5th September 2010

Along Highway 50

We both took a long time to wake up after the exciting adventure the night before. I got a $3.31 refund for my Motel 6 wireless card as I could not obtain a decent wifi signal anywhere in the motel. We went back to the McD's we had visited only 12 hours before. There we had a quarter-pounder with cheese for breakfast (as it was 11:00) then planned to go to Montrose, Colorado.  I ensured that we booked a room at Motel 6 Montrose before we left Pueblo at 11:30.
We headed out of Pueblo on highway 50. The temperature was over 90 degrees so we wore only t-shirts on top. The 50 is quite a boring road on this stretch; even the views of the mountains in the distance couldn't make this part of the journey go quicker.

Along Highway 50

After about 40 miles, we stopped at Denny's in Cannon City for a cold drink and to reapply sun protection (even with factor 50, my arms were starting to glow by the end of the day). The waitress couldn't get the till to work for our measly 2 cokes. Quite a queue built up behind us. When we got our drinks, we sat in the shade behind the building and enjoyed the breeze. Bill played tag with a beetle and I threw several ice cubes on to the super-heated concrete to see how quickly it would melt.

Dillon Pinnacles

Once we got past Cannon City, the road started to ascend into the San Isabel forest. Both the road and scenery became more interesting. The 50 follows the Arkansas River for many miles, taking advantage of the route already carved by mother nature. We stopped again for fuel at Salida. We used the satnav to direct us to a nonexistent Starbucks, before returning to the McD's by the fuel station. Bill had a large coffee and I had a large strawberry and banana smoothie. I had a small ice cream cone for afters.
Continuing on the 50, we saw many raft companies offering rides on the Arkansas river. I might have been tempted but we had lost a few hours, what with the late start, and Bill wasn't interested; although he would have waited for me. We stopped briefly for a photograph of the mountains and then again to put our coats on when the road ascended further into the Gunnison National Park. The temperature was getting down to the high 60s.

Blue Mesa Reservoir



Our next stop was at the Blue Mesa reservoir. There are a number of mesas in this area but seeing the Dillon Pinnacles rising above the reservoir was a treat. The photographs that I have taken just can't convey the scale of the scene but the trees at the base of the Mesa are full size firs.

Animal Leg :O

Our remaining distance was only 18 miles to Montrose. The road alternated between sharp ascents and descents, prairie land and rocky gorges. I am running out of words to describe the fantastic scenery within West America (I am sure I have already said that).
Montrose is a smallish town. It appeared to be quite a cowboy community with several gents wearing cowboy hats. The roads into town certainly held lots of cattle and horses but spread over large areas of land, not crammed in to small fields. We found our motel easily. It was the usual Motel 6 affair: clean but with a few quirks. There was no shortage of water pressure but you had to choose between dribble or skin creasing torrent. The bedspreads had an Asian look to them and the floors were wood effect. I had a shower as I felt greasy from continual sun cream application. Also the temperature was back up to balmy low 80s, now that we were at lower altitude.

We went to the Red Barn restaurant for an evening meal. The waitresses were friendly but they were busy, so service was a little slow. It was worth waiting for though. Bill had an iceberg lettuce wedge with blue cheese dressing and bacon bits. I had a full on stew containing sirloin beef, carrots, potatoes and other vegetables. It was gorgeous. I couldn't resist a slice of lemon meringue pie for afters. I ate far too much. I also had a Guinness, which cost $5 for not even a pint. Bill had a lite beer. We walked back to the hotel and watched the remainder of the recent 3:10 To Yuma remake on TV. It wasn't very good the last time I watched it either.

After consulting the map, we decided to head to Gateway (as recommended by blown gasket Jim) in the morning and to the motor museum there. From there we may head to Moab, in Utah. I wrote the diary and Bill fell asleep while Star Wars was on the TV. I have not listened to music for a while but I am up to song 249 in the Rolling Stones Magazine Greatest 500 songs album, which is Radioheads's Paranoid Android.

The bike odometer reads 46755 miles, which means we have travelled 228 miles this day.