12 DAYS: DAY EIGHT, GUNNISON, CO TO GALLUP, NM

Gunnison was cold overnight.

Really cold.

So cold that the motorcycle did not want to start.

I had to push it out into the sun, and then using my spare battery I fired up a hair dryer to try to warm the engine enough that the oil would allow it to start.

But I got her to chug and wheeze to a nice start in about 10 minutes.

And then she purred like a kitten for the rest of the day.

I was now officially an hour and a half later than I wanted for a departure time.

Because, as I said – it was damned cold.

I did get a chance to ride along Blue Mesa Reservoir – the one that was empty last year.

Not empty this year.

You can see it in the header shot above. Stunning lake.

Thank goodness it is back to normal for the people of this region.

The ride from Gunnison to Montrose is really a beautiful 80 miles, but honestly I didn’t feel like stopping since all I was focused on was getting off this mountain and into a coffee shop.

Which I did eventually in Ridgeway.

This was a tough day for me.

I had spent 6 months planning this trip only to have it go south on the third day out due to a massive (unexpected) storm system that brought 15 – 25 degrees drop in temps to the mountains.

But even for the disappointment, I also had a blast going to places I had never seen before and were still on my bucket list.

So fewer days, but still great days.

Wyoming is simply incredible, and northwestern Colorado s breathtakingly raw. And the parts of Utah I finally got to visit made me realize I really must spend more time in this great area.

This is my kind of land. Vistas that don’t quit. Roads that go forever. Mountains in layers in the distance.

This song kept playing in my head when I was in these areas:

“I grew up a-dreamin’ of bein’ a cowboy
And lovin’ the cowboy ways
Pursuin’ the life of my high ridin’ heroes
I burned up my childhood days
I learned all the rules of a modern day drifter
Don’t you hold on to nothin’ too long
Just take what you need from the ladies, then leave them
With the words of a sad country song
My heroes have always been cowboys
And they still are, it seems
Sadly, in search of, but one step in back of
Themselves and their slow movin’ dreams”

Waylon… gone too soon and still missed so much.

After getting a bit warmer from Montrose down to Ridgeway, I steeled up for the last of the really cold passes: Red Mountain Pass.

But first I got to visit Ouray, a unique little village in the Colorado Mountains. This view is taken on the east end of town as you climb the switchbacks up the side of a nearly vertical wall.

Damn I love that road… The Million Dollar Highway.

Dangerous, twistie-delightful, two lanes of sheer beauty in some of the most spectacular mountains in North America. What’s not to love.

I didn’t do much photography on the road from Durango to Gallup.

I simply wasn’t interested in the bright blue sky.

The light was crappy and I figured the hell with it.

I didn’t want to even waste any exposures on something I knew was not what I wanted.

I did stop a couple of times for water, and to walk around a bit – something I do about every 60-75 miles. Gotta keep that circulation pumping ya know.

One of the things you find a lot of out here are cattle guards. Cows will simply not attempt to cross these rails so they are put in as ways for vehicles and folks to cross the fence lines but not lose livestock.

Once you get into New Mexico and Arizona, you see a lot of this over your handlebars.

And that has its own sort of beauty.

I will be back in a day or so with a wrap up.

I had so many wonderful experiences on this trip it would be hard to note my favorite, nor would it be easy to quickly tell anyone about them.

But that is what it was all about… experiencing something different.

Alone without commentary.

See you out on the road.

Rubber side down.