The 2009 South Family Motorcycle Trip:
Mountains and Moisture in New Mexico and Colorado
Friday May 15
My dad and brother rode from the Dallas area to my home in Weatherford, OK, about 275 miles. After they arrived, we did some last-minute bike preparations. I had spent the last day or so installing a late 1970s Windjammer SS fairing onto my 1982 Suzuki GS1100E. After solving some mounting issues (the Windjammer bracket was for a GS850) the fairing was in place and solidly mounted. We cut about 6” from the top of the windshield with a jigsaw and smoothed it with a belt sander and hand sander.
Then my brother decided that his Triumph Trophy 1200 needed highway bars for comfort. He located a bracket under the fairing which holds the radiator and oil cooler. We went to the hardware store and sourced some 1/2” steel tube, some u-bolts, and some metric nuts. He welded one of the metric nuts onto one end of the 1/2” tube and cleaned up the threads with a tap. This nut (and the tube) was chosen to allow a passenger foot peg from the Triumph to thread into it, with another nut to locate it rotationally. He found the point where a hole needed to be placed in the fairing and drilled on each side. After sliding the tube through the hole, he attached the u-bolts to the radiator bracket and welded the nut on the opposite side. A future modification will allow the tube to unscrew in the middle for easy removal. We finished up the highway bar modification about 11:30 and went to bed.
Saturday May 16 Weatherford, OK to Tucumcari, NM
When we stopped for gas in Elk City (OK), some idiot in an SUV had gone inside with the gas nozzle still pumping. Unfortunately the automatic shutoff malfunctioned, and when the tank was full, gasoline began to spill onto the ground. I ran over and shut off the filler nozzle and later the staff at the station spread some oil-dry. The owner of the SUV thanked me sheepishly, but seemed unaware of the potential disaster he had caused. Luckily no one was smoking near the pumps! Almost a Darwin Award nominee.
It began to sprinkle and we stopped to put on our rain gear only a few miles down the road. As soon as we had the gear on, it quit raining and the rain suits were hot. So we stopped to remove them, only to have it rain AGAIN in a few more miles. This happened numerous times throughout the day.
We stopped at a relatively new rest stop east of Amarillo for a bathroom break and to adjust our clothing with the changing temperature. This picture shows the three bikes clearly – my brother’s 2001 Triumph Trophy 1200 (check out those custom highway pegs!), my dad’s 1994 BMW R1100RS, and my 1982 Suzuki GS1100E with a Windjammer SS fairing.
We stopped for lunch in Amarillo in rain. When we left it was still raining a little, but we’d stop soon to change OUT of rain gear yet again. We stopped for a break in San Jon, NM. This was originally going to be where we would turn north to camp at Ute Lake State Park, but cold and rain made us decide instead to spend the night at a motel in nearby Tucumcari. Tucumcari is a prototypical Route 66 town in the middle of nowhere. There are probably 15-20 1940’s era motels in town, most in less-than-pristine condition. There are also some kitschy signs and establishments. We ate dinner in a Mexican food restaurant with a giant sombrero as its roof. Across the street from our motel was the Apache Motel (great sign) and the Tepee (or TeePee) Curio Shop.
Sunday May 17
Tucumcari to Bernalillo (through the Sandia Mountains)
Tucumcari to Bernalillo (through the Sandia Mountains)
The morning broke with sunshine. It was to be one of only two days in the trip which were rain-free. We had a leisurely breakfast at the motel and chatted with two older men, both from Denmark. They were traveling Route 66 from Chicago all the way to the west coast and then up to British Columbia.
Visible from our hotel was a butte with a giant “T” marked in chalk. The butte also provided the platform for all the local communications antennas.
After it warmed a little, we loaded the bikes and headed west. Our first stop was in Santa Rosa, known for natural lakes, including the famous Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is an artesian well some 60 feet in diameter and 81 feet deep. It is popular with scuba divers throughout a multi-state region.
We headed west again on I-40 and turned north on NM 14. This highway goes along the eastern side of the Sandia Mountains. We had lunch in Cedar Crest, and then turned west on NM 536 for our first real mountain riding of the trip. NM 536 goes all the way to Sandia Peak (10,678 feet) and provides a great ride. The peak has a gift shop, a snack bar, and a lookout point from which the entire city of Albuquerque and all its suburbs can be seen. Spectacular!
The three of us on top of Sandia Peak:
The view south to more mountains, with Albuquerque on the right.
From there, we had planned to take a road to Placitas, then over to Bernalillo. However, we missed the turn and when we stopped for directions we discovered that the road to Placitas is a dirt road – not suitable for street bikes carrying camping gear! We detoured almost all the way to Santa Fe, then down I-25 to Bernalillo. We pulled into the Coronado Campground along the Rio Grande and found a campsite with a three-sided concrete shelter. For comfort, we pitched our tent inside the shelter (we all had air mattresses) .
This view has huge cottonwood trees along the Rio Grande with the Sandia mountains in the background lit by an orange sunset.
Monday May 18 Bernalillo to Aztec
The next morning brought with it a beautiful sunrise:
I took a short hike down to the Rio Grande but heavy undergrowth prevented me from getting any closer than this:
Along the way back was an arroyo filled with tumbleweeds – some from this year, some from previous years.
After a quick stop at possibly the Wal-Mart with the world’s prettiest backdrop for replacement air mattresses, we departed for Aztec on US 550.
A gas stop in San Ysidro provided a view of the White Mesa (actually much farther away than it appears in this photo):
After passing through Cuba, NM we turned northwest towards Bloomfield and Aztec. The scenery was rugged and beautiful. The road was a divided highway with a 75mph speed limit and lots of long high speed sweepers. Fun!
We stopped for a drink in Counselor, a tiny town just outside the Jicarilla Apache reservation. The area is beautiful; desert highlands with mesas of multicolored rock.
We departed Counselor thinking that we would soon be having a late lunch in Aztec, where one of my father’s cousins has a ranch along the Animas River. Unfortunately, fate had a different plan. About 50 miles from Aztec, my dad felt his rear tire going down in the BMW. We stopped and patched it (it was a large hole with no visible nail or other object). After getting air back in the tire, we saw that the sidewall was damaged and had a couple of bubbles. We decided to go slowly on our way and try to nurse it to Aztec. About two miles later, the sidewall blew out, sounding like a shotgun. Now there was no repair possible, since the blowout had left a hole a couple of inches long in the sidewall.
We called my dad’s cousin Tony in Aztec, who borrowed a trailer and came to our rescue. While waiting for him to arrive, we located a replacement tire at Four Corners Harley Davidson in Farmington, NM – only eight miles from Aztec. Since I was the one with a fluorescent yellow-green jacket, I directed traffic to the next lane while we waited and while the bike was loaded and secured on the trailer. It is very fortunate that our tire problem occured less than an hour from Tony's house and on a Monday when a shop was open to purchase a new tire.
Once we arrived in Aztec, we unloaded the bike, then had an incredible meal of home-cooked New Mexican food (which is very different from Tex-Mex and wonderfully delicious). Tony took us to Farmington to pick up the tire, and showed us around his ranch.
This is the view from the back of Tony and Pat’s home to the Animas River. Most of the land in the picture is their ranch. In a desert highlands area, this river bottom looks like an oasis.
On the way to see the river, we saw Rocky Mountain Mule Deer grazing in a field.
The Animas River (swollen with the spring thaw) and clouds illuminated by the sunset behind us.
A dramatic sunset capped the day.
Tuesday May 19 Aztec, NM to Gunnison, CO
After re-installing the BMW wheel with its new tire, we said goodbye to Tony and Pat in Aztec.
We loaded our bikes and headed north into Colorado on US 550. We arrived shortly in Durango, and after a little construction-related delay were on our way to Silverton. The climb out of Durango is beautiful, and soon we were seeing snow on the ground in the mountains around us. After riding across desert for two days the snow looked pretty good.
We stopped at Coal Bank Pass (10, 640 feet) for another group picture.
An overlook provided a stunning view of the mountains beyond:
As we were getting on our bikes again, a raven was putting on a mating display only a few feet from us.
We descended into Silverton and continued on to Ouray over the Red Mountain Pass (11,018 feet). The road from Silverton to Ouray is called the Million Dollar Highway and boasts spectacular views, numerous hairpin switchbacks, and great riding. Unfortunately, this was yet another day when we were to experience rain alternating with dry. We rode frequently on wet roads although no rain was falling on us at the time. It was a thrilling (and terrifying) experience to have the most challenging riding of the trip occur in the wet! When we arrived in Ouray, the sun was beginning to shine again.
Ouray bills itself the “Switzerland of the USA” and it is a beautiful town:
We walked around for a half hour or so and took pictures before heading to Montrose. In Montrose we had a late lunch and put on rain gear for the ride on US 50 to Gunnison. Rain was once again our companion. The ride from Montrose to Gunnison was less twisty but offered lots of beautiful views of mountains to the south.
We arrived in Gunnison as the rain was ending and found a motel room. As we checked into the room, we noticed an incredible sight – a complete double rainbow! Without a wide-angle lens, I could only capture parts of it. The “W” on the mountain stands for Western State College of Colorado, which is in Gunnison. It is alleged to be the largest collegiate symbol in the USA.
Every part of the spectrum of visible light was present, as you can see:
We walked to the Gunnisack, a restaurant in downtown Gunnison and had a great dinner. We did a little laundry that night and retired.
Wednesday, May 20 Touring in the Gunnison Area
Wednesday morning was beautiful, but rain was in the forecast. We headed north from Gunnison on CO 135, then turned on Ohio Creek Road. Very shortly, beautiful mountains in the West Elk Wilderness became visible.
As we reached the intersection of Ohio Creek Road and Carbon Creek Road, both roads became gravel roads and we did not want to continue past the pavement. Castle Mountain was also visible:
This area holds special significance to our family because my parents attended Western State College to earn their Masters degrees. We towed a travel trailer to Gunnison every summer from 1970-1977. Carbon Creek was our favorite fishing area for catching native brook trout, which we did on a regular basis. Here is my brother Richard and I in front of the sign:
And here is Carbon Creek, near its confluence with the larger Ohio Creek.
We returned to CO 135 and began the ascent towards Crested Butte. Shortly before arriving in Crested Butte, it began to rain and we put our gear on. I also snapped this picture of the mountains above Crested Butte.
Crested Butte (like Ouray) is a great little town whose primary industry now is tourism in the summer and skiing in the winter. Historically, it was a mining town, and has many Victorian era buildings.
We ate a great lunch in Karolina’s Kitchen, in a historic building with hand-hewn walls. Karolina herself (the proprietress) was our waitress, and served humor and biting sarcasm along with the food!
After lunch we rode up to the ski area, and snapped this shot of Crested Butte from there:
A sculpture depicting epic battle between knight and dragon decorates the south entrance to Crested Butte.
We rode back to Gunnison and took a nap. After feeling refreshed we mounted up again and rode to Pitkin, another picturesque old mining town. The city hall was built in 1900:
Downtown Pitkin:
After the ride we visited some old acquaintances in Gunnison and enjoyed the company.
Thursday, May 21 Gunnison to Pagosa Springs
The day looked good when we got up. I strolled the area around the motel and took some pictures.
Forrest Dorman, a local chainsaw sculptor, has carved several trees in the park next to our motel. I particularly liked this one:
We left Gunnison knowing rain would eventually come again, and stopped in Lake City to don rainsuits. As we left Lake City in light rain for Slumgullion Pass, we were warned of snow at the top of the pass. As we got within a few hundred feet of the summit (11,530 feet), the rain turned to snow. The temperature was above freezing, so it was not sticking on the road, but it was beginning to collect in the spruce and fir trees, creating a beautiful and peaceful scene. Unfortunately, there was no place to stop to take pictures! For about a half mile, there was slush forming on the road, but as we descended, the snow turned back to rain.
We stopped at a scenic turnoff to rest and talk about the snow, and I dropped my bike. It was a forward sloping area, and the bike rolled as I lowered it, folding back the kickstand. An embarrassing moment for sure. No damage resulted, so we picked it up and relaxed. The turnoff happened to be a place to view the headwaters of the Rio Grande, the third longest river in the lower 48 states. Here it is:
We rode into Creede, another historic mining town built in a canyon.
Even their fire department is built into a mountain. I’m not sure if this was a former mine or if it was created for this purpose. Either way it’s cool. Right next to it is an expansive city complex with meeting rooms, gift shop and mining museum.
Outside the gift shop we saw everyone’s favorite Colorado rodent, the chipmunk.
Leaving Creede, we traveled to South Fork and saw these mountains along the way. We stopped to put on rain suits here for about the hundredth time this trip.
We crossed Wolf Creek Pass (10, 857 feet) and spent the night in Pagosa Springs. Wolf Creek Ski Area boasts over 360 inches of snow per year – the most in Colorado. We stayed at another 1940s motor court – this one with a grill and cantina next door. We made the most of the rain inside the cantina for the evening.
Friday May 22 Pagosa Springs, CO to Springer, NM
We headed south on US 84 towards Chama, NM in clouds but no rain. Our first photo stop was for this scenic view:
Richard and my dad both wear glasses and prefer modular full-face helmets
After some nice riding and crossing the Continental Divide for the fourth time on our trip, we got to Chama and filled up. There were more nice twisties and sweepers until we reached Tres Piedras, when the road turned VERY flat and straight as we crossed the Rio Grande Valley. Nearing Taos, with mountains in the background, we crossed the Rio Grande and its Gorge. After seeing the headwaters of the Rio Grande only one day earlier, it was astonishing to see the giant canyon carved by this powerful river.
The town of Taos and the Taos Pueblo nestle at the base of this mountain range, which contains Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico at 13,161 feet.
We continued on to Questa (#3 on the map) for a late lunch. A burger with New Mexico green chiles – wow was it tasty! After lunch we turned east towards the small town of Red River. Unbeknownst to us, Red River is the home each Memorial Day weekend of a gigantic motorcycle rally. As we came into town (at 2 PM on Friday), there were already at least 500 bikes there. Traffic was bumper to bumper, temporary stop signs were set up at each intersection and lots of vendor tents were set up. Rallies are not really our thing, so we went straight through town. As we approached the edge of town, it began to rain again, so we donned our rainsuits and proceeded in the rain. We met maybe a hundred Harley riders in bandanas (many clad in T-shirts) in the rain. Most were ducked behind their windscreens for protection; only a few wore helmets or rain gear. Whatever. For some of “The Faithful,” appearance is much more important than function. They do have pretty bikes. My bike is pretty much the polar opposite of that philosophy: very functional, with a fairing that doesn’t match the rest of the bike (yet).
After a beautiful ride through Cimarron Canyon, we decided again to stay in a motel rather than camp. Because of the rally, we decided to get as far from Red River as possible that evening, so we rode on to Springer, a small town off I-25. We stayed in the Oasis Motel, another 1940s motor court. Dinner was spectacular New Mexican food at the local restaurant.
Our original plan was to take two days getting home from this point (we were riding around 200 miles per day after the first heavy day of the trip). However, rain was again forecast and as we approached the plains, where thunderstorms are much more severe than in the mountains, we decided to make it back to Oklahoma in one day if possible. We retired early so that we could make an early exit.
Saturday May 23 Springer, NM to Weatherford, OK
From Springer, we rode across the Llano Estacado towards Clayton, NM. The terrain is very flat, with mountains and mesas on the horizon. There were many small herds of Pronghorn Antelope (which are actually not true antelopes at all).
After snapping this picture, we had seen no Pronghorn for a while when I saw a pair of them crossing the road right in front of me. I braked hard and dove right. At the last minute, they saw us (I swear I made eye contact with one of them as we were only 10-20 feet apart) and they skidded to a stop, then ran back across the highway. It took a few minutes to get the adrenalin out of my system. They are not as large as deer, but plenty large enough to cause a problem on a motorcycle.
We fueled at Clayton and headed towards the Texas panhandle. In Dalhart we stopped at the Dairy Queen for a burger. Less than an hour later, we were leaving Dumas when my brother motioned me over to the side of the road. My left rear turn signal was dangling by the wires. He carries a rather profound tool kit with a few spare bolts, so minutes later we were on our way again.
After passing through downtown Amarillo we headed east on I-40. In Alanreed (which is not a town as much as a gas station) we bought very overpriced fuel and snapped a couple of desert flower pictures.
Once again, a storm was blowing in, and the temperature dropped very precipitously while we refueled. We put on rain gear and went on. Completely by luck, we managed to miss most of the heavy rain. We arrived in Weatherford at about 6:10 PM, pretty tired from 405 miles that day. My trip was done, but Richard and Dad had to ride back to the Dallas area (and Dad on to East Texas) on Sunday.
Even with the near-constant rain, we had a fantastic time. Incredible scenery, great motorcycle roads, and fun people along the way.