2007 May 20

Montrose, CO to Kayenta, AZ

The trip from Montrose, to Ouray, to Silverton, to Durango, to Mesa Verde National Park, through Four Corners, to Kayenta, AZ was stunning. I took my time today: over 12 hours to cover only 271 miles. I’m confident that I can’t do justice to today’s trip with words, so I’ll mostly resort to a few of the 100+ photos.

Below you can see two historical mines, the Genessee on the left and the Vanderbilt on the right:

I mentioned in an earlier blog our family vacation back to the east coast. One of the things we wanted to do on that trip was tour the Biltmore Estate. However, when we arrived at the front gate, it was raining and rather than just see the inside of the house, we decided to come back another time so we could take the full tour. I still haven’t seen Biltmore.

So, when I arrived at the turn off to Mesa Verde National Park (MVNP) with the lighting flashing and the thunder rolling, I never hesitated.

Waiting out the rain in the park cafe, I met three guys from Oregon that had trucked their bikes in for a weekend ride. Now that’s dedication. They were completely outfitted with GPS, CB’s, radar detectors, and even satellite radio. Apparently, they do several trips a year and had just finished Death Valley in March. I’m inspired! It was still raining hard when this picture was taken. Keep the rubber side down guys — and stay in touch.

After the rain lightened up, I investigated the Spruce Tree House:

Leaving MVNP, I received the biggest surprise of the day. Riding in the desert at sunset, following on the heels of a thunderstorm was one of the highlights of the trip. The air was clean, the clouds were breaking up, it was about 75 degrees, and the moon and Venus were visible for the entire ride. This shot of the sunset just doesn’t do it justice.