8.17.06 - Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes...
Crossing into Colorado, endured waiting on construction, rt 491 forever. Trucker says..."Any longer, they'll have to show a movie." (3 months to fix the road before winter). S-l-o-w-l-y snaking our way through the hills on 141, map shows towns, but on arrival, 6 people, 2 horses, & maybe an animal shed. Near "Slick Rock", a MOUNTAIN LION crossed, balls to the wall...bike backfired, the cat probably took it for a gunshot. Every 20-30 miles-- scenery change. Desert Utah..Agrarian Colorado pastures, crops, and GREEN...next 20 miles--10,000 foot mountain..boulders--other side..a canyon--little trout stream, and...up again, WAY UP...past Telluride's Mount Wilson, 14,246 feet above sea level, and yes, that is SNOW, in August. At "Norwood", on 145, inquired why a native was sunburned to the max-- did he fell asleep in a hammock?..."No, the RAINBOW TROUT ARE HITTING ANYTHING WE THROW AT THEM, UP AT LAKE MINNA-MAH-NIE". We're talking 12-18 inch Rainbows in a lake--man it doesn't get any better...If I just had MORE TIME...Readjusting the air/gas mixture on my carb was a 30 second job with altitude changes of 1000-3000 feet...Higher you go, less oxygen in the air--adjust the venturi for less gas than at sea level, shuttle the best mixture
to the spark plugs. Fuel injection has no soul.
The Only Fat Chicks in Colorado are Tourists:
Colorado girls: Air is so thin, ya get wasted with very little exercise, trying
twice as hard to do normal stuff like walking..HOWEVER, thin air makes for trim ladies. Many are tall, totally in shape, but really SPACED OUT...The girl who sold me a 12 pack of Cornona at the liquor store was so mellow, got a contact high..she had to be at least 21, but looked 18. Eyeing what would be $22 dollar bottles of Jose Tequila back home, bought one for 14 bucks. Should have bought more, but hell, there's always the outside chance we'll hit Mexico, if it EVER stops raining down there.
Liars Suck:
Got lazy today, and bagged it in at 2pm--looking for a place to crash for the night, called in a phone reservation to (Night's) Inn/Montrose/Colorado, An east-Indian woman gave a price of $41. At check-in she boosted it to $49. Damm. Booked a room right across the highway at a little sole proprietorship place, The Country Lodge--SMELLS BETTER THAN ANY CHAIN MOTEL I'VE SLEPT IN DURING THIS TRIP!
(even at an extra ten bucks), rather give my money to the struggling little guy. At DJ's diner here, grabbed a battered 'n' fried plate of Alaskan Halibut for six bucks--chains--you always know exactly what you're going to get, and nearly always, it sucks. Give the mom & pop joints a try, they're sort of like ABM...little guys, trying harder to please.
THIS AFTERNOON'S TREAT:
So Deep, So Sheer, So Narrow, almost NO SUNLIGHT CAN PENETRATE it: Montrose's
BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON, National Park's cliffs are so steep, ONLY IT'S RIMS,
AND NOT THE GORGE SHOW ANY EVIDENCE OF ANY HUMAN PENETRATION. Even the Ute Indians never made it down to the bottom, (unless one of 'em was wearing slippery moc's!). ABM made the Killer Descent to the very bottom of this gorge on the company chopper..So you think a 5%, 6%, or even a 10% grade is really scary? TRY 16%!! So how did this canyon become so sheer? BEFORE THE RIVER WAS DAMMED, (and aren't we all??)..THE GUNNISON RIVER BLASTED THRU THE GORGE AT 12,000 CUBIC FEET PER SECOND,
WITH A 2.7 MILLION HORSEPOWER FORCE...scouring the riverbed and eroding these fantastic canyon walls. Stood on the edge, looking straight down 2,772 feet to the boulders and rivers below. Shot 2 rolls of real 35mm film on a Nikon, to post at www.americanbikerminute.com. Rio Choncos Canyon in Mexico, was our fave until today--found clean primitive camping sites, (NO LARGE RV COULD MAKE IT IN OR OUT), amid killer trout fishing...as you descend into the abyss, the temperature drops from 91 to the comfortable seventies. You'd never need an air conditioner.Dude, at sunset, the trout are literally breaking the water surface for flies, just a cast away from your sleeping bag... Much as I love motorcycles, give me a few days to fart around with some 4-lb test line,a bottle of Silver, and some fresh limes...We'll be back...someday...
to the spark plugs. Fuel injection has no soul.
The Only Fat Chicks in Colorado are Tourists:
Colorado girls: Air is so thin, ya get wasted with very little exercise, trying
twice as hard to do normal stuff like walking..HOWEVER, thin air makes for trim ladies. Many are tall, totally in shape, but really SPACED OUT...The girl who sold me a 12 pack of Cornona at the liquor store was so mellow, got a contact high..she had to be at least 21, but looked 18. Eyeing what would be $22 dollar bottles of Jose Tequila back home, bought one for 14 bucks. Should have bought more, but hell, there's always the outside chance we'll hit Mexico, if it EVER stops raining down there.
Liars Suck:
Got lazy today, and bagged it in at 2pm--looking for a place to crash for the night, called in a phone reservation to (Night's) Inn/Montrose/Colorado, An east-Indian woman gave a price of $41. At check-in she boosted it to $49. Damm. Booked a room right across the highway at a little sole proprietorship place, The Country Lodge--SMELLS BETTER THAN ANY CHAIN MOTEL I'VE SLEPT IN DURING THIS TRIP!
(even at an extra ten bucks), rather give my money to the struggling little guy. At DJ's diner here, grabbed a battered 'n' fried plate of Alaskan Halibut for six bucks--chains--you always know exactly what you're going to get, and nearly always, it sucks. Give the mom & pop joints a try, they're sort of like ABM...little guys, trying harder to please.
THIS AFTERNOON'S TREAT:
So Deep, So Sheer, So Narrow, almost NO SUNLIGHT CAN PENETRATE it: Montrose's
BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON, National Park's cliffs are so steep, ONLY IT'S RIMS,
AND NOT THE GORGE SHOW ANY EVIDENCE OF ANY HUMAN PENETRATION. Even the Ute Indians never made it down to the bottom, (unless one of 'em was wearing slippery moc's!). ABM made the Killer Descent to the very bottom of this gorge on the company chopper..So you think a 5%, 6%, or even a 10% grade is really scary? TRY 16%!! So how did this canyon become so sheer? BEFORE THE RIVER WAS DAMMED, (and aren't we all??)..THE GUNNISON RIVER BLASTED THRU THE GORGE AT 12,000 CUBIC FEET PER SECOND,
WITH A 2.7 MILLION HORSEPOWER FORCE...scouring the riverbed and eroding these fantastic canyon walls. Stood on the edge, looking straight down 2,772 feet to the boulders and rivers below. Shot 2 rolls of real 35mm film on a Nikon, to post at www.americanbikerminute.com. Rio Choncos Canyon in Mexico, was our fave until today--found clean primitive camping sites, (NO LARGE RV COULD MAKE IT IN OR OUT), amid killer trout fishing...as you descend into the abyss, the temperature drops from 91 to the comfortable seventies. You'd never need an air conditioner.Dude, at sunset, the trout are literally breaking the water surface for flies, just a cast away from your sleeping bag... Much as I love motorcycles, give me a few days to fart around with some 4-lb test line,a bottle of Silver, and some fresh limes...We'll be back...someday...
posted by americanbikerminute at 8:57 AM
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