Our Notebook

Category: People (Page 5 of 7)

Motorcycle Trips

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Between February 22, 2012, when I took my motorcycle off its stand for the first time, and December 2, when it went back into its cocoon, I rode 7,167 miles, changed the oil twice and the tires once. All the trips were in Colorado and Utah, and all were made more enjoyable because of the company of  good friends.

During the year, I started to fill the stamps on my National Parks  passport. Many of the trips this year are in posts of their own (click on the category “Motorcycle Trips” on the sidebar if you’re interested in reading about them), but some of the day trips we took were worthy of a magazine article to read on a cold, snowy January day.

Here are a few pictures from some of them.

 

Pueblo

We visited Georgia’s cousin Dan, and his wife (and Georgia’s BFF from high school) Tess in Pueblo, Colorado, late in July.  It’s always a relaxing trip, and both of us thoroughly enjoy their company.  Dan and I had lunch at the iconic Gray’s Coors Tavern, which in our expert opinion and based upon several comparison tests, is the home of the best Pueblo Slopper.  In addition we had a chance to visit Bishop Castle, a seriously weird building and testament to the owner’s independent streak, located  SW of Pueblo; we also went to see Bent’s Fort, another great national monument, and Trinidad,  the entire downtown area of which is on the National Register of Historic Places. We also took an afternoon trip to Canon City, home of the Colorado State Penitentiary museum. Nobody wanted to visit the museum, so only I saw the gas chamber, which is in its own little kiosk with a helpful warning sign that it’s no longer bolted down and may tip over if you try to sit in it for pictures!  Finally, we had dinner in the diner on the Royal Gorge Railroad, a stub of the former Rio Grande Tennessee Pass line.  Probably the most scenic 12 miles of American railroading, it’s one of those touristy things that none of us had ever done before, but plan to do again.

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July 4 & Becky’s Visit

Becky visited us during the Pinetown Boys’ High School winter break in late June and the first part of July.  The weather in South Africa was cold and wet, so we provided her with true contrast: record, scorching, crispy  heat and no rain, at least until the end of her trip.  The temperature was over 100F/40C degrees almost every day, and forest fires near Grand Junction, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs burned hundreds of homes and thousands of acres.

Her flight  from Durban to Denver was unpleasant, and the trip back was a either an adventure or a nightmare, but I’ll let her tell that story if she wants to.  She’s back home now, though, even though her luggage is MIA.

Here are some highlights of  her visit.

  • Becky rented a bicycle from Sunlight Sports and we took the Rio Grande Trail, a converted railroad grade, partway to Carbondale.  I was very happy when my knees didn’t hurt.  When it cools off, I may see if there are any nearby roads sans oilfield trucks to try again.
  • We took Katy, Emily and Josh to a street fair in Glenwood Springs where we were mystified by a (remarkably good) high school magician, watched a juggler, and the kids had their faces painted.
  • I took Becky on an abbreviated motorcycle ride to Meeker.  I don’t know who was more surprised at how much she enjoyed it – me or Georgia!  Our trip was shortened, though, because of road construction on the way up.  A sign read “Motorcycles Use Extreme Caution,” and I remembered how all of my friends who had crashed their cycles had done so in road construction … so we turned around and came home.
  • Becky, Terry, and Emily, Katie and Josh, went on a camping excursion not far from Grand Junction.  The next day I heard from the grandchildren that they had been eaten alive by mosquitoes (despite a liberal application of mosquito repellent) and had seen a young bear across the Colorado River.

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And the best part was that Jackie took  a couple of days off of work and joined us, so for the first time in a couple of years, we were all together again.  Jackie, Becky, Georgia and I went to the miniature golf attraction in Glenwood Springs; the owner remembered the time Becky worked for her while she was in college.  Remember Skee Ball?

Thanks, Becky and Jackie, for visiting us.  Suggestion:  Next time make sure that Greg comes too!

Glade Park

The Colorado National Monument is spectacular, but if you take another route up and back, you can find some really interesting scenery in a place called Glade Park.  It’s a favorite of Terry’s, who discovered the place when he was working as a surveyor for Drexel Barell.  He has hidden several Geocaches in the vicinity, and given the quality of cell service, should be able to deploy a Munzee or two.

Stu and I rode  there today.  Click on any picture to enlarge it; click again and it will shrink back to its original size.

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The Glade Park Store has been in the same crossroads location for 100 years; it’s the real thing, with soft drinks, snacks, and everything the neighbors might need.

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Continue reading

Craig 50 Years Later

I was a 16 year old junior at Boulder High School during Spring Break, 1962.  This is me, Cathy and our dogs:

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There were a few other railroad geeks in high school that year; three of us decided to take one of the last trips on the Rio Grande Railroad’s Yampa Valley a three car train that ran from Denver to Craig every day. As you look at the timetable, remember that this was back when railroads welcomed passengers… [singlepic id=66 w=320 h=240 float=center]

The train waiting to depart at Union Station in Denver: [singlepic id=62 w=320 h=240 float=center] This particular locomotive, which was built in 1947,  was retired and scrapped in 1967.

The Yampa Valley took all day to reach Craig, and stopped every few miles to pick up passengers (a very few) and large metal milk cans left by the tracks by the farmers to transport to the dairy.  It also transported mail, and was known as the Yampa Valley Mail; but lost the mail contract in the early 1960’s.

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The train, the conductor, and the three passengers arrived in Craig late in the day [singlepic id=59 w=320 h=240 float=center]

The Craig train station was pretty imposing for a small town; it was the end of the line for David Moffat’s dream of a standard gauge railroad from Denver to Salt Lake City, which went bankrupt when it reached Craig.

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We stayed a local motel and enjoyed the sights.  Questions:

  • How many motels would rent a room to three high school kids these days?
  •  How many of today’s overprotective helicopter parents would let their kids take such a trip?
  • How did we handle it without a cell phone?

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The West Theater is at the same location in Craig, and the marquee hasn’t changed a bit, but instead of Elvis Presley, they were showing “Mirror Mirror.”  You won’t find Standard Oil or Texaco filling stations, either.

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Flash forward 50 years

 

Friends Stu Mall, Jeff McNulty and I took a motorcycle trip on April 22, just about 50 years to the day after my excursion on the Yampa Valley Mail.   My goal was to deploy Munzees (a hide and seek game using smartphones) in Northwest Colorado.  We managed to cover over 300 miles.

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My moto in the front, Jeff and Stu in back, in Meeker.

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The old depot was hidden behind a string of coal cars, near an old gas station.  Anybody else remember this oil company, which later became Enco / Esso / Exxon?

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Walking along the tracks:

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The formerly imposing depot is now a crumbling wreck, one of many forgotten structures  in Union Pacific’s vast property inventory:

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That’s me holding up the roof.  I’ve aged a bit too.

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… and that’s the end of the ride report.  We had lunch and left heading west for Rangely, then Jeff peeled off at Douglas Pass to head back to his home in Grand Junction, and Stu and I meandered slowly back home via the Piceance Creek road, which us normally filled with industrial traffic for the many oil, gas and other extractive mineral ventures located there, but which was empty and beautiful on a Sunday afternoon.

Thanks, guys.  The trip was a lot of fun.  The memories: priceless.

 

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