Pagosa Springs to Placerville

Today was day three on our motorcycle trip and it began with a thud. 

The Alpine Inn in Pagosa Springs where we stayed last night was one of the worst hotels either of us had been in a very long time.  The AC sucked, the rooms were noisy and the bed/linens/pillows were what you'd expect in a homeless shelter or maybe a hostel.  Could you sleep in the room?  Well, yes, technically speaking it was possible.  But for me it was a very scattered experience...a little sleep, wake up, listen to the noises, drift off.  Repeat.  My reservation, my bad.

When we got on the bikes at 7:45AM headed for Durango, CO in 36 degree temps both of us were at less than our peak operating levels.  Still, the sky was brilliant blue and cloudless, the sun was at our backs and we blasted those big GS's down Hwy 160 eastbound, determined to make Durango before the narrow gauge steam engine left town for Silverton. Our Gerbing heated jackets and BMW heated grips made a huge difference.

We had photo op's in mind.  

It was a very scenic ride, up and over Yellowjacket Pass (7,785') and into the morning commute traffic in Durango.  A short distance out of Durango on Hwy 550 Northbound we spotted the train's unmistakable plume of smoke and seconds later we pulled along side the engine and its string of cars, full of tourists full of anticipation of the adventure that awaited them.  The sound coming from the engine was stirring...the blast of its whistle, the rail cars bouncing along the tracks and the muscular engine pumping under the steam power.

A few miles later we pulled over at a rail line cross road and waited for our first chance to shoot the train. Another photographer, obviously a local, was waiting for it to arrive and as it passed by he told me..."That's Shorty at the controls.  He's only this tall but he's a worker".  He then told me how he'd lived just blocks from the train tracks and he said, "There was never any mistake about whether Songbird was running".

Although we hoped to see the train again before it reached Silverton, we did not. Posing next to the train in Silverton...taken with my Fuji camera by an Indian tourist who told me about his two Royal Enfields back in India.

But, what we did see was so stunningly beautiful, that both KC and I declared today's ride THE BEST MOTORCYCLE RIDE WE'VE EVER HAD.  Coming from me, that doesn't mean much.  Coming from KC, with 52 years of motorcycling all over the country, it is a tad more significant.

The section of Hwy 550 that runs between Durango and Ouray is commonly acknowledged to be one of the best rides in the country.  Under normal conditions this is true.  But today's conditions were so totally off the chart that we set new records for saying things like "Holy shit" and "Gawdamn" and "You ain't gonna believe this" over our Sena intercoms as we wound our way north on the San Juan Scenic Byway and the Million Dollar Highway. 

If the beautiful mountains and the crystal blue sky were the canvas, the Aspens were the paint.  The Aspens were in full, spectacular, brilliant yellow and orange.  Everywhere we turned there were huge splashes of color in contrast with the dark green pines and the gray/black rock formations.  

At one pull out we parked next to a couple about our age and I struck up a conversation.  They were Coloradans and the man remarked that in fifty years he'd NEVER seen the Aspens as brilliant as they were today.  In fact, the couple we met last night told us that we had timed the Aspens perfectly.  I believe it...they were incredibly beautiful.

Our lodging tonite is at The Angler Inn just outside of Placerville, CO which is on Hwy 145 about ten miles from Telluride. 

The rooms are clean and comfortable, the AC works great and things seem quiet.  The restaurant that is attached to the Inn was good enough for a couple of tired travelers.  We both are anticipating a good nights sleep in preparation for our foray into Utah tomorrow.