Colorado Dreamin’ – Day 1&2
Loaded Up and headed out. Destination; Raton NM
The day had finally arrived. We had been planning this adventure for almost 3 months. The bike was loaded on the trailer and our bags were packs. Colorado here we come!
One of the main reasons I ride a motorcycle is for adventures like this. I love road trips. The type that take you on the road from 7-10 days. The kind of trip that covers many miles and takes us to places that are different than the normal riding we do. What better place than Colorado? It has been a couple of years since Jamie and I explored beautiful Colorado. It has always been one of our favorite motorcycle destinations.
This trip has been in the works for 3-4 months. The routes were planned, the hotels booked and we were all excited to hit the road. This time around we would have our friends Bill (Kawasaki Versys 1000) & Gayla (Kawasaki Ninja 1000), Kris (Kawasaki H2 SE) & Linda (Kawasaki 1000 Ninja), Lisa (Honda VFR) and Bob (Yamaha FJR) joining us. Jamie and I were so excited to show them some of the sights and sounds of one of our favorite motorcycle destinations.
Thursday was here and I was like a little kid at Christmas time. I had to work in the morning, so when I left the house, all I could think about was getting the day started so I could finish up and we could hit the road. I got out of work around 2PM and headed straight to the house. We were already loaded up so all that we had to do was hook up the trailer and throw our bags into the jeep.
We were meeting Bill & Gayla in Woodward Oklahoma. This would get us good 300 mile jump start on our journey. The drive was long and boring and justified our choice to trailer the bikes to New Mexico. Jamie and I made it by 9PM and Bill & Gayla rolled in after 11PM. They were not able to hit the road until after 5PM. There were no issues and the bikes made it safe and sound.
After a great nights sleep, Jamie and I awoke and were excited to hit the road. We had planned the route so that we would be in New Mexico no later than mid afternoon.
The drive to Raton was easy and we rolled into the Raton Pass Motor Inn around 2pm. The little motel was just as quaint as we had remembered. Our hosts as amazing as our last visit to this little gem of a motel. We love this motel and we would recommend staying there if you are ever in the area. Tell them Jamie & Jerry sent ya.
Everyone got to the hotel around 4pm and we unloaded the bikes, so we could take the vehicles and trailers to our staging area. The Summerlin RV Park has been our “go to” for storage of our vehicles for a number of years. They have a nice place and the fee to park is very affordable. The owners are awesome and they make you feel like family.
We had a great dinner and enjoyed a few adult beverages while discussing the next days ride. Dinner was at a good little local spot named La Cosina Cafe. The food was very authentic and reminded Jamie & I on how much we missed NM food.
We were all excited for the adventure that lay ahead of us. We would be riding the famous Enchanted Circle on our first true day of the tour.
We finished up our evening by enjoying the wonderful evening with a fabulous sunset in the mountains of New Mexico.
