Colorado
Adventure 2003
Aug 30 - Sept 6
Tuesday
Start in Leadville CO and end up in Moab UT
We rode past the highest peak in Colorado, Mt. Elbert (14,433 ft); up
and
over Independence Pass (12, 095 ft); passed some paragliders enjoying
the
air above; processed through Aspen and Snowmass and turned south
through
Redstone; up and over Mc Clure Pass; rode along the almost drained
Paonia
Reservoir; passed by a couple working coal mines (and saw a unit coal
train
being loaded at Somerset); turned north and headed up to the Grand
Mesa;
visited some parts of the Grand Mesa that I had seen from a few years
back
on a snowmobiling trip; stopped over at Grand Junction for fuel and a
break;
dropped south on CO 141 (which ended up being a sweet ride); headed
west
through the Paradox Valley (valley runs East-West while the river runs
North-South);
over to Moab UT for the night.
Motel parking lot - Leadville CO
The left four were from the general area and the right two were from
(Decatur?) Illinois. Howdy folks!
Looking west from the motel parking lot
(scroll right if it's not all on your screen)
The couple from Illinois
Looking West
Almost a 360 view from the pass
Click for a larger image
Ken, Independence Pass
Clearning a rock slide. Western slope towards Aspen.
Heading up Mc Clure Pass
Looking north up the valley from where we came
Luke, Bob? Either of you recall this sign? We came across
it while snowmobiling on the Grand Mesa Trip (
click for
that trip report). On this trip we passed it and I had to
turn back to get a pic. The sign is no big thing but to have it
jog the memory of what the place looked like with a great deal of snow
is nice.
And another - the lodge. Looks bare w/o 6 foot snow piles around
it.
Ken was able to catch a shot of this fox.
Jim
Ken
This picture is looking down at Island Lake (summertime) and
this
picture (from
the same Grand Mesa sledding trip) was taken just from the
top-right of
the island - looking back up here to the hill.
The Grand Mesa is the world's largest flat top mountain
Click to
see this view with snow
Lands End Road
This might look like a fun road - and perhaps it certainly is - but we
had enough of gravel for a bit.
Colorado State Route 65 - coming off of the Grand Mesa - getting close
to I-70 - a nice canyon ride.
Heading over to Grand Junction for some fuel and to decide the next
turn.
Colorado SR 141. One sweet section. Between Grand Junction
& Naturita.
Eighty-eight miles of nature in the canyon. Few marks of
population.
We ended up riding this route, in the same direction, the next day.
Video
SR 141
tue-SR141.mpg
MPG, 1.6 MB, 0 min 12 sec
Getting close to Gateway CO.
It is such a small place that I'm surprised they had a school crossing
sign.
Tenderfoot Mesa (7702 feet), Gateway CO.
The Palisade, Gateway CO
From Gateway to near Uravan the valley is walled with red rock and
green brush.
At several points I thanked God for the majesty I was able to view.
Wide picture - scroll right
As we close in on Uravan the valley starts to widen and the rocks loose
their deep red.
Down between Uravan and Naturita
The Paradox Valley
Heading west from Naturita to Moab Utah.
A photo can only remind how spectacular it really was