Day 18 and 19 - Meeker, CO to Clayton, NM and the to Colleyville, TX

HOW Days 18 and 19

Meeker, Co to Clayton, NM to Colleyville, TX

We used 2 days to get back home. First day we did over 530 miles (850 kms) and the second day 470 miles (755 kms).

As my tires had taken quite a beating, I decided to stop in Denver and change tires. To get there we took Interstate 70 (in Colorado) which is probably one of the most scenic Interstates in the country. We crossed Glenwood Canyon which was under construction due to flood damage and also rode close to Breckenridge and Vail and did Vail Pass. We also crossed Eisenhower Tunnel which at an elevation of 11,158 Feet (3,401 m) is one of the highest vehicular tunnels in the world.

In order to change the tires, I had to remove both wheels from the GSA and then put them back. A down GSA on the parking lot was a sight to see and had many talks about the bike, its capability and ruggedness.

After putting the new tires on, rode south to Clayton, NM and passed Raton Pass. The trip from Raton, NM to Clayton, NM was done at night and as usual in these circumstances I found a “rabbit” (car that goes at the right speed) and followed close by to protect me from deer on the road. It worked well and arrived in one piece.

For the second day we all travelled together, Bill rode on his KTM 1190 and Dave and Mitch drove in the truck carrying their 690’s.

We ate in a Subway along the way and made good time to arrive home just before 5pm local time.

Make Life a Ride !

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Day 17 - Encampment, WY to Meeker, CO

 HOW Day 17

Encampment, WY to Meeker, CO

We started our last day off-road in Encampment, WY. As there was no breakfast place open, we stopped at the gas station and got some food and coffee.

The trail cut back and forth between Wyoming and Colorado and in my opinion it was the most stunning in terms of the autumn colors. Just spectacular.

We rode by the Three Forks Ranch.  It is both a working ranch and a resort!

We then rode through the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and stopped a number of times to take photos and videos. We even had another flat to slow us down and enjoy the surroundings.

When we arrived at Meeker, CO we stopped at the Smoking River Brewing Company to have a beer and celebrate making it all the way in one piece.

For dinner we went to a very nice Italian restaurant and I enjoyed an amazing lasagna.

Enjoy the photos …

Make Life a Ride !

Facebook Post HOW Day 17

Videos approaching Meeker, CO in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest

Made it to end of the HOW Ride

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Day 16 - Rawlins, WY to Encampment, WY

HOW Day 16

Rawlins, Wyoming to Encampment, Wyoming.

We started south out of Rawlins, WY on I-80. This track follows the 19th-century Overland Trail as it traverses low-lying ranchlands, pastoral meadows, wooded foothills and a beautiful valley. We saw some of the West’s last original log structures ... bygone homesteads, barns and outbuildings of hand-hewn logs. 

It is hunting season so we did come across a number of other vehicles  on the trail.

One of the highlights of the day was riding in the Medicine Bow National Forest. The fall colors were amazing and we stopped and took videos and photos in the popular tree tunnel nicknamed “Aspen Alley”.

We finished our short 132 mile day in the town of Encampment, Wy which has a population of approximately 500 year-round residents. It rests at the base of the Sierra Madres, and at the turn of the twentieth century, was a booming center of copper mining and smelting. A sharp drop in copper prices and disastrous fires drove the mining company into bankruptcy.

Although closed, we also visited (from outside), the Grand Encampment Museum. It highlights the copper mining, ranching, logging history in the area. It includes over 15 historic buildings and thousands of interesting objects.

In the late afternoon we just sat outside our rooms and watched the MotoGP race.

Make Life a Ride !

Facebook Post of HOW Day 16

Visit to Encampment, WY

Watching MotoGP in Encampment, WY

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Day 15 - Lander, WY to Rawlins, WY

HOW Day 15

Lander, WY to Rawlins, WY

Today our trail started in Atlantic City, WY. As we had spent the night in Lander, WY we had to ride back 30 miles and decided to do it through the Red Canyon  Road. It turned out to be one of the highlights for the day. We even saw mule deer and coyotes.

When we arrived in Atlantic City we decided to check out the saloon and the owners were so very nice and opened it up for us and let us enjoy seeing an historic place from the 19th century that had been fully decorated for Halloween.

We then spent most of the day on the “Big Empty”!  The Big Empty is a 6 million acre region of southwestern Wyoming.  It is the largest unfenced area left in the Lower 48, and one of the harshest, most remote and extreme environments left to explore in the United States.  Size wise, it is as large as Denali National Park and one quarter of the size of Portugal.  The landscape and wildlife are much different and there are grave markers from the many who died trying to get out west.  You can hike through the largest active sand dune system in the U.S.  You can find fossils or explore hoodoo canyons where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid out!  OR, you can ride across it on your Adventure Motorcycle, like we did! 

We saw many herds of antelope on our 183 mile ride.

Make Life a Ride ! 

Facebook Post of HOW Day 15

Saloon in Atlantic City, WY

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Day 14 - Pinedale, WY to Lander, WY

 HOW Day 14

Pinedale, WY to Atlantic City, WY

This was a day we were very much looking forward to as we would be traveling a number of immigrant trails.

We started with a two track trail that was quite sandy and a challenge for the big bikes. We made it though.

We then followed the Lander Cutoff Trail. It is a beautiful, primitive two-track remnant from the Oregon Trail. It is unmaintained, and included a couple of rocky, steep and loose inclines. There also is the ford of the Sweetwater River, whose streambanks are steeply cut and posed some difficulty.  Although not recommend ed for large, heavily loaded adventure-class motorcycles we decided to tackle it anyway and had a lot of fun.

We then took the road to South Pass, a broad gap in the Rocky Mountains that provided 19th-century travelers -- from fur trappers and Mormon emigrants to forty-niners, Pony Express riders and stagecoach passengers -- with the easiest crossing of the Rockies. Emigrants -- some 400,000 of them -- found water and forage for themselves and even greater numbers of livestock along the pass’ primary waterway, the Sweetwater River.

As suggested by the person who put together the route, we gazed out across the landscape and imagined how it looked 165 years ago, when every meadow was occupied by wagons and livestock, and nights were illuminated by emigrants’ campfires. 

We stopped at the crossroads village of Farson, and had a very good sandwich and took some photos with an howl.

We then followed more emigrant trails through poignant Parting of the Ways, a fork where those heading to Oregon Territory went one way (right), and those heading to California the other (left), never to see each other again after enduring months of arduous overland travel together. We stopped and took some photos.

We then continued through Little Sandy Crossing, where it crossed a stream on a simple bridge amid a marshy area that was another important emigrant stopping place, and where graves have been identified.

As we rode these trails one cannot wonder how difficult it must have been for the early settlers to travel with heavily laden wagons pulled by oxen.

We then rode through Atlantic City, WY (population 57) which is an authentic, historic town that remains true to its origins when it was a gold mining camp during the turn of the century.

We then rode on and topped for the night at Lander, WY.

Make Life a Ride !

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