Colorado Weekend - Day Three - The Ride

September 23, 2008
Fort Collins, CO

Colorado Weekend - Day Three - Part One - The Ride

Once again, there are too many pictures for a single slide show so I've split this day into two posts: The Ride and Bishop's Castle.

We rose a little later than the day before, grabbed a quick bite at the continental breakfast bar at the motel, said hello to our new friends from Georgia and headed out about 9 am. Today, the idea was to head south toward Canon City and San Isabel Forest...

I won't say we were lost (because, as Dad always says, we still had gas), but we spent a while driving the streets at the base of Cheyenne Mountain. We found the entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Seven Falls, noted the direction of Helen Hunt Falls, drove past the vast estate of the Hotel Broadmoor, I saw the statue of Will Rogers on the side of the mountain and more. We finally back-tracked to where we might have made a wrong turn and sure enough found Hwy 115.

It was a great morning to be on the road. By the time, we neared Florence, it was time to gas up and stretch our legs. We stopped at a Shell Station, apparently the best place to fill up a motorcycle because there were about twelve in the parking lot and at the pumps. We filled up, and rested a while at a picnic table while many more bikes stopped or passed by in groups and pairs and singles. One biker we met, pulled in next to us. While chatting, Tim found out he was originally from Wichita Falls. He had been in Colorado about twenty years.

Next stop - San Isabel Forest and Bishop's Castle. The morning had warmed, so we shed our leather jackets, a decision we somewhat regretted a few miles down the road. The road near Westcliffe turns south into San Isabel Forest. We had forgotten the road went over Bigelo Divide (Summit about 8000 or so in elevation) so it got cold quick. Bishop's Castle is about 12 or 13 miles into the forest on the west side of the twisting, turning road. It was a great ride. We haven't been to the castle for several years and were eager to see the progress.

Soon, we rounded the bend in the road and laid eyes on the castle. Across the highway, was a long row of parked motorcycles and lots of people walking around in leathers. The castle has grown considerably over the years and the story is interesting. It is a castle, made from native stone, the handiwork of three generations of the Bishop family over nearly 40 years. The castle started as a stone cottage for the Bishop family in 1969. They lived in primitive conditions for many years. We explored and climbed and marveled like most of the kids running about. We did not climb to the top. It is 160 feet to the top of the tallest tower.

We enjoyed the visit until some liberal left wing lunatic started spouting anti-American hate speech to the crowd. We made the last few rounds and left along with the rest of our fellow bikers before we killed the SOB. We drowned him out with the horn and the sounds of motorcycle engines. Too bad. The castle operates off of donations... they didn't get any money from most of us that day.

The road took us past San Isabel Lake, as peaceful as ever, eventually out of the forest and onto the high plains into Colorado City where we stopped for a stretch at the rest stop beside I-25. We met a couple at the rest stop, up from Austin and on their way to Estes Park for a week. The man graduated from Old High (WFHS) in the sixties.

We rode I-25 north into Pueblo. I said we have to stop at The Cracker Barrel to eat. Imagine my surprise, when Tim drove past the Cracker Barrel to The Outpost - Harley-Davidson Dealership. The place was packed with bikes and people. The dealership was having their annual open house, HOG party and bike rally. We mingled in the crowd for a few minutes until the too loud rap music drove us inside. We bought a couple of t-shirts and left soon after. I threatened Tim with his life if he rode past the restaurant again. ha!

After a good meal and a little rest at The Cracker Barrel, we rode I-25 back into the Springs. Relaxing in front of the motel for the last evening, we visited with the folks from Georgia and a biker lady from Iowa who pulled up a chair, with her cigarette and mixed drink and asked if we knew a better way back to Iowa than through Kansas or Nebraska. We thought this was a trick question. Tim showed her the east-west highways out of Colorado on the map. Nebraska requires the wearing of a helmet across their state so we figure they took I-70 east across Kansas. We watched two young deer haphazardly cross the street at dusk and graze for a while in front of the motel. We were still full from our late lunch so we walked to the Subway down the street and had an ice cream in a waffle cone before turning in for the night.

Total mileage - Day three - approximately 195 miles