Blogs from Grand Junction, Colorado, United States, North America

Cañon City CO has two claims to fame: it is host to the Most Maximum Security Prison in the US, current residence of the Unabomber, El Chapo Guzman, The Shoebomber, the Boston Marathon bomber, the Oklahoma City bomber, and a bunch of CIA and FBI officials who passed secret info to the Soviets, resulting in the deaths of many US operatives. While I only saw one facility, there are actually 13 prisons in and around town. Probably the safest place in the country to spend the night. The county also boasts the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas river, crossed by a sky bridge. It looked like fun, if a little touristy, but I felt like I had to cover some miles and left it for next time. The road to the Continental Divide follows the valley ... read more

25th August After staying the evening in Cheyene in Wyoming. We traveled through Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, a significant place as this was a pass on the Oregon Trail where the first settlers passed on their way out to a new life in California. We saw old wagon trains and learnt about the hardship and the elements and diseases that many Settlers incurred. Men, women and children perished on this horrific journey to the new lands. We passed by another land mark which the first settlers would have used as passing mark, Chimney Rock. We arrived in Rapid City South Dakota and checked into our motel, and quickly headed off to the Badlands National Park. Amazing formations of rock and prairie, as it was in the afternoon we enjoyed the colours of the rocks changing in the ... read more

Geo: 39.0649, -108.564We were up early this morning and after packing the car and getting on the road, we landed in Zion at 8 AM and 70 degrees. Since we were at the bottom of a canyon, evidence of the sun was limited and many of my photos today showed canyon walls in darkness. However, some of those that I chose to download have some interesting shadows in them. I hope you will agree.We began the drive through the 12 miles that would take us to the other side of the park and out to the road we would be traveling to our next destination. We spent about an hour and a half on this road, stopping at pulloffs to take photos and to admire the views. I will admit, this would not have been possible ... read more

Geo: 39.0649, -108.564The free campgrounds we're too far off the road for us to have the energy to find, so we settled for a parking lot. Works for us. ... read more

Before getting into todays ride and experiences I want to acknowledge how serous the fires are in Colorado at this point. We are 50 miles away from the nearest fire at Canon City and can see so much smoke, and overnight our bikes were covered in ash. We can appreciate why residents here are very concerned. It is the main topic of conversation in restaurants and coffee shops and everyone wants the latest updates. We enjoyed our own private car show last night. This weekend, Pueblo is hosting the 49th annual Rocky Mountain Street Rod Nationals, and many hot rods and restomods were parked at our hotel. By early evening, tailgate parties (without the tailgate?) were in full swing around us with car enthusiasts grouped protectively around their pride and joy, beers and dogs in hand. ... read more