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Starting up the mountain to leave Red Mountain, the rain clouds darkened and descended.  We stopped to don the rain gear just in time as when we began to roll so did the thunder and rain.  It rained off and on for thirty miles until we arrived in Durango.  Our projected stop was in Pagosa Springs so we blew through Durango and headed east.  At the lunch stop I called the state patrol to insure there would be no open patches of highway on Wolf Creek Pass to become muddy in the rain, which was looming ahead.  I was assured that all construction crews were off the mountain.  Construction was complete.  Just as we started up the mountain the rain let go and stayed hard on us clear to the other side, about twenty miles at 25 mph.  One of us decided that a rain jacket would be enough protection, but when he decided it wouldn’t be, it was too late and he got half wet.  We stopped at South Fork at the east entrance to the Pass to dry out and assess the weather.  We still had 100 miles to go, so we stayed with the rain gear.  It was a good decision as it rained and hailed on us before we arrived at our scheduled stop in Salida. 

Tuesday, July 11  Our route took us through part of South Park today with a stop in Leadville.  After a tricky turn by the leader to see if everyone was paying attention the group had a pleasant up and down a mountain with endless swoopers and sweepers.  We had agreed to gas up when we arrived at Interstate 70, but when we tried to get off at Avon, we ran into endless roundabouts and only arrived at a gas station by luck.  It was good for a laugh and we were back on the road to North Park to have lunch in Walden, which is about 25 miles from the Wyoming border. 

Lunch was served by a young lady who was nominated as the server of the trip (see picture.)  Gassed up and ready to ride, we proceeded seventy miles to Grand Lake where we checked into the Bighorn Lodge.

Wednesday, July 12  The three musketeers from Minnesota decided to leave early as they had 1100 or so miles to travel and wanted to log significant miles the first day.  Dave Z and I waited until 9 a.m. so it wouldn’t be so cold on Trail Ridge at 12,183 ft.  Jerry Michaelson said his thermometer read 39 when they reached the top, but it was never below fifty for Dave and me.  The wind was the calmest it has ever been when I have been there and the whole experience was very pleasant.  We stopped a couple of miles from the summit to observe four bull elk that were feeding by the side of the road so close you could almost reach out and pet them.  We didn’t.

At Estes Park we stopped for water and to shed some clothes for the balmy weather of the rest of the day.  We dined atop a mountain at a place called Wonder Vu, one of my favorite Colorado restaurants.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos of the views from Wonder Vu so you will have to use your imagination.

After a brief stop in Blackhawk at the Isle of Capri Casino where I left a deposit, Dave and I proceeded to check into the Columbine Motel in Idaho Springs where we unloaded.  Then, we wound our way up Mount Evans to 10,600 ft and had a cup of coffee at the lodge at Echo Lake.  It was another 14 miles to the summit, which is one of the highest auto routes in the US, if not the highest (14,264, Pike’s Peak 14,110.)  We decided…another day.

Thursday, July 13  We had breakfast at Marion’s of Idaho Springs, a restaurant I have been patronizing since 1985 when my brother and I owned mining claims west of town.  Marion’s doesn’t change much, but I guess I have.  Dave Z took off for Cortez enroute to Lakeside and I went to north Denver for a haircut.  Chuck Floyd, the barber, has been cutting my hair since 1958, and I try to get in to see him whenever I am in town.  I walked into my brother’s house around noon where I stayed for a week.