Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

After visiting Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, then spending most of the afternoon riding the Million Dollar Highway, we were finally ready to call it a day and get to our campground.

We stopped in Durango for gas and to drink some water, it was very hot in town. It’s been a long day and somehow we totally forgot to pick up stuff to eat for tonight and tomorrow morning. We hit the road again, heading west on 160 and had to stop at another gas station near Mancos to pick up some food. From Durango to Mesa Verde National Park was only 40 miles. In no time we were climbing the steep and twisty road through to the park following the signs for the campsite. Had we done some research earlier we might have found out that there was a general store in the park and it was loaded with everything one might need, even good beer.



Ruins Road through Mesa Verde National Park



Many twists and turns heading up the mesa





We were a little worried that arriving so late in the day there might not be any campsites left but Morefield Campground, which is the only campground at Mesa Verde, has 435 sites. At the entrance to the park we were assured that the campground never fills us, not even on the weekends. But as we parked our bikes and walked over to the store to pay for a camping site we found a very, very long line of people doing the same thing we were and only one person working the register. The park seemed packed, the parking lot was full of cars. We waited at least 30 minutes in line to pay for our campsite, but we got one. Well, we didn’t get a site yet, we got a map of the campground and some of the sites were circled. Those were the sites we could camp at.

So off we went to hunt down the best site. After riding in circles we found a good campsite, most were already occupied. The campsite cost $20 which was actually pretty pricey for a plain camp site with no electric or water, but the park did have a lot of perks. There were actual showers here and there were a few restaurants, one of them served an all you can eat breakfast buffet. So it was worth it. And the toilets in the bathroom were flush toilets and there were sinks in the bathroom too - ah, luxury. We unpacked and set the tent up. The ranger stopped by our camp site and we all had a long talk. He gave us a lot of information about the park and the whole area, he also warned us to keep our food locked up on the bikes if possible because there were bears in the park and the park had not installed metal boxes to keep food in yet.



Our campsite at the Morefield Campground



The sun was setting so we walked to get a better view of it. Herds of deer were starting to come out of the woods they just strolled though the campground.





Sunset at the Mesa Verde National Park





Deer at the campground



Third leg of todays ride: 40 miles from Durango to Mesa Verde National Park

The temperatures only dropped in to the upper 50’s overnight, so it was a pleasant night and we kept the rain fly off the tent so we could star gaze from our tent.

Montrose to Durango: The Million Dollar Highway

It was way past lunch time when we left Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and headed for Montrose. Always looking for good and cheap place to eat that is also fast, I spotted a Mexican joint on the west side of 550. It turned out to be all of the above; good, cheap and fast. The place was packed so that was a good sign.



Don Gilberto Mexican Restaurant in Montrose

Burriotos for lunch

After lunch we continued on 550 heading south. I usually don’t devote a whole post to one road but 550 isn’t just any road, it’s the Million Dollar Highway. No one is really sure how the name came about. Some say it’s because that was the cost to pave the road in the 1930’s, or that that the pavement was made from gravel from the nearby gold and silver mines worth millions, or that in the beginning when the road was unpaved it was so torturous that no one wanted to travel it, not even if they were paid a million dollars. Either way, 550 from Montrose to Durango is an amazing road with some unbelievable scenery. Being all that, you can imagine that there is quite a bit of traffic on this road.

Surrounded by mountains on 550

Mike and his Tiger on 550

A bit of old snow on 550

This stream had the color of latte

Twists and turns and no guard rails

A neat tunnel on 550

Construction delay and new pavement

Looking down at the road below

Red Mountain

Following a bunch of slow cars through the curves

The 110 miles from Montrose to Durango too us 4 hours to get through. There were a few stops for pictures, a few very long constructions delays, and many tight curves. This road is amazing and even though there is a lot of traffic on this road and it’s very hard to enjoy the amazing twisty pavement that way a sportbiker would like to enjoy them, the traffic lets you slow down and enjoy the scenery. This is one of those roads that I could spend a week on, there is so much to see here.

The three mountain passes on 550 are Red Mountain Pass at 11,008 feet, Molas Pass at 10,910 feet and Coal Bank Pass at 10,640 feet.

The second leg of the trip today was 128 miles from Black Canyon of the Gunnison N.P. to Durango

Black Canyon of the Gunnison N.P. - South Rim

Today’s first stop was 60 miles away from Curecanti Rec Area where we camped last night. We continued west on highway 50 then turned on 347 and headed north to the south entrance of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.



Our camp site at Stevens Creek in the Curecanti Rec Area



Camping on the Blue Mesa Reservoir




Highway 50 west of Sapinero



We still had more places to visit today so this was just a drive by. We rode the twisty road around the South Rim Road, stopped at the visitor center and at few of the overlooks and continued west on 50. It was very hot in the park, in the upper 90's, so we didn't stop too much.



Black Canyon of the Gunnison south rim





The Gunnison River has one of the steepest mountain descents in North America



The Black Canyon is named because of its steepness which makes sunlight difficult to penetrate very far down the canyon







Visitor Center on the south rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison






60 miles from Curecanti Rec Area to Black Canyon of the Gunnison



South Rim Road through Black Canyon of the Gunnison N. P.

Curecanti National Recreational Area, Colorado

It’s amazing to think that in three days it is going to be a month since we’ve left Illinois. It doesn’t feel like we’ve been out here that long. Having the opportunity to spend a week in Broomfield, two weeks in Fort Collins and a week in Colorado Springs, we felt that we’ve seen enough of the Front Range to make the decision of where we’d like to live.

This weekend just like the other weekends, we were planning on getting on our bikes and leaving Friday afternoon and doing some hiking and camping over the weekend. But this time we weren’t just going away for the weekend. We knew our trip was possibly coming to end soon and we wanted to spend a week somewhere away from traffic, away from cities and suburbs, but we also had to watch our budget.

After a couple of days or searching the internet Mike found a motel room with in room wireless internet, a refrigerator and microwave all for only $44 a day. This place also had some good reviews, unlike the other places we found that seemed OK until we read some bad reviews. The location was also good, so unless this turned out to be a complete dump, this would be our home all next week.

Mike still needed to finish up with work, so I left Colorado Springs first since I still needed to get gas. He was going to leave about thirty minutes later. It was about 3:30PM traffic was heavy and the temperature was in the upper 90’s in Colorado Springs. I took 115 south to highway 50 heading west, there were quite a bit of cars on the road until I got past Canon City.

In Salida I stopped to grab some quick dinner and get something to drink and to text Mike my location. The plan was if I didn’t run into him in route I’d wait for him in Gunnison. After a 30 minute break I took off and continued west on 50. It’s funny how the temperatures changes out here. It hot all day and all the sudden 7PM comes around and it’s like someone turns on a switch and the temps get very pleasant.



Highway 50 west of Canon City, CO





Highway 50 along the Arkansas River

I stopped for a picture at Monarch Pass, it was chilly at the top and I needed to put on an additional layer. The road around Monarch pass is amazingly fun even though there are no tight hair pins here. The last time I was through here it was barely 40 degrees, raining and very foggy and I still managed to have a blast.





Monarch Pass at 11, 312 feet in elevation





Highway 50 west of Monarch Pass

I arrived in Gunnison but still no sign of Mike. There was a text message from him though and it looked like he was about 45 minutes behind me. By the time he got into town it was time to change from our tinted shields to our clear shields and find a camp site.

Curecanti National Recreational Area located around the Blue Mesa Reservoir had a lot of campgrounds. Since it was getting dark already we pulled in to the first one that we saw The Stevens Creek campground is located 12 miles west of Gunnison and costs $12 per night. The campground catered to boaters and fishermen, all the sites near the reservoir were already taken but we found a few empty sites near the back of the campground. There were no showers here and only vault toilets.



Stevens Creek Campground on Blue Mesa Reservoir

By the time we set the tent up it was completely dark. There was some fire wood left in our fire ring so we lit it but the fire ring was kind of far away from the picnic table and the tent so it didn’t illuminate our camp site. The temperatures were pleasant and in the mid 60’s and the sky was full of stars.



We rode 200 miles today: Colorado Springs to Curecanti Rec Area