Colorado mountains and rivers

 We started the first of a 3-day motorcycle trip today, riding east from Pagosa Springs on US 160E, riding over Wolf Creek Pass in the San Juan mountains over the Continental Divide. We rode this route in reverse last Sunday, so check out that post for photos of the twists and turns up and over the mountains.

Once in Del Norte we turned north on CO112, riding through the San Luis Valley, one of the largest high altitude (about 8,000') valleys in the world and home to ranches and farming.

It's the end of July, but riding at this altitude the temperature is comfortable in the mid to high 70's. When we reached Saguache (derived from a Ute word that means sand dunes, referencing the nearby Great Sand Dunes National Park) we turned onto US 285, continuing to head north through the San Luis Valley.

We rode over Poncha Pass, at just 9,010' one of the lowest passes in Colorado. Winding down the north side of Poncha Pass we came into Poncha Springs, and stopped at the Flamingo food truck for lunch just as it started to rain. This is a do not miss stop - delicious food and friendly people. Luckily there is an indoor place to eat, and by the time we finished lunch the rain stopped.

We turned east on US 50 to ride through Bighorn Sheep Canyon along the Arkansas River. This was our first time riding the BMW through this area, and the twisting road along steep rocky cliffs and clear water was a ton of fun - even though we didn't see any sheep.

Just past Parkdale we left the Arkansas River and turned north on CO 9 and climbed out of the river valley into South Park, one of three high altitude basins in Colorado. 

We rode 280 miles today, twisting over mountain passes and through river valleys, ending up on a straight road at over 9,000' elevation with views of snowy Rocky Mountain peaks in the distance. Our stop tonight is in Fairplay, founded in 1859 as part of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. You can still pan for gold in the Middle Fork of the South Platte River that runs through town. We've ridden through Fairplay several times, and this will be our first time staying here.

Tomorrow our route will take us over more mountain passes through the heart of the Rockies. We're looking forward to it!