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Now to start this blog, an important announcement - the wildlife count took a dramatic increase on Day 18 - please add 3 x Longhorn Sheep, 1 x Deer & 1 x Fox (the chicken stealing kind, not the kind you find at nightclubs!) Let's hope the count continues to increase!
Day 16 - Here we are in Colorado Springs, sitting in Applebee's for dinner, looking out at Pikes Peak complete with a fresh dusting of snow and ominous black clouds gathering. Hopefully they'll be gone in the morning when we ride past the 14,115 feet high peak. Glad to get out of Garden City this morning, the air had the pungent odor of cattle, millions of cattle, so we've been told that there are 7 feedlots around town & two abattoir's which process 11,000 head per day, so its not the pretty little town the name may suggest. So a couple of stops in Lamar, CO & Bent's Old Fort National Historic Monument. Its an old Fort built in 1833 to trade with local Indian tribes for the fur trade. From here a run to Pueblo for lunch then onto Colorado Springs. We had intentions of going to Garden
of the Gods this afternoon, but a rather dark storm over Pikes Peak and a few spots of rain changed our plans and we went directly to our motel. Dinner at Applebee's, a great meal of chicken & shrimp, and another very chatty waitress, and throw in a massive Margarita...was yummy Snapper!
Day 17 - There is a huge gathering of bikers in Colorado Springs this week, all Vets coming together for their annual rally, a couple guys told us this morning that they had ridden to Pikes Peak late morning, sleet & snow came in about 1pm and closed the mountain until it was plowed and clear, most were able to ride down around 5pm. Lucky call for us to head direct to motel. A clear morning greeted us today and the snow on the peak was outstanding. A short ride to Garden of the Gods for the morning light. This is a must see spot when in Colorado, words cannot describe, just magic! After fighting the morning traffic I surprised Ange with a ride across Skyline Drive in Canon City, narrow one lane road across a hogs back ridge with 1,000 feet drop either side. Then onto
Royal Gorge to see the incredible bridge across this massive gorge. Had to pay admission fees to see it up close so we decided to take a pic from up in the carpark. We met a Vet and his wife parked next to our bike, she mentioned she had always wanted to try Vegemite, so we pulled a couple packets out of the luggage, she couldn't believe her luck. So a great chat, hugs all round and off we went headed for Fairplay, Colorado. Fairplay is at 9950 feet and alleged home to South Park. Lunch here then off to Hoosier Pass (11542 feet), intended to stop here but viewpoint is on the right and I missed the turn, but it really is great riding through the Rocky Mountains at these elevations with snow/ice covered peak surrounding you. Past Breckenridge and into Dillon for 2 nights, we stayed here with Jac & Snapper on our amazing 2016 trip.
Day 18 - The forecast for today was cold with a storm around midday, so we headed out early down to Georgetown, a quaint (there's a word not often used these days) little town from the late 1800's. Very well maintained
main street, so a stop for a few pics. Then follow the signs to Guanella Pass, what a great ride, up to 11,700 feet, plenty of snow & ice around the summit. Yes, darn cold too! Down to Grant, not much to see here, so onto Evergreen. The roadworks here were challenging to say the least so we kept moving to Echo Lake (10,600 feet) and bypassed Mt Evans (14,265 feet) when the sleet hit us, and cold, it was not pleasant! So a quick run to Idaho Springs and onto I70 and back to the comfort of our room in Dillon. A short ride but well worth the views we encountered.
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