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Published: July 12th 2019
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Maybe it was one too many mountains to ride. All I know is when I reached the Utah border near Grand Junction, CO, I didn't want to go further west with the thought being that the farther I went, the farther I would have to get home. I didn't reach the point of no return because it was closer to home to turn around. I called Jan and told her how I felt and she agreed, telling me to head for home. So I turned around and rode along the Gunnison River and Black Canyon back to Gunnison, CO, where I spent the night. I'm disappointed that I didn't have what it takes to complete the whole trip, as ambitious as it was, but I did get to ride all over the state of Colorado, and a good amount of that with my brother. That makes it still a hell of a trip in my book.
Riding along the Gunnison River between Grand Junction and Gunnison twice gave me a full appreciation of how beautiful that area is along with the very large Blue Mesa Reservoir. My buddy Joe said his brother, Jim, recommended that I get there
if I could and he should be happy to know that I did it twice. While in Gunnison, a person recommended an alternate route to Salida which was on my itinerary. It was to go through Cochitopa Canyon and pass so I took it just to see more of Colorado. I crossed the Continental Divide for about the third time since I was there. Very scenic.
East of Salida Route 50 follows the Arkansas River for quite a while with several canyons to ride through. It was an absolutely gorgeous ride. I continued east to the town of La Junta, where Jim and I got water soaked on the 4th of July and I spent the night there. When you get to the town of Pueblo, you have left the mountains behind and the land is pretty flat all the way to Chicago. I kept looking back at the mountains to appreciate more fully where I had been.
I'm currently in Hutchinson, KS, spending the night here. My son Brett's traveling baseball team played a tournament here about twenty years ago and it brought back memories. I think it will still be three more
days of riding to get home. Hopefully I'll see something memorable along the way.
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Jacqueline N McKee
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Your pictures are wonderful! Have a safe trip home!