My route for the day.

My original plans were one day shorter than what I actually had available and I was going to bust butt home from Salt Lake City in one day, but that fortune cookie and a question from a friend resulted in my building in one more extra day on the road so I could hook-up with friends in Winnemucca, Nevada for the Chiliburger Run. The extra days would start in Montrose so I could spend more time behind the camera for my next two treks. One curious thing about the speed limits in the mountains of Colorado; they don’t have many of those yellow corner-speed warning signs, they just set the speed limit for the slowest corner and everyone ignores the it - perfect for my taste.

Red Mountains in the near distance.

From Montrose, I had the whole day to see the Million Dollar Highway and Monument Valley! I was up at the crack of dawn, excited about the day’s adventure and scenery. The morning fog in Ouray (U-Ray) was really neat and I’m sure the folks in the hot-air balloon were enjoying the clear skies. As I began the climb into the Red Mountains on Hwy 550 I could barely imaging what the engineers back in the 30’s were faced with as they carved a path through the mountains at one million dollars per mile. I found a nice wide spot for photos as the road got narrow, snapped a few shots, got back on and began to climb. No guardrails here, folks. Don’t look down! I stopped a couple times for more pictures then repeated the passing of the same slow moving vehicles. Twisties are not meant to taken slowly, sans guardrail or not! I met another couple on top of Red Mountain Pass, each on their own bikes. Actually I had tailgated them on the way up the hill before passing so I could play at my comfort level. We had a nice chat, but I had another pass to conquer and the ghosts of Hollywood cowboys to visit. A stop on Mulas Pass at 10,899 feet yielded some nice high-mountain photos. The air was clear but there was no snow at my elevation, so I shot quite a few pictures. But, I had dead cowboys to visit, so I motored south to Durango.

About 100 yards from the center of Four Corners.

I fueled up in Durango, and found a nice little park where I could change to mesh clothes, have a granola bar snack and a short power nap. I wanted to make Mesa Verde by early afternoon so I skipped the downtown Durango tour and, refreshed, rode west on Colorado 160. The landscape was starting to look like Utah sandstone desert, albeit with trees. I rode into Mesa Verde National Park only to find a construction sign that warned motorcyclists of loose gravel for 25 miles! Needless to say, I didn’t use my park pass at Mesa Verde but rode away slightly disappointed. I surely didn’t feel like fighting gravel for that distance just to see some old apartment buildings. The road began to get lonelier the further west I traveled into Indian country. I did make the stop at Four Corners to grab the tourist shot, but I couldn’t make myself pay to enter a tourist trap even though it was only three bucks. So, I actually wasn’t at the true point where four states meet, but 100 yards was close enough to satisfy.

I wonder if this abandoned place is for sale?

I took a little break in the shade, and did some shopping, at the Teec Nos Pos Trading post and chatted with some folks from Arizona about where might be a good place to stay north of Monument Valley. They had some good suggestions and told me of some other great places to see next time I was down (in a four wheel drive rig!). Highway 163 couldn’t come fast enough. I was getting excited; I’d never seen Monument Valley, but I had to stop at an abandoned gas station nestled in the sandstone to take some pictures of the formations; very KEWL!! I could live there if it didn’t get so dang hot in the summer.

Everyone has probably seen this one.

The turn onto Hwy 163 almost immediately introduced me to what I was in for. Tall hoodoos and flat-topped sandstone mesas were springing into view. Hwy 163 has plenty of wide spots, some of them paved; many flat gravel which a motorcyclist can safely pull over and take pictures. Of course, there are many others not suitable to a fully loaded touring bike that I had to pass up, and many dirt roads that lead out into the valley for a closer view. I was pretty sure I saw the ghost of John Wayne and the Lone Ranger, but wasn’t close enough to ask for directions. Monument Valley highway only goes one way, so there was really no need for directions anyway. I met some guys from various points on the east coast who were on motorcycle tour with a chase truck. I think they may have missed the part in the beginner’s motorcycle course about turning off the ignition as all but one left his headlight on. We had a nice visit and took each other’s pictures before moving on; me north and them south. It was time for me to find a place to camp for the night and I really wanted internet access, so I passed on the little cabins in Mexican Hat and Bluff. I found exactly what I was looking for at my first stop in Blanding, unpacked the bike, showered, and checked in, as I had done every night, with my wife and my concerned mother. You know how moms are! After cleaning up, I walked across the parking lot to a nice little restaurant for a delicious dinner of Utah Red Trout. I checked the weather channel for my ride up to Salt Lake City the next day, downloaded the pictures from the day to my laptop and got a good night’s sleep. The day’s miles added up to only 375, but all the getting on and off the bike - making sure I didn’t drop it in the gravel - pretty much made for a full day as had all the previous days since leaving Nebraska.