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Colorado Dreamin’ Tour – Gunnison Colorado here we come!
The air was cool and our spirits were high. It was 46 degrees when we loaded up and headed for the Southern Colorado mountain range.
We would be hitting the famous Highway of Legends to start off the morning. This is a great stretch of road that meanders through some of the best little towns in southern Colorado, including Stonewall and la Veta. We would stop in La Veta and have breakfast at a little hole in the wall, named the Corners Diner. Kris & Linda had eaten here in a prior visit. It does not look like much, but the food was great and the coffee was warm. What else could we ask for?
The critters were out in force and made us slow down a little. It was a tad scary running up to a group of deer and then a bunch of elk ran across the road. That was our queue to slow down and enjoy the sights.
One thing that I learned from the trip is that when we are riding with others, I need to pay more attention to the places that I pull over into. I am long legged and it really does not matter where I pull in as I can usually touch the ground. I must understand that this is not always the case.
We took our time, enjoyed the countryside and then rolled into La Veta for breakfast.
We were stuffed from breakfast, however we had visions of mountain roads in our heads. We would do some dull two lane until we ran into Creede Colorado. The scenery is still amazing and well worth the ride.
This is a great place for a stop and we have always loved Kips Bar & Grill.
From there we would take Co 149 over Slumgullion Pass.
Slumgullion Pass is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 11,530ft (3.514m) above the sea level, located in San Juan Mountains, in Colorado, USA. It claims the steepest grades of any fully paved and maintained road in Colorado.
The road over the pass is asphalted. It’s called Colorado State Highway 149, also known as Silver Thread Scenic Byway. The north side has the steepest grade of any continuously paved road in Colorado (9%). It has a few switchbacks and tight spots, but other than that, most travelers will find it an easy, scenic route. It’s one of the highest mountain roads of Colorado. This narrow two lane road road is usually open all year because snowplows clear the route regularly during this season. To reach the summit, starting from Lake City, the ascent is 11.3 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 783 meters. The average percentage is 6.9 %. The climb starts out immediately with near 10% grades and other than false flat in the middle for around 1K the grade never really lets up. (taken from Dangerousroads.org)
I have been over this a number of times and I have never seen it snow packed and beautiful. It was a cool ride going over the pass. I was glad we did it as I was mesmerized by the views. Fun times.
We rode up into Lake City, before heading into Gunnison for the evening. I love the ride between lake City and Gunnison. It is a nice smooth surface and has some amazing views. Jamie and I love this part of the trip.
It was a great day of riding. Jamie and I never get tired of this part of the world. We have always thought that the Gunnison area would be a great place to have a summer getaway.
We had a nice dinner and then went to bed to recharge for tomorrows adventure. I love moto vacations..