Tag: Colorado

The Top Five Southern Colorado Motorcycle Roads

By Mike Huber

As an avid motorcyclist it’s easy to appreciate the beauty in each state and for many riders discovering amazing roads that many would overlook can become second nature to us.  Some might even say it’s an art form.  Throughout this vast and beautiful country called the United States of America we are fortunate enough to have a plethora of both paved and dirt roads that are meant to be sought out like the Ark of the Covenant.  These roads are meant to be experienced intimately the only way they can be, on two wheels. Experiencing them on a motorcycle can become a thirst that is never quenched, and although each state has its own unique characteristics, ultimately some will stand out more than others. One state that has that effect for me is Colorado.

Colorado is one of those states that as soon as you ride past the “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign the roads seem to present themselves to you like a feast on a golden platter with an endless amount of wine.   The rides we will review can each be completed in one or two days and are best ridden between late April and early October.  To help with prioritization since there are so many incredible rides we have developed a very complex mathematical rating system of 1 to 5 wheelies (5 being the highest).  The rating uses the following criteria:

    • Road conditions
    • Diversity of riding options
    • Activities along the route
    • Abilities to disperse camp/hotel access
    • Scenery

Route 550:  The Million Dollar Highway

Rated 5 Wheelies

Road Description.  This loop may be one of the greatest roads in all of North America. The road is paved and in immaculate condition.  It combines some of the tightest switchbacks one can expect to experience on a motorcycle. The full route per the map is ~355 miles and can be done in 1 day, but highly recommend taking at least 2-4 to fully experience and immerse yourself in this beautiful part of the country.  There are endless forest roads off 550 to get your fill of dirt riding littered with an infinite amount of beautiful dispersed campsites. Also some wonderful old mining towns rich with history, hiking, restaurants, hotels, and hot springs.

Points of Interest.  There’s no shortage of amazing places to stop along this road.  Below is a small list of the places you should not miss along this route.

    • Silverton is a great little mining town with wonderful people.  It’s a perfect place to load up on supplies if you are camping.  You can warm up after getting some miles in at the Brown Bear Café.
    • Ouray is a beautiful mountain town with several hikes to waterfalls, hot springs, and some wonderful restaurants. My favorite is the Ouray Brewery.
    • Rico is a really tiny town which consists of a great hotel and bar called the Enterprise Bar and Grill, with wonderful people, great food and cold beer.

Where to Stay/Camp.  There is an immense amount of national forest land that can be used to camp on along this loop.  Really any dirt road you ride down will guide you to an epic campsite next to a creek. This makes for a relaxing post ride time to wind down in a hammock, while having a refreshing beverage. The towns of Silverton and Ouray have several hotels that are right in the heart of the town and a short walk to tourist activities and restaurants.

Off-Roading.  There is an endless amount of dirt roads to find here, this goes from flat well-groomed forest roads to find a campsite to the technical challenging mountain passes like Engineer or Imogene Pass (which I have not done due to the size of my GS1200 and conservative riding style).

Out of so many outstanding rides in the state of Colorado, the Million Dollar Highway should be on the top of any list.  This road and area really earn that 5 Wheelie rating due to exceeding each standard for riders of all ability levels. There are so many sights to see along this route that you will never tire of absorbing the beauty that surrounds you in this part of the state. If you are fortunate enough to have the time, doing the loop in reverse can be a great way to add a few more days to your adventure.

Mesa Verde National Park

Rated 5 Wheelies

Road Description.  As soon as you enter Mesa Verde National Park the road begins screaming up in elevation with some incredible views overlooking the valley below you will almost have a sense of vertigo overcome you.  What is wonderful about this feeling as it goes on and on as you travel through the park.  Although the distance from the park entrance to the furthest point is only 28 miles, those miles are filled with numerous overlooks and pullouts that can make this seemingly short ride take 2-3 days.  This is especially true if you are taking in the hikes along the way.  The only piece of concern for this ride is the numerous road snakes in some areas of this ride. Otherwise its full enjoyment as you have a 360 view of the valleys below that outstretch clear into Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Points of Interest.  Since this is a National Park there are ample amounts of short hikes and tours to break up the day(s) you spend in this magical location. A few of the more popular ones are outlined below:

    • The Cliff Palace requires purchasing a tour ticket at Park Visitor Center, but even without one you can walk to the overlook to get a spectacular view of the houses the Hopi built into the cliffs which are all but hidden except from this vantage point.
    • The Balcony House also requires a tour ticket but is well worth it as you can walk through the ruins and really get a sense of the
    • The Knife’s Edge Hike is a great 2-mile hike with little elevation next to Morefield Campground that has incredible sunset views, which enable the rocks to really light up and glow.

Where to Stay/Camp.  Morefield Campground- This is the only campground in the park so making reservations ahead of time is recommended. It is one of the better National Park campgrounds I have stayed at and includes free showers, great Wi-Fi from most campsites (antennas are off the bathrooms), and a launderette, gas, and fully stocked store for all your camping and souvenir needs. There are also several wonderful hiking trails right next to the campground.

Off-Roading.  This is one of the drawbacks of a National Park, as there is no off-roading permitted within the park boundaries.  The beauty and activities from hiking and riding makes up for this shortcoming.

Route 65: Grand Mesa Scenic Byway

Rated 5 Wheelies

Road Description.  Yet another beautiful Colorado mountain road filled with switchbacks that rise in elevation and bring you to over 10,000 feet up and onto the World’s largest Mesa. There are several pullouts along this route to take in the views, but no gas stations from Cedaredge to Mesa (50 miles, but can be close to 100 miles if you are doing the off-road portion) plan accordingly.

Points of Interest. The main point of interest the mesa itself and the amazing views, alpine lakes, dispersed camping, and off-roading.

Where to Stay/Camp. Dispersed camping is plentiful along Rte125 where you can get a lakeside campsite with little issue and make it your own paradise for the evening as you watch the sunset glistening off one of the many alpine lakes. There are also plenty of campgrounds along this way if you are looking for less primitive camping.  Hotels are scattered along this route in the towns of Delta, Mesa, or driving to up Grand Junction for a greater variety of lodging.

Off-Roading.  Route 125 Surface Creek Road is a great 15-mile loop.  This road has you experience the mesa while passing crystal clear alpine lakes with numerous dispersed camping areas.  There is also a 10-mile dirt road in great condition to visit the Lands’ End Observatory. The views off the mesa looking down on the plateau can allow you to see into Utah on a clear day with awe inspiring views.

Route 141: Grand Junction to Naturita

Rated 4.5 Wheelies

Road Description.  This is a low elevation beautifully paved road that is 105 miles long.  This road will have you leaning your ride until you feel the mist kissing your windshield from Dolores River as you pass amazing rust colored mesas that stretch into the sky and rival that of Monument Valley. The road has very little traffic which will allow you to enjoy some solitude as you embrace the scenery you ride through. The only reason this route is rated as 4.5 is the lack of amenities.

Points of Interest.  This road is in quite a desolate area, outside the tiny town of Gateway.  Gateway Canyons General Store is owned and run by the preacher of the church next door to it.  This is the only place to gas up between Grand Junction and Naturita so be sure to check your fuel levels.

Where to Stay/Camp.  Dispersed camping here is plentiful but mainly in one area just south of Grand Junction, Divide Road. This road is a steep switchback dirt road that connects to numerous other roads which are great fun exploring for campsites to settle down in.  There are numerous dispersed sites with beautiful views over the canyon in which you can see the Dolores River running far beneath you.

Off-Roading.  Divide Road also encompasses numerous off-roading opportunities that sprawl out across this mesa.  This is a perfect place to explore for that unique dispersed campsite while hitting some fun dirt to enhance your day.  There are however areas of slippery clay, so if it is raining it can become slick in portions of this road.

Routes 160 and 149: Pagosa Springs to Lake City

Rated 4 Wheelies

Road Description.  This route consists of 45 miles of a four-lane highway on Route 160 that will have you summit at over 10,000 feet.  The road will then drop you into South Fork, Colorado.  This is where you will turn left onto Route 149.  Route 149 will quickly whittle down to a tighter and quieter road for the next 75 miles, which are filled with mountain passes. South Fork is the only town between these areas so make sure you gas up and grab lunch before heading onto the second part of this amazing road.  The next portion will have you speeding across lower elevation prairies and then climbing high into the mountain tundra that will resemble something from another planet before descending into Lake City.

Points of Interest.  I specifically wanted this trip to begin (or end) in Pagosa Springs so you have an opportunity to experience the hot springs in Pagosa.

Where to Stay/Camp. Throughout the ride there is no shortage of camping in both dispersed and paid locations. In Pagosa there are numerous hotels. I prefer the hotel directly across the street from the spa as it is much more affordable then the spa and in a great location.  For Lake City, the Matterhorn is a beautiful Swiss style motel which will allow you a solid night’s sleep at a great price. It’s a perfect spot to recharge if you are going to take on some of the more challenging off-road portions in Colorado the following day.

Off-Roading.  Lake City is the starting point for some of the more serious off-roading mountain passes, such as a few of the most popular passes including Cinnamon and Engineer.  Both of these passes surpass 12,000 feet.  If you crave technical off-roading challenges with views that can’t be beat, these are the two passes I recommend.

Conclusions

Southern Colorado is a rider’s paradise, and a region that should not be missed for riders of all experience levels. Other avid motorcyclists have also recommended these roads to me, which reinforces my approval for these routes and motivated me to write this comprehensive layout to help others. I hope this breakout has been helpful and serves as a reason to visit Southern Colorado and have the riding experience of a lifetime.

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A Colorado Jeep Story

On a recent secret mission to southeastern Colorado, the rental car agency at Denver International Airport was down to Nissans.  I hate Nissans, and I asked the rental car dude if anything else was available.  “Just a couple of Jeep Wranglers,” said dude responded.  Hmmm.  I always thought it might be cool to have a Jeep.  I could pretend I was Joe Gresh.

Yours truly, looking like Rambo (or maybe Joe Gresh) in the Denver International Airport rental car plaza.

“I’m in,” I said, and I was in in my very own Jeep Wrangler of the two-door turbocharged four persuasion.  Short.  Choppy.  Uncomfortable.  Gas guzzling.  But a lot of fun.  Gresh, I get it.  I want one.  Not enough to buy one, but enough to rent one again.

There’s a turbocharged 4-banger somewhere in there.

You can buy a Jeep with four engines this year:

      • The standard V-6 3.6 liter
      • The same V-6 with an electronic motor hybrid deal (it sounds on the Jeep site like it’s not an Al Gore eco thing, but more of an assist for rock crawling).
      • A turbocharged smaller four-banger (a price delete option, which is a nice way of saying it’s an option that lowers the price of the new Jeep).
      • A 392-cubic-inch hemi.  Just for grins I looked for a dealer online that had one of these $80K hemi Jeeps in stock, and I found one. It’s an $88K Jeep that gets 17 mpg on the highway and 13 in the city.   Here in the People’s Republik, gas is well over $6.00 per gallon.  Filling up my Subaru cost $95.12 yesterday.

My rental car had the turbo four banger and it still sucked fuel like a politician seeking campaign donations.  At first I thought it was not going to be so bad because the instrument info center said I was averaging over 20 miles per gallon, but when I got out on the freeway at 77 mph it said my instant fuel economy was in the “you’ve got to be kidding me” category. That little 4-banger was actually doing worse than what Jeep claimed the 392 Hemi would get.

My istantaneous fuel economy at the time I took this photo was 16 mpg. That was on cruise control at 77 mph. I never could get back to this screen.

I suppose I might as well get the negative stuff out of the way first.  For starters, fuel economy was atrocious.  But then, folks don’t buy Wranglers for their fuel economy.  And on that subject, I found that switching between screens to get the fuel economy info was tricky…tricky enough that I couldn’t find my way back to the instant fuel economy screen.  Maybe the Jeep genies thought I didn’t need to know.  Some things are better left unsaid, I suppose.

Another negative, which is maybe a positive, is that my Jeep felt gangly to me.  Not as in tattoos and gats, but as in unsteady on its feet and ready to tip over (think of me putting my pants on in the morning and you’ll get the picture).  Part of that was due to the Jeep’s height and its extremely tight turning radius (small steering wheel inputs made for huge course corrections, and on the freeway steering that barn door at nearly 80 mph it was all a bit unsettling).  On a dirt road, though, K turns become a thing of the past.  This thing can turn on a dime and give you nine cents change.  It can make a U-turn on a two lane road.

Monster fobs. Hard to lose. Easy to inadvertently activate.

The key fobs were huge, and I guess that’s okay, but I found I was unlocking the Wrangler or setting off the panic alarm damn near every time I put the key fobs in my pocket, or if I stuck my hand in my pocket to get my chapstick or anything else.

Cargo space?  As the Sopranos might say, fuhgeddaboutit.  The rental car dude folded the rear bench seat up, but it wouldn’t stay up, and even when it did, there really wasn’t any room for my gear.  You’re not going to be taking a lot of stuff with you in a two-door Wrangler.   That pretty much killed it for me as a rifle range car.  I wouldn’t be able to get all my shooting gear in there.

Wind noise is another issue.  Oddly, it didn’t bother me when I was driving, even at freeway speeds.  But no one could hear or understand me on a Bluetooth telephone conversation.  Two folks gave up altogether and just hung up.  Maybe that’s a good thing.

Seriously? This is the kind of fit and finish we get on an American legend, a descendent of the vehicle that helped us win World War II?

One last point…although the overall build quality seemed to be pretty good, Jeep lost me from a quality perspective with the fuel filler cap fit.  It looks like the production tolerances were either not met or they were assigned by an AutoCad jockey who went to the Doris Day school of mechanical design.

The good news?  Well, the good news is that there’s lots of good news.  I fell in love with my Jeep.  It was cool and I felt cool driving it.  And even though it was tall enough to make getting in and out difficult, I knew almost immediately I’d be renting one on my next secret mission.  I don’t need the Aston Martin and its machine guns, smoke dispensers, and ejection seat.  For my secret missions, I want a Jeep.

Man, that Jeep was fun.  Once I got over the difference in feel between it and  a regular car, I felt invincible.  Seriously.  I mean, I’m a 71-year-old Jewish kid from New Jersey with a different doctor for damn near every organ in my body, but I still felt invincible in my Wrangler.   I was driving directly into a Colorado hailstorm east of the Rocky Mountains at close to 80 mph, but I was in a Jeep.  Gresh, I get it.   It’s a power thing.

I am Rambo. Bring it on.

After the hail passed and I was back on the road, I found another plus:  The headlights actually lit up the road, even on low beam, and that’s something I had not experienced in any rental car in a while.

Imagine that: Headlights that actuallly work!

So I was out there in cow country and the center of an ag world, doing my secret mission thing and having fun like I always do.   Way off in the distance from the secret mission du jour there’s a couple of hills called Two Buttes (it’s actually one hill with two peaks).  I had always wanted to ride out to Two Buttes and see what it was all about.  I knew a Jeep wasn’t really essential, but the combination of longer days (more sunlight), the draw of a place unexplored, the dirt roads to get there, and my Jeep worked its magic.

Headed into the Two Buttes State Wildlife Area.

From the main road, Two Buttes looks like it would be easy to find and easy to find my way around.  Like elections, though, what you think you’re going to get and what you actually get aren’t often the same.   When I got closer to the Two Beauts, I found the area was a maze of dirt roads laid out in no particular order.  The guys I was working with on my secret mission told me about a hidden lake, and my objective was to find it and grab a few photos.  Waze was sketchy as hell out there in farmroadland, but I didn’t care.  I was in a Jeep.

Ah, success. The lake and the Jeep, as seen through my iPhone’s wide angle lens.
Another photo of the lake, or pond, or whatever it actually is called.
A beauty shot of the Jeep Wrangler.

I explored, I shot a bunch of iPhone photos, and I had a good time.  I want a Jeep.  I’m not going to get one.  But I want one.

My last photo of the day, leaving the Two Buttes State Wildlife Area.

Maybe it would be even more fun with the 392 Hemi.   I did a bit more research, and I learned that Jeep only introduced the 392 Hemi this year, in 2022.  It seems that the new Ford Bronco (you can read our mini-review of it here) will be offered with a V8 in their Bronco Raptor package and Chrysler felt compelled to counter.  Hey, whatever floats your boat.  I found this 392 Hemi Jeep review and I thought you might find it interesting.

A Jeep.  Who’da thought.  A Jeep.  Man, it was fun.

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A cool T-shirt, a cool review, and the Wizard of Oz…

A quick few updates today, folks…

Good buddy Chris sent this photo to us a yesterday wearing a T-shirt he said was made with ExhaustNotes in mind.  I think I agree…

More good news…you can now buy Destinations through Motorcycle Classics magazine.   They gave a nice review, and if you click on the photo below, it will take you to the MC store.

Things are hopping in Colorado.  I got caught in a hail storm yesterday on a drive through the eastern part of the state, and the weather was ominous.   They tell me a tornado touched down about 6 miles from where I was.  The weather is similarly imposing today…here’s a photo showing the skies a few minutes ago…

Fun times.    There’s a joke in that photo somewhere about not being in Kansas anymore.

A note from Peter…

We had a nice note from our good buddy Peter today, an ardent ADV rider, Norton fan, and fellow Mesa Verde enthusiast…

Joe, I enjoyed your post about Mesa Verde today. A few years ago Sara and I spent the night there and toured the ruins. We agree, photos don’t give the appropriate scale. Our guide made the whole place seem alive! With that said, there are at least two notable things about Dolores. First, they have a pretty decent motel right on the main drag. It’s owned by a Swede (cannot remember his name) and about 4 blocks away they have a good brew pub. Second, just outside of town you’ll find Colorado Norton Works.   Matt Rambo (another Swede) is the owner. He has a very small shop that, as I recall, lacks any kind of sign. Inside you will find a motorcycle shop that closely resembles an operating theater, it’s that spotless. Matt will take your Norton and totally rebuild it from the frame up. The end product is absolutely beautiful and improved in so many ways I cannot remember them all. Matt and John Snead (owns a CNC machine shop in Jacksonville, FL) have also designed an improved electric start system for Nortons. I mention all this because you owe it to yourself to visit the shop, meet Matt, and drool over his rolling jewelry. You’ll love it!

Matt and John are both friends of mine. I have visited Matt’s shop three times and even stayed at his house on one trip.

Peter

Thanks for taking the time to write and convey your thoughts, Peter.  I had heard of Colorado Norton Works from Gerry Edwards, another good friend.  He spoke of them in reverential terms.

For those of you who don’t know, Dolores is a nice little Colorado town just up the road from Mesa Verde.   When my good buddy Marty and I rode the Three Flags Rally in 2005 and visited Mesa Verde (my first time there), we rode along the Dolores River into the town of Dolores.  It was pouring rain that day, but we had decent weather during our earlier stop at Mesa Verde.

Somewhere in New Mexico, with good buddy Marty on the 2005 Three Flags Rally. One of these days I’ll post more photos from that trip here on the ExhaustNotes blog. It was one hell of a ride!

Ride safe, Peter, and again, thanks for your note!

Mesa Verde, Colorado…

Sue and I stopped at interesting spots on our way home from Tinfiny Ranch earlier this month, and one of them was Mesa Verde National Park.   I first went there on the 2005 Three Flags Rally with my buddy Marty.  On that visit, Marty and I were only there for a quick stop, and I knew it was a place that needed more time.

At the Mesa Verde National Park entrance. It would be another 1000-ft climb and 14 miles of glorious twisties to get to the good stuff.

Mesa Verde is just outside of Cortez, in southwestern Colorado.  It’s a great little town.

The whole idea behind Mesa Verde National Park is that Native Americans lived in advanced cliff dwellings about a thousand years ago.  It’s real Indiana Jones stuff.

A shot I showed on Facebook a week or so ago. Folks told me it looked fake, and I needed a photo with some people in it to give a sense of scale.
As requested.

The place was amazing.  We were up on a huge mesa looking down into dramatic canyons, and these dwellings were built into overhangs and crevasses in the canyon walls…

The Tower structure. Several of these little villages had a tower like the one you see in this photo. Maybe the chiefs lived there?
Another hamlet.
A view from across the canyon at another set of dwellings, this time with my 70-300 lens. All of the other photos were with a 24-120 lens.

While we were there, we met a nice young guy named Tom, a Canadian artist traveling through the US on a motorcycle…

Captain Tom…
Tom’s ride, a rented Honda Africa Twin.

Tom was an interesting man and a world traveler.  He gave his card to us and I visited Tom’s website.   He’s been to many of the same spots Sue and I have visited, including Turkey (one of the world’s best-kept tourist destination secrets) and southeast Asia (another best-kept secret).  You should take a peek at Tom’s site; it’s awesome.

Cool stuff, to be sure.   One last Mesa Verde photo today, folks…my signature selfie…

In the painted bumper of my blue Subie…

When we were planning this trip, I asked Gobi (that’s Joe Gresh) what he recommended on the ride back to California. One of his suggestions was the Petrified Forest in Arizona.   That’s next, folks.   Stay tuned!

Going Nowhere, Slowly

Four-Sixty-Three!

A gentle rain of cinders descends upon passengers in the open-air cattle car. Shifting side to side, now a hard lurch, has you reaching, drunk-walking to the beat. People sway in time to the rails and the rails play a tune older than wax-cylinder recordings. Engine Number Four-Sixty-Three chuffs black, riot-grade smoke as the tracks gradually rise into the tailings of the Rocky Mountains in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.

It’s beautiful, isn’t it?

Fire is the driving force behind the Cumbres & Toltec line. The tender hitched to Four-Sixty-Three glistens with dark, crumbling coal trailing a peat-tane scent. This is the good stuff, before coal became clean and beautiful. The tracks steepen; Four-Sixty-Three’s breathing becomes labored. The chuffs are farther apart in time but not distance. The fireman shovels more coal into the boiler. Steam pressure rises, pile it on man, let’s get this iron horse moving.

Tenderly stoking the fire…
I think I can…I think I can…
Adding new meaning to bore and stroke.

We climb higher, waxy shrubs and rabbits give way to deer and pines. The air cools and each sigh from Four-Sixty-Three’s smokestack hangs in the air marking the exact spot it escaped the inferno. The little train spews water vapor from several ports. It drools water near the drive wheels, jowly and unpettable. Geysers of high pressure water shoot out the side of the engine at random, but no doubt necessary, intervals.

We left Antonito, Colorado three hours, twenty-five miles, and thousands of gallons of water ago. The scenery is aboriginal: landslides, mountain streams, hard cuts through solid rock and lonely cabins pressed to the ground. We are burning our way across eons of metamorphic western land.

Great rides on great rails…
A magic ride through amazing lands…

The Cumbres & Toltec stops for lunch midway between Antonito and Chama. Of the two options, I pick meatloaf because turkey is for Thanksgiving. It’s an assembly line operation but the food is tasty, old style and all you can eat. Fitting for a vintage steam train ride.

Water pours out onto the ground. Between the elbow of the tower and the chute there’s a 6-inch gap. Four-Sixty-Three guzzles the water as fast as it can flow into the boiler. The steam whistle blows twice and steam-torque pulls us away from the feed bag higher into the mountains where the spruce trees are dying from beetles and fungus.

The line into Chama is bumpy and downhill. In places Highway 17 parallels the railroad track. Old men stop their cars to photograph Four-Sixty-Three comin’ round the bend. The whistle blows and camera shutters release to freeze a moment from the past today. Four-Sixty-Three pulls into Chama a half-hour late. Missing the schedule is death to a train man. They apologize and ask forgiveness.

For people not staying in Chama a modern motor coach whisks passengers back to Antonio in one hour. The same voyage that took us nine hours by train. I feel sorry for those poor people, they’ll never get that hour back.