Going down the other side I couldn't help but hear C.W. McCall's song "Wolf Creek Pass" in my head, where he described the curves on the road as looking like a can full of worms or a malaria germ. It took me a good 3 hours to go the 100 miles between Durango and Montrose. Midway was Silverton, an old mining town where I stopped for a drink and a snack and to get off the bike for a bit.
Once I got down off the mountain it became rather hot again -- so the ride from Montrose to Grand Junction was HOT, and windy and miserable. I stopped at a McDonalds to cool off and rest in Clifton, before I jumped on I-70 for a few miles to Rifle, Colorado. Here I picked up CO-13 for the 90 miles to Craig. I could see the typical afternoon thunderstorm building and tried to outrace it. It was a fun race too, and I only got a few drops, but the smell of the rain coming in, the dark clouds, and the empty land were magical. The Yampa valley is quite pretty, and I saw lots of deer and smelled even more dead ones.
I rolled into Craig, some 376 miles from Cortez. A short day on the bike by the standards of miles -- but in hours, just as long. The first two nice motels I tried were booked, but I found a Super 8 that is barely tolerable, and only $39 for the night. I ran over to the Subway sandwich shop, passed three deer (glad I was off the highway on the bike), came home and showered off the road grime. I'll likely get up early tomorrow and hit the road, I'm anxious to get home, and still have at least three days of riding to get there. No route planned yet, that will come later tonite.
- Current Location:Craig, Colorado
- Current Mood:
okay
- Current Music:Rocky Mountain High, John Denver