We decided on an early start from Kremmling and after a brief chat to some Canadian bikers in front of the hotel, we were on the road at 7.05 am. This I remember because it was 7C, but in a few minutes, out of town, it was down to 5.5 And then it dropped to 4! Luckily we had anticipated this and dressed accordingly, but I still had the hand grip heaters on high!
The sun played with the fog on the fields, lifting it as it warmed the earth; but a few miles down Route34 I was needing fog lights! I seriously considered turning back and waiting for it to lift, but thought we would rather stop in Grand Lake CO and wait it out if required. As we approached Grand Lake the fog was no more, but we stopped anyway and had breakfast, which was most pleasant.
A short while later we entered the Rocky Mountains National Park and our Annual Pass has paid for itself. Yeehaw!
We were expecting great scenery and were not disappointed, yet once again our photos cannot do justice to it. One of the things about the RMNP is that the route 34 is the highest paved public road in North America. And we were there. I stopped and took a photo of the GPS displaying the altitude, but regret I could not stop on the road where it peaked at 12,225 ft. The air is thin up there, and it was chilly!
At the top we also had a nice chat to a chap from Albuquerque NM on his two month old BMW R1200RT, as well as a film maker who shot a movie of the solar powered car race from Darwin to Adelaide a couple not years ago.
We made a good descent the other side and once clear of the glut of tourists in Estes Park, we took Route 34 to the I25 and hightailed it north for Cheyenne WY, where we struck north east. A feature of that part of the ride was the hundreds of bikes, mainly Harleys, coming in the opposite direction - returning from the Sturgis Rally which concluded yesterday. Quite an unfriendly lot, actually, only a minority exchanging the Bikers' Salute. No matter.
We arrived in Torrington WY and decided we were tired and took the first available hotel room. A decent dinner rt at the diner next door and we are ready for bed. We are, happily, one day ahead of our notional schedule. It is pleasing to have that flexibility available.
Tomorrow we head for Mount Rushmore.
The sun played with the fog on the fields, lifting it as it warmed the earth; but a few miles down Route34 I was needing fog lights! I seriously considered turning back and waiting for it to lift, but thought we would rather stop in Grand Lake CO and wait it out if required. As we approached Grand Lake the fog was no more, but we stopped anyway and had breakfast, which was most pleasant.
A short while later we entered the Rocky Mountains National Park and our Annual Pass has paid for itself. Yeehaw!
We were expecting great scenery and were not disappointed, yet once again our photos cannot do justice to it. One of the things about the RMNP is that the route 34 is the highest paved public road in North America. And we were there. I stopped and took a photo of the GPS displaying the altitude, but regret I could not stop on the road where it peaked at 12,225 ft. The air is thin up there, and it was chilly!
At the top we also had a nice chat to a chap from Albuquerque NM on his two month old BMW R1200RT, as well as a film maker who shot a movie of the solar powered car race from Darwin to Adelaide a couple not years ago.
We made a good descent the other side and once clear of the glut of tourists in Estes Park, we took Route 34 to the I25 and hightailed it north for Cheyenne WY, where we struck north east. A feature of that part of the ride was the hundreds of bikes, mainly Harleys, coming in the opposite direction - returning from the Sturgis Rally which concluded yesterday. Quite an unfriendly lot, actually, only a minority exchanging the Bikers' Salute. No matter.
We arrived in Torrington WY and decided we were tired and took the first available hotel room. A decent dinner rt at the diner next door and we are ready for bed. We are, happily, one day ahead of our notional schedule. It is pleasing to have that flexibility available.
Tomorrow we head for Mount Rushmore.
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