Day four and the million dollar highway.

Monarch Pass was a great ride.  I then head down the other side.  It is cool and scenic  in the mountains as one would expect. 

I head towards Gunnison.  Gunnison is a nice little town.  It is filled with people seeking recreation.  I see lots of motorcycles, ATVs, recreational vehicles, kayak and camping gear.  It is crowded with people enjoying Colorado recreation.  It is the gateway to Crested Butte.  Another area with one road in and the same way out unless you have a serious off road vehicle to take over and unpaved mountain pass.  I think I would like to do that sometime, take a jeep over a mountain pass.  That will not happen today.   Maybe sometime, maybe never. 

I ate at a small café named Mom’s.  I had a massive Rueben and their steak fries.  It was quite good.

Heading west from Gunnison the terrain changes to a dry desert as you come out of the mountains.  I ride along Elk Creek which they have damned up and made a lake.  It is strange looking at a lake with no trees lining the edges.  Lots of rocks and sagebrush.  It is getting hot again.

I get a peek at Black Canyon.  Again, spectacular scenery, much different than what I had experienced from the mountains I passed through before lunch.    

I head into Montrose.  Not too much to see here.  It is on the high plains and it is hot. A lot of businesses, a more substantial town.   It is a gateway to many other better places. 

I am concerned about where I will stay.  Montrose is busy as was Gunnison.  I intend to head south to  do the million dollar highway but I know that Ouray is a small popular town and that finding a hotel will likely be a challenge.  I stop at a McDonalds to cool off and make some calls.  Most of the hotels/motels are already booked up.  In the Midwest we have fairs.  In Colorado they have rodeos and livestock shows.  They have a rodeo going on in town.   I find a Quality Inn which will take me.

As I tend to do when I ride, I take a break, recharge a bit and then ride some more.  It is easier to do this when you travel alone.   I unload most of my stuff and head to the million dollar highway around 5 p.m.  The alternative is to sit inside  a low budget hotel and watch TV or go to a bar restaurant and eat and drink alone.  I like to keep moving and enjoy my own company and the many thoughts in my head. 

So I head south to Ouray.  Ouray is a quaint mining town nestled at the end of a canyon.  Its business now is tourism.  Again, lots of Jeeps, RVs and motorcycles. A cool town.  I recommend it.

The million dollar highway starts (or ends) in Ouray.  I head up the switchbacks and start riding the famous road.

It is narrow and steep.  There are no guard rails for most of it only a low rock wall.  As you  climb to the right is a deep and massive canyon.  It you were to go over the side your chances of survival are very slim.  No place for the stupid.  It  may be a place for the suicidal, if one were so inclined.

I admit that there are sections there where I am feeling scared and a little queasy.   I do not like heights and being exposed.  This is not a high speed power run.  This is a don’t screw up or you are dead.

There is some road construction.  One lane is gone.  There does not seem to be anything under the old lane.  I am not sure how they are going to fix that and what they will attach the road to.  Overall, some very impressive engineering to make this road which continues today.

The road get easier on the way to Silverton.  Just your average beautiful mountain road and switch backs.  I see a majestic elk standing in a stream but he is gone when I turn around and get my camera out.  I am enjoying my ride.  I ride the main drag in Silverton.  Not too much going on here.  A very remote place on earth.   It is not crowded, you have to work to get here.  I ride a little further south towards Durango but decide it is time to turn around and head for the motel.  I can cross this off my bucket list.  I rode the million dollar highway on my motorcycle. 

I get back to Montrose right after sunset.  I decide to go wild and hit the Domino’s Pizza.  Being aware of my clogged up arteries, I order spinach as one of the toppings.  That should balance out the evil in the Pizza.  I call my girlfriend and mother and check in.  I eat half the pizza and then ride  a short way to the motel with the box sitting on my lap.  It takes all my riding skills to do this and not lose the box.

I get back to the motel.  About a third of the parking lot is taken up with motorcycles.  I saw this a lot on my trip.  I chat with two motorcycle couples from Missouri who were drinking beer at an outside table.  We trade some war stories.  I go to bed.  It has been another full day.