Aspen to Steamboat Springs, Colorado

THE DALTON HIGHWAY


This is kind of what thrills me the most...
Not knowing what lies ahead.

























7/7/2010
I'm still about 60
miles from Steamboat Springs with no shortage of scenery. I did see a lot of wild life on this trip, but, they wouldn't cooperate with the camera. Wild life running wild.















The last time I rode a horse, it left me in mid air when spooked by a wind blown pile of leaves. I hit the ground hard. Not a fan of riding horses. I would love to try again though.


















U.S.40 goes a long way in Colorado. Apparently I've got another 65.2 miles to go.


















Got lucky with the weather. It seems like the rain was @ my back today.














I will follow this person. Looks knowledgeable.














Part of Winter Parks Ski area.














This is where Dale lives & works.


















Another Ski area to put on my list.














Introducing Dale Eversole. He waved me over to find out what the heck I was riding. He was amazed @ my bike. I think he had recently tipped a few cold ones. Seems like a great guy to ski with.














The back side of the pass. All down hill.














I have a hard time with this name. It won't stick to my brain.














It is cold & rainy.














Many National Forest out here. Lets go, start traveling. This land is our land...


















I had to pull a stunt to get around this slow poke.










Up down, Up down...










This rain will hit hard, but, for only 5 minutes. The temperature dropped about 15 degrees.










I've heard a lot about the Loveland Pass. A nice ride.











I didn't expect to go up into the mountains. A pleasant surprise.














Inside Arapahoe Basin. Great skiing.


















GOING UP.














My ski buddy, Ray Paquette & I sat on this deck between runs a while back.


















One of my favorite ski areas.


















Up to A-Basin.














The Dillon Reservoir.


















I70 to The Loveland Pass.














Frisco is a small town.
Breckenridge is a big ski area.














I have not skied Copper Mtn yet.














Vail was a blast, 10 years ago...














This view is the other side of the ride to Aspen.














I70, got to love it.


















I'll have a #1 with cheese & no onion-medium. I'm a BurgerKing fan. They also have wifi.














Does 75 mean 80?














That was an enjoyable piece of road.
I feel like turning around & going back. REALLY.














This will pleasantly get me where I'm going.














If somebody knows this Mtn, please comment. I put a lot of time in looking @ it.














Finally get to this view. Have seen it on the horizon.














Will the road turn toward this? Yes it will.














Sometimes, when you head toward a horizon, you expect to see a town when you get there.














Looks good ahead.














I love this ride. I've also learned something about zooming in.

From Palmer Lake to Aspen, Colorado

So, I'm leaving Sturgis & I take a left. Next thing I'm in Fargo, North Dakota.












Fargo is a big city. I didn't expect it. I was looking for a used woodchipper...














I left Fargo & ended up in Lowry, Minnesota to visit a guy I met @ Algona, Iowa.














The Robert. Good man. He has a repair shop with some great bikes hangin' around.



















Hay, between these places, a persons got to eat.














Central South Dakota. Lots of grass. This real estate belongs to us. It's part of the National Forest.














Who maintains this stuff?














7/5/2010
It's Aspens Ajax Mountain. I've skied this a couple of times. Tough mountain. Originally, I was looking to just ride to Aspen, Colorado. My choice of roads gave me so much more. This picture is from the hills on the perimeter of the town. Big homes out here.



















The town of Aspen has really grown & modernized since I was there last.



















The sun is sinking & around every corner is another corner. The light also changes quickly.














The roads are in good shape.













Ahh, Aspen IS getting closer.














Who hit the lights?














I can take thousands of miles of this... and will.



















This shady character keeps following me. Maybe it's a guardian angel... Anyways, I'm watching my wallet.














Lahr-dee dah, do I have a lot of pictures that are worthy of posting. I love this ride! A poorly trained orangutan could take good pictures here.














A little info on the need & making of the road to Independence Pass.















No end in sight. Thank you very much. I thought the sun was done an hour ago. The Continental Divide kind of means we will be going downhill now.














I've talked about the Continental Divide for decades. I just thought it was a road.
It's the line going across North America where the WATERSHED heads toward the Atlantic Ocean OR the Pacific Ocean. It may go into deeper details than that. More research is needed...















Oh, this background takes away from the star of the show, The V-rod. It is operating flawlessly. I would not have as much confidence in many other bikes. For those of you getting tired of seeing it in pictures, SHAME ON YOU, SHAME... : >)














That shady character again. At first I tried to outrun it. It's quick. Then we struck a deal.



















Maybe my solitude has slowed my cranial synapses?
Oh well, I'm enjoying myself.














Lahr-dee-dah...



















Watch yer wallet...














Ahh, the accidental picture. (They are all accidental)














OOPS! The untrained ape strikes.














These roads climb the mountains & meander back into the valleys. They are enjoyable in a car. Double it+ on a motorcycle, in my opinion.



















Am I camping in the woods or finding a motel? The sun looks like it's ready to drop.














One day I will retrace these watering holes with my fishing gear. The Spinney Mt. Reservoir.














Is this water headed to The Atlantic or Pacific?
If I knew, I could dump my Atlantic Ocean water in this stream & be done with the coast to coast trip. NAH!



















I can see my reflection in the glass of the speedometer. The speedo will not stay that clean for long...



















Nice country...














Is that Aspen? Somehow I don't think so.














We own this! Whatever that means...














This is where I've been...



















This is where I am...














This is where I'm going...














Starting to get interesting. The 11 Mile Canyon Reservoir off rt. 24. The back road to Aspen.














Tools of the road.














Down the road I went...














Heading towards Pikes Peak. In retrospect, I should have climbed it. Next time, for sure.














The dark brown house in the distance is Barbara & Charlies. Nice spot. I had a great time visiting. I took this picture on my way out of town.



















Another morning view from their porch.














Britney is a lot of fun to be around. I think she is 21 now. Time flies. I(50) won't(50) mention(50) how(50) old(50) Barbara(50) is. The cake was delicious. Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARB!