® Motorcycles.)
Wednesday, June 21, 2000
Tuba City, Arizona
Grand Canyon
Wil at Grand Canyon
Gordon at Grand Canyon
We had to backtrack south to Kayenta, Arizona, and then had a long, hot ride southwest on US-160 to Tuba City, Arizona, just for a picture at the city limit sign. I played tuba in high school, and last fall I began again with the Asheville Community Band. I'll show that picture around when rehearsals resume after the summer break.
We had to loop waaaaaay north and then back south to get to the Grand Canyon. West of Tuba City, we took US-89 north to Alt-89, which crosses the Colorado River and turns west to Jacob Lake. From Jacob Lake, we rode south on Highway 67 to the North Rim at Grand Canyon National Park.
It was well worth the roudabout trip; there are great views of the 1½ mile deep canyon. It's impossible to capture the scale of the canyon in pictures, but we did the best we could. None of these pictures show it, but there is a clear view of a section of the canyon wall that has broken off and crumbled. That's Mother Nature at work, taking a few million years to convert canyons into crannies.
The national park's campground was full, so we backtracked to a campground across the highway from the Jacob Lake Inn. At least it was quiet after last night's fiasco. The restaurant and bakery at the inn are very good and within walking distance from the campground.
Thursday, June 22, 2000
Bryce Canyon
Hoodoos at Bryce Canyon
Hoodoos at Bryce Canyon
From Jacob Lake, we continued north and west on Alt-89, then US-89 north from Kanab, Utah, and Highway 12 east to Bryce Canyon National Park. This is another fine place to spend at least a full day.
Bryce is very different from Grand Canyon. Its distinguishing characteristic features are the Hoodoos, described as pillars of rock, "usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion." The varied shapes evoke many different images, such as soldiers, entry columns, castles, dolls, or bowling pins.
As mentioned before, it's impossible to appreciate the scale of these canyons from photographs. At Bryce, though binoculars, I spotted hikers on a trail part way down the canyon. They were almost invisible to the naked eye.
Our next destination was Zion National Park. We backtracked on Highway 12 and US-89 to Mount Carmel Junction, then rode west on Highway 9 to the park's eastern entrance.
The road through Zion Canyon descends from the eastern entrance all the way to the canyon floor before it reaches the western entrance. Part of that route is through a long tunnel. Tall trailers and motor homes have to be led by a pilot vehicle down the road's centerline so they don't scrape the tunnel's domed roof or walls. It becomes a one-way tunnel when these vehicles pass through.
By this time, it was getting late, so we camped at Springdale, just outside the park's western entrance. Last night's campground was a bit more primitive than most we've stayed in and didn't have showers, so we really appreciated the showers here. There's a latte restaurant with internet access almost next door to the campground. Gordon and I finally got the chance to scan our email for the first time since leaving home. As usual, there was nothing urgent waiting.
It was about this time I finally caught on to Gordon's agenda. He's wants to bring his wife, Mickie, on a grand tour with their travel trailer this fall or next spring. This is just his scouting expedition.
Friday, June 23, 2000
Zion Canyon River
Zion Canyon Walls
Today, we took the shuttle bus tour of Zion Canyon. The canyons are becoming very popular, and parking has become a problem. The National Park Service shuttles are voluntary for now, but they will eventually become the only way to get to some of the popular areas here and in many other national parks.
Unlike Bryce and Grand Canyons, you can drive to the Zion Canyon's floor, so the view here is quite different. The tour shuttle took us to a part of the canyon floor east of where we reached it on the road from where we entered the park. From the bottom, it's easy to see where slabs of rock have broken loose from the canyon walls. There are walking trails, and rafting and other activities are allowed on Zion Canyon's river.
I had already had my first roll of pictures developed and printed at a one-hour place, and I just finished the second roll yesterday. Gordon and I had lunch just outside the park's western entrance while we waited for the second roll to be processed. After I captioned the backs of the photos, we mounted up for the ride down I-15 across the northwest corner of Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada.
This is one of the few times we've had to go any distance on an interstate highway, but it's about the only way to get there. Late in the afternoon, we checked into a Las Vegas motel where we took the opportunity to do laundry and write post cards.
We toured the Las Vegas Strip in the evening. We visited the Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York, MGM Grand and Bally's casinos. Except for the ever-present gambling, each has a different theme and atmosphere. We didn't see any shows, but we audited one lounge band for about three songs. Not spectacular, but pretty good. There are too many casinos to visit in one night. Since night scenes don't photograph well with my inexpensive camera, I didn't try to take any in Las Vegas.
Slot machine appear everywhere in Las Vegas, including on the bar tops in the casinos and in the truck stop next to our motel. Next time I get the chance to visit, I want to visit the Fremont Street Experience; there wasn't time this trip. This is our latest evening so far. We returned to the motel about 1:00 AM.
Saturday, June 24, 2000
Stagecoach Hotel,
Beaty, Arizona
Gordon visited the Honda dealer in Las Vegas this morning to have his Gold Wing's driving light repaired and to mail home some souvenirs. He also mailed the first batch of my photos to Melody. I slept in and repacked my freshly laundered traveling stuff. The high in Las Vegas today was about 102°F. Low about 72°F and breezy.
After a late start, we rode out of Las Vegas on US-95 to Beatty, Nevada, just outside Death Valley. On the way there, I was blasted by a dust devil. It formed very quickly just to the left of the highway, then zipped across the road just as I passed. Fortunately, it wasn't severe. It felt like being hit by a big ball of cotton—loose, not baled.
As mentioned before, gambling is everywhere in Nevada. We stayed overnight at the Stagecoach Hotel and Casino in Beatty. It had slots, blackjack, craps, and everything else they could fit in. It wasn't very busy, though. The bartender said not many tourists have arrived so far this summer.
Sometime after taking this photo of the Stagecoach Motel, I dropped my camera. The back popped open and exposed the film to direct sunlight. A few shots weren't affected at all, but others were damaged and several were destroyed. Because of that, there aren't many of my pictures for the past couple of days, and some of those that survived have some interesting discoloration, as in the top right of this picture. I've cropped these images to avoid most of those areas. Fortunately, Gordon took pictures, too, so I've used them to fill in.
Sunday, June 25, 2000
Hell's Gate
Furnace Creek Ranch
Badwater,
Death Valley
We rode through Death Valley today. On the way to Hell's Gate after leaving Beatty on Highway 374, I raced a long-eared jackrabbit. It had no antlers, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't a jackelope. It was fast, but my Goldwing was faster.
We took Highway 190 south to the Furnace Creek Inn and Resort Ranch where we had Sunday brunch. We were expecing a full-service meal, and we were a little disappointed that the brunch was a buffet. I have to admit, though, that the food was pretty good, especially since we had already ridden several miles from the Stagecoach Hotel in Beatty. I mailed some postcards from the official Death Valley Post Office at the resort.
Gordon hadn't planned to ride on to Badwater, but it wasn't hard to convince him that since we had ridden over some of the highest passes in the country, we would be remiss if we didn't go the few extra miles to reach the lowest place. We took Highway 178 south to Badwater, the lowest elevation in the United States: 282 feet below sea level. The name describes the place pretty well. Any water that reaches this spot evaporates or sinks into the ground and leaves behind a salt flat. Telescope Peak, which is 11,049 feet high, is nearby.
We backtracked north past the Furnace Creek Ranch to take Highway 190 out the western side of the valley, then Highway 136 to Lone Pine, California. From there, we traveled a lot of miles north-northwest through California on US-395, which took us through Bishop, Crestview and Bridgeport and then back into Nevada to Gardnerville. From there, we rode west on Highway 207 and US-50 to South Lake Tahoe, California where we camped for the night.