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Photo Album link from Trip
Trip Journal:
June 18, 2004, Friday
Begin: 53,021
End: 53,369
Total: 348
80 degrees. 7:30 am, leaving house to get gas and meet Johnny (TrashMan), Sue (Sue Pooh), Wade (Chardonnay), Jerrie (Legendary), T Wayne, Mo
(NO-MOE), Robert, Rick and Jim (Snakehips) at Denny's at 1488 and 290. Left Denny's at 9:45 am.
Lance wants to remember a restaurant we passed south of Caldwell on 36, called Smoking Mesquite Restaurant. Looks and smells great! Good end
of month ride, he says.
Stopped in Temple for gas. At 1:40 pm, stopped to eat in Comanche at Rockin' J's Chevron. They were out of gas. Rusty, Janet, and Lee
walked in and joined us. We continued down the road and at 3:20 pm, stopped for gas in Cross Plains.
4:15 pm, pulled into Comfort Inn in Abilene on I-20, Exit 288. Barbara, John, Denver, Kim, Graydene, Mike, and Pat are here. Made drinks,
went to pool, ordered pizza. FUN! Bed at 10:30 pm.
June 19, 2004, Saturday
Begin: 53,369
End: 53,691
Total: 322
72 degrees. 12 bikes. Up at 6:30 am. Breakfast at 7:30 am. Pull out at 8:20 am. 9:00 am, gassed in Hamlin. Looks
like rain ahead. 10:00 am, pulled over to put on jackets. Chilly 70 degrees, cloudy. Snakehips called Susie to check weather. Great to have an air traffic controller in the family.
She said it's raining in Amarillo. Stopped in Qutaque (?) to put on raingear. Noon, we ate at Malt Shop in Silverton. Left at 1:15 pm for Paladura Canyon. Nice ride through the
canyon. Gassed in the canyon and got to the Comfort Suites in Amarillo about 4:15 pm. Freshened up, went to liquor store and then on to Tripps HD for a great dinner! Wonderful hospitality by
their chapter! Incredible club house. BBQ food provided by Hof Brau owner, who is a chapter member. 5 different desserts. Steve Meeds presented their chapter with a plaque, thanking them
for their hospitality. Got back to hotel about 7:00 pm. Socializing in the pool area. Guys are in the hot tub. We also had fun in the parking lot where some of the Amarillo folks came to
party with us. In bed by 10:30 pm. www.amarillohog.org
June 20, 2004, Sunday
Begin: 53,691
End: 53,982
Total: 291
67 degrees, 10 bikes, one is Paula from Amarillo. Pulled out at 8:30 am. Paula took us the ¼ mile ride to see Cadillac Ranch. We
walked out into the field to see the vehicles, stacked on end in a row. She said the owner paints them all the same color once a year, so that a fresh start of graffiti can be added. 10:45 am, we
gassed at Loves Truck Stop, taking off jackets because the temperature is rising to 100 degrees. Very windy! Went around a mountain and got chilly again! Noon, pulled into Las Vegas, New
Mexico, gassed, and eating across the street at The Mexican Kitchen, next door to the Chamber of Commerce, a converted gas station. Other groups have now caught up with us. Polka Bob's stater is
out. Thank goodness for the chase truck. Pulled out about 2:30 pm. Destination is Taos, where we arrived at the Comfort Suites about 4:00 pm. Absolutely everyone went into the pool
area. About 7:00 pm, several of us walked next door to eat. Sunset is beautiful. Took a benadryl and in bed by 9:00 pm.
June 21, 2004, Monday
Begin: 53,982
End: 54,308
Total: 326
46 degrees at 6:00 am. Today is the longest day of the year. Left at 7:45 am. At 9:15 am, we stopped at Rio Grande Gorge for
photos. Incredibly beautiful! Clear blue skies. Temperature is now over 70 degrees. 10:15 am, we stop at a rest area for more photos. Temperature has dropped to 60 degrees.
11:00 am, we stopped in Pagosa Springs to gas and have lunch at Junction Family Dining. Temperature is back in the 70s. Blue skies. At 12:20 pm, we left for Durango. We have temperature
fluctuations the whole week. Those of us riding on back have the luxury of taking off and putting on jackets as necessary.
About 2:00 pm, we checked into the Quality Inn, and then to the dealership. At 3:00 pm, we left for Mesa Verde to see the cliff dwellings.
We were sprinkled on, but no serious rain. We got back to Durango about 7:30 pm. Johnny took us to the Saloon for drinks. We toasted Mike Berry's birthday and then had a Mexican dinner down the
street. We took a photo of the old steam engine that runs through the mountains between Durango and Silverton. It's cloudy, so no sunset tonight. It was chilly riding back to the hotel.
Beautiful scenery. Rusty's bike is in the shop now, too, along with Stater Bob, formerly known as Polka Bob. At 9:45 pm, Sandra went to bed, while Lance went to visit with everyone.
June 22, 2004, Tuesday
Begin: 54,308
End: 54,545
Total: 237
60 degrees, sunny, when we left at 8:00 am. 10:00 am, stopped in Silverton. Johnny lived here for 6 months while attending avalanche
school. Great town. No franchises. Nestled in the valley with a beautiful little river running through it. The steam engine we saw in Durango yesterday comes here daily through the
mountains. Gorgeous weather. At noon, we ate in Ouray at the Goldenbelt Bar & Grill. Took off our Gortex and left about 1:30 pm. We fed chipmunks at an overlook. The next
overlook was Pioneer Point, where we saw eagles. The overlook was unbelievable. WAAYYYY down at the bottom of the canyon was a river. We stayed at the Best Western in Gunnison, where Sandra did
laundry. Had a great dinner at the restaurant next door with Wade and Jerrie. We've been told about a gravel road that we'll be on tomorrow. Bed at 11:15 pm.
June 23, 2004, Wednesday
Begin: 54,545
End: 54,800
Total: 345
36 degrees at 8:00 am. Blue skies. Instead of detouring, we decide to go the gravel road, which was only for a few miles. We were
lucky. Some of our group, including the chase vehicle, left later than we did. Water trucks went through the gravel road, so they had gravel AND mud to deal with. We went over Kebler's Pass,
which is all dirt, but packed. A little slippery in places, but not bad. We saw a huge deer with a huge rack, just sitting and staring at us. By the time Sandra got the camera ready, she was
only able to get him running away. We stopped at Aspen Valley HD in Glenwood Springs. The mountains surrounding the area were interesting because some were red and others were sand colored.
There were places where the red mountain met the sand colored one. Wonder what makes them different colors so close together? On to lunch in Aspen, where a policeman told us to eat at Boogies.
Four ladies walked in, and Sandra knew one of them! Roanne Stern, who lives in Houston and summers in Aspen. What a coincidence! Next stop was Independence Pass, where we took photos at the
Continental Divide. On to Leadville and Copper Mountain. Because of construction, we had to detour from 24 to 91. At 5:15 pm, we arrived in Vail at the Best Western Vailglo Lodge. Lots of
rules at this hotel. One sign said the washcloth would cry if you take a towel. Quiet time is 8:00 pm – 8:00 am. Don't slam doors, etc., etc. After freshening up, we met everyone in
the lobby. Had a great dinner at Vendatta, and then walked over to the Tap Room in Vail Village. That massage chair was fabulous!
June 24, 2004, Thursday
Begin: 54,800
End: 54,979
Total: 179
Sunny. Out at 8:30 am. Saw 2,500 bicyclists on the Riding The Rockies Rally. Unbelievable how they can cycle up those steep
hills! Rocky Mountain Park was fabulous. It looked like we were on top of the world, above the tree line. All the snow-capped mountains we saw in the distance were right here. Elk were in
the fields, but too far away to photograph. Look for dots in the photos. Arrived Estes Park about 1:30 pm. Too early to check into the Holiday Inn, so came downtown to eat at Wapiti.
Buffalo and Elk burgers, fried pickles, fried sweet potatoes, rocky mountain oysters. Thank goodness they also had tuna fish! It started raining and hailing, so we were there for a good while,
drinking Patron. Once at the hotel, we went to the hot tub. Sandra, Lance, Wade, and Jerrie walked downtown and met up with Sue and Johnny. We went to The Wheel for drinks, then upstairs to
Orlandos for a great FUN steak and lobster dinner. Back at the room by 10:00 pm.
June 25, 2004, Friday
Begin: 54,979
End: 55,280
Total: 301
Sunny. Up at 6:30 am. Johnny, with Sue on back, and Wade left at 6:30 am to go back up the mountain, so Sue could see what she missed
because she was driving. They said it snowed and rained, but they saw about 60 elk. We all left about 9:00 am, and ran into a little rain. Temperature is not getting above 65 degrees. We
see storms all around, but have been lucky. At 1:30 pm, we stopped in Fairplay for a chicken fried steak lunch at Brown Burrow. Rode to Monarch Pass and saw an 18-wheeler that dumped lumber and went
over the side of the mountain. Got into a little rain and pulled into the Best Western at Canon City at 6:15 pm. Some of our group got into hail and sleet. Went to dinner at DJ's Steak House
next door. In bed by 9:30 pm.
June 26, 2004, Saturday
Begin: 55,280
End: 55,770
Total: 490
56 degrees at 6:30 am. Sunny. Left at 8:45 am, with 70 degrees temp. Almost 1,000 miles to home, so putting on as many miles as
possible. Rode to Bishop's Castle. Stopped to help Jim Mercer, who was broken down on the side of the road. The chase vehicle finally arrived and took him to a nearby dealership to get a new
wheel. Bishop's Castle was awesome. Rode to Calputin Volcano. The whole group met up with us and Sue called everyone over for a group photo. Instead, they all sang Happy Birthday to Lance
and gave him a card that everyone had signed. It rained and hailed as we left. We stopped for a break, and then came on into Amarillo. Wade and Jerrie went to see where Wade used to live.
It was still daylight, so Lance, Sandra, Johnny and Sue decided to go on into Childress where we arrived at the Best Western about 10:00 pm. Lance had to go to Pizza Hut because they had too many delivery
orders and couldn't deliver to us. We pulled table and chairs outside and ate our pizza. Bed about 11:00 pm.
June 27, 2004, Sunday
Begin: 55,770
End: 56,263
Total: 493
Total Trip Miles: 3,242
Happy Birthday, Lance!! Up at 6:00 am. Forecast is rain ALL day. Not fun. At 6:30 am, Sandra walked into the lobby for breakfast
and ran into her dad and brother, Ronnie! Her Uncle Raymond is in the hospital and they're there visiting! Left Childress at 7:00 am, and rode in fog. It rained off and on all day. We
finally got home at 3:45 pm, and we finally got Lady out of jail. She seemed so sad, and not at all perky. We don't want to put her in a kennel again. BUT, the trip was FANTASTIC!!
Trip Details sheet from Warren
Room Reservation Detail from Warren
Warren's route put together in detail by Lance:
PDF File that is 35 pages and 4.7megs
I would recomend right clicking on the links and saving the file to your computer and then opening them up.
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