Day 26 - 297 Miles

Destination: No where in particular, just east.

The nice lady at the Canyon Trails Inn suggested a stop a Royal Gorge over the Arkansas River, although touristy, was well worth the trip. That entails a trip up Monarch Pass, the western continental divide.

On the way, I stopped in Gunnison for fuel, I wasn't sure how much I'd burn up climbing the pass. Someone has carved a big W on the hillside. It looks remarkably like a huge dubya bumper sticker.

The GTS bogged down to a bit over 40mph climbing up the 4000 feet to get to the 11 thousand or so feet summit. It's still hard pack snow, and very cold. I will never again even consider a journey without warm gear. I had almost decided to leave the warm stuff at home. I'm so glad I didn't.

Nelson, an Irish chap was driving a Honda. He's lost his job and thought there would be no better time to take a two month tour of the USA. He figured he might not ever get the chance.

Hwy 50 cuts deep into the gorge formed by the Arkansas River. It and a railroad track along the edge of the river for miles and miles of twisting turns. There really weren't too may safe places for me to pull over, but I eventually found a good spot that was rampant with rafters.

The turn off to Royal Gorge was gaudy, so much so I couldn't actually bring the camera to my face to take a picture. Bad, bad, bad. Fake gunfights and hangings. Puleeze. The bridge however was way cool. Wooden planked, wire suspension, built in 1929. You can even drive across it. It really swings in the wind. There's a vertical train car that travels straight down to the river. Some of the I-beams were bent, it was a bit un-nerving for me. Once on the bridge, the geek in me came out and I really was more intrigued by the construction, wire splices, the rigging, etc. Today's slide show is for all you geeks out there too.

The rest of the trip was all downhill from there, really. I stopped for gas way down the road after more than 160 miles. I didn't even get two gallons in the tank. Colorado really flattens out, and my long shadows are an indication of what I have in store for Kansas: flat as far as the eye can see.

I decided if La Junta, Colorado looked good, I would stay here rather than continuing to Lamar for the night. I'm glad I did. I followed a sign to the Midtown Motel advertised as 'The Quiet Place'. Of all things, I run into a bunch of folks attending a Cushman Scooter Meet. They've invited me to their shindig tomorrow: breakfast, a ride, lunch, scooter games, and door prizes.

Is that cool, or what?

A big slide show today: