Road Trip #5 - Day 3, The Ride to Cortez

August 21, 2011
Colorado, USA

What a great ride! We rested well last night in our cozy room at the Mecca Motel, probably a little too well as we didn't get as early a start as we thought we might. Rain rolled through overnight but The Ride was covered and all was dry by the time we rose. We rolled northwest out of Colorado Springs on Hwy 24 about mid-morning, under mostly blue skies in search of breakfast. Denim jackets were sufficient to ward off the chill of the morning after a rainy night.

A blogger friend recommended The Hungry Bear Restaurant in Woodland Park not too long ago so we rolled in and put our name on the list along with half the rest of the world. After waiting a while we spotted a couple of empty seats at the bar that suited us fine. Thanks for the recommendation motoroz of Just an Ordinary Biker Blog! We loved The Hungry Bear. It is definitely our kind of place. What we could see of the decor (the place was packed) was what some would call dated. I call it homey and quaint. The bear collection is amazing. The coffee was hot and rich and they kept it coming. The pancakes we ordered with our two egg/3 bacon breakfast were fantastic. The wait staff were all friendly and efficient. Sorry, it all looked so good I didn't even think about taking a photo before digging in. Ha! Not to worry - there will be a next time.

We rolled west now out of Woodland Park, still traveling on Hwy 24. This part of our journey would take us over Ute Pass (9165 elevation) between Divide and Florissant, then over Wilkerson Pass (9507 elevation) between Florissant and Hartsell where the panoramic view of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Mountain Range looming over the valley basin is jaw-dropping. Scenic Hwy 24 travels over Trout Creek Pass (9346 elevation) between Hartsell and Johnson Village before junctioning with Hwy 285. Traveling south now along one of our favorite roads, we rode beside the majestic Collegiate Peaks to Salida (detouring through downtown Salida - just for the fun of it) before heading south again through Poncha Springs. Just a few miles south of Poncha Springs we traveled over Poncha Pass (11,312 elevation). The approach to this pass is so mild you don't even realize it is a pass until you feel the chill of altitude or see the summit sign.

We followed Hwy 285 all the way to Monte Vista which we haven't visited in a long while. The road was great and the travel was easy. We picked up Hwy 160 west out of Monte Vista rolling toward South Fork looking forward to riding Wolf Creek Pass (10,850 elevation). This pass is one of our favorite rides. I never get over it, especially from this direction without the tune to C.W. McCall's song of the same name ringing in my head -- Wolf Creek Pass, way up on the Great Divide... Truckin' on down the other side... Right in the middle of the whole damn show was a real nice tunnel, now wouldn't you know? Sign says clearance to the twelve-foot line, but the chickens was stacked to thirteen-nine. Well we shot that tunnel at a hundred-and-ten, like gas through a funnel and eggs through a hen, and we took that top row of chickens off slicker than scum off a Lousiana swamp. Went down and around and around and down 'til we run outta ground at the edge of town. Bashed into the side of the feed store... in downtown Pagosa Springs. Wolf Creek Pass, way up on the Great Divide... Truckin' on down the other side...

Skies near Durango CO

Cortez was the destination we had in mind. Between Pagosa Springs and Durango the skies got much more interesting. The clouds were dark, sparking lightning and the rain shafts looked ominous. We ran into light rain near Durango and wasted no time getting out of the edge of the city and through the canyon on the other side. We traveled in and out of light rain all the way to Cortez. The rain got heavier as we entered town. We looked at motels, but quickly decided on one for which I remembered good reviews. We managed to get checked into the Tomahawk Lodge, hurriedly unpacked and got The Ride covered before the downpour. We had heavy rain, thunder and lightning the rest of the evening. Now, there was fast food a short walk away but it would be an ankle deep, wet walk. Tim found beer in a mad dash at a convenience store in the gas station across the street. I found a Pizza Hut in the phone book and ordered pizza and wings. We iced the beer down in one of the room's trash cans and dined at the small table in our room.

The Tomahawk Lodge is as nice as the reviews. Extremely clean and comfortable. The owner is very nice. She and one of her two huge black and white great danes (his name is Harley) greeted us immediately with a smile. She was happy to show us the room first. We will stay here three nights...

This day's mileage = 359 miles over five passes.

Slide show of today's ride (86 photos):