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| A chance to take a trip is something I always look
forward to, but taking a trip in winter to Colorado by motorcycle
was out of the question. Hey, that’s why we bikers own cars, right?
Taking the Explorer would still give us a chance to see the sights
during a different season. Hwy 80 here we come…. Then the first of several winter storms dumped about two feet of snow in the Sierras and another one was on the radar ready to dump another two feet. This was just about the time Linda and I would be heading towards Colorado to spend the Christmas with our youngest son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. What to do? No problem, just take the southern route through Arizona, New Mexico, and up to Colorado behind the Rockies and miss the snow. The Weather Channel said all storms would stay north, the Internet Driving Instructions said that the storms would stay north, so we went south and got caught in the middle of a two-state snow storm. Go figure. The first day, Dec. 21st, was overcast but the trip to Las Vegas was uneventful. Lots of lights, and traffic, and cold. The next morning we were up early, the sun was shinning and our decision looked like a good one. Damn, am I smart? We drove by Boulder Dam and picked up Hwy 40, at Prescott. As we headed east we first entered thick fog, the a little rain, and then snow flurries. No problem, as long as it didn’t stick and ice up, we just kept driving. Damn, don’t pull on superman’s cape: it started to stick. Pretty soon we are following truck tracks in the snow through Arizona and into New Mexico. I am still hoping to get out of this stuff soon. By the time we get to Gallup, New Mexico, they close the road behind us. We have been lucky because we later hear that they had a fatality on the Hwy 40 behind us. We stop in Albuquerque for the night. The next morning we are up and heading north towards the Colorado border. It’s still snowing, off and on, and by the time we hit Interstate 25, we are back to following tracks in the snow. At one point, I take the lead and am behind three snowplows just trying to stay on the road. We have already seen three cars that have slid into the center meridian and I don’t want to be number four. At one point I try to pass the snowplow, bad idea. He kicks up so much snow I can’t see anything. Blindly I slow down. Now I’m kinda thick, so I try this silly move again with the same results. If finally occurs to me that this snow plow driver wants me to stay behind him and his two partners just ahead. OK, I can take a hint. As most of your know, who have read my web pages, I like to take pictures, but this trip has had me tied to the steering wheel, with no place to pull off the road, lest I get into an accident. The plows are not clearing the sides of the roads or most off ramps. I did get one chance, on the last day, to get into a rest stop and took a couple of pictures. I’ll make up for this on the way home (photos 1,2,&3).
During this part of the trip, I see only three or four motorcycles. The temperature is about 47 degrees at the time and the fellow is riding his Harley in a tee shirt. I’m impressed. All the riders were obviously on local rides and not dressed or equipped for long rides, which makes sense in this weather. As we finally get past Colorado Springs, the skies and the highways both become clear and the rest of our trip is clear sailing. Man, am I glad I have four-wheel drive. Of course, our poor Explorer is covered with ice, snow, sand, and mud, from one end to the other. When I was a boy, we would say it looked like I had been shot at and missed and shit at and hit. Before I get to Steve and Peg’s we stop at a carwash and get at least the surface of the car cleaned. I still have snow and Ice hanging from under the wheel wells. Hey, better than nothing. At three in the afternoon, Dec. 23rd, we pull into our son’s driveway. That night it’s cold and clear and I snap a few shots of Steve’s home decorated with lights (photos 4 & 5). On Xmas Eve Steve is busy putting together a bike, wrapping last minute gifts for his wife, etc. (photo 6). Christmas morning we wake Jordan (photo 7), since Xmas seems to really be for young kids, and Peggy takes her downstairs to see her gifts (photo 8).
Of course Jordan likes her bike, her coat, etc. We had a wonderful Xmas with Steve, Peg, and Jordan and I’ll include a couple of pictures of my granddaughter. Bear with me, here…. (photos 9,10,11,12,13)
On Saturday, Dec. 28th, we head back the way we came, but not really. We will go south again because the forecasts are for more snow on Hwy 80. I have wanted to take a motorcycle trip to Taos, NM, and since we’re in the neighborhood, we’ll take that way home. We head down I-25 past Pueblo, CO and then go west on C160 to San Luis, the oldest town in Colorado. Nice little town. Along the way we see some folks taking advantage of this good weather and are sitting around holes in the ice, ice-fishing. (photo 14). I’ve heard abot this but never actually seen it. Interesting. We turn south on C159 until it crosses the border into New Mexico at NM522 to Taos. We get into Taos around 2:00 and find a place to grab something to eat. Actually, the road leading into Taos is interesting but when we leave on I-64 west, we find a real jewel and I want to come back here on the bike. The town of Taos, on the other hand, is basically a tourist trap. It’s a nice looking town but even in winter, there is lots of traffic and people out and about. I have included pictures to give you a flavor of the place (photos 15,16,17,18). We have something to eat on the Town Square and head out towards Chama on 64 East. This is still high desert country and we pass by a series of about 12 or 15 houses that are obviously environmentally designed. They have both solar panels and glass facing the sun, while about two-thirds of the house is under the desert surface. I’m sure this keeps them cooler in the summer. Interesting.
We are soon heading up into the snow-covered mountains and the scenery becomes worth the trip and once again proves my theory that, no matter the time of year, it’s better on the back roads. At just about sunset, we cross an interesting bridge across an arroyo (photos 19 & 20) into the Chama Valley and shortly after dark we find a room at a little motel in Chama. We have dinner at the High Country Café. It has been a very nice day.
Sunday is bright and clear and everything is still covered in the snow from last week (photos 21, 22). We continue on Hwy 64 west towards Farmington, a large industrial town in the northern part of New Mexico. The morning temperature is 12 degrees, so it’s plenty cold. I take a few pictures of the snow covered hills on the way to Farmington were we stop for a great Sunday brunch at the Brass Apple. We leave towards Shiprock (photos 23 & 24), where we will head south towards Gallup.
This time the sun is shinning and we pass some great scenery. When we hit Hwy. 40 again, we turn west towards Flagstaff. This part of New Mexico is pretty flat and (photo 25 & 26) for the next several hours we are commuting. About 4:00 in the afternoon, we take exit 233 for 6 miles to see the Meteor Crater. This turns out to be quite interesting and cold as a well diggers butt. I take pictures of the crater, Linda bundled up, (photos 27, 28,& 29) and some of the displays. This thing is almost a mile across and over 500 feet deep. Makes you wonder when the next one is going to hit and where and what the effect it would have on a modern world. See the pictures.
Back on the road, and we’re only 38 miles from Flagstaff, AZ, but the snow has decided not to wait. It grows dark and soon the roads start to get covered and thank God, we’re at the first Flagstaff exit. As we take the off ramp, there is a police car directing traffic around a stalled car and we follow several cars into the first snow-covered driveway to a Hampton Inn motel. The place is booked solid so I make a polite run, walk down the driveway to the Days Inn and get Linda and I a room for the night. A little dinner and we’re in for the night watching the snowfall from our motel window. Let’s hope tomorrow is clear. The next day finds sunshine and snow on the ground but not on the roads, we head out heading west. As we get further west, it is obvious that we may get some clouds but no more snow, so we start making good time on Hwy 40, as we retrace our steps but this time we leave Las Vegas for another visit while we keep pushing towards home. Off in the distance, I can see a freight train making good time (photo 30), which starts me thinking about how much of our “stuff” gets to us by train or truck and we don’t pay much attention about how it happens. We just assume it will all be there for us when we want it. If fact, we’ve kind of gotten to the point that if it’s not there when we want it, we get upset with people. Maybe we need to remember how much work it is to keep the capitalistic system going? Up ahead I can see a bridge I know crosses the Colorado River and I know it won’t be long now before we’re back in California. Now is getting warmer as we cross the Mojave Desert and I often wonder why people live out here. We pass a storage airport for planes. There are all different brand names for airlines out here as the “garage” these big muthuhs waiting for better times, or maybe this is the “used” plane lot (photo 31) and plane tire kickers come here to see what’s available. Soon we’re heading into our last set of mountains as we cross through the Tehachapi’s. The wind must blow consistently through here because there is a “windmill farm” here, and looks much like the one in the eastbay hills around Altamont Pass (photo 32).
We stop for a short bite to eat at a take-out fin Bakersfield,and keep going. Fourteen hours later we’re home. We’ve made the trip safely and discovered some new roads along the way. Now, maybe next summer we can try this again on the Goldwing. We’ll see. |
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