Fire and Ice

We arrived home yesterday on July 6th and our theme this trip was riding in record setting heat waves, record setting wildfires and cool, icy mountains. Although the raging wildfires in parts of the Colorado Rockies did not allow us to visit Garden of the Gods, every other place on our agenda was fulfilled.

Temperatures ranged from 100 degrees in Denver to somewhere in the 50's at the summit of Mount Evans, all in a days ride! Our journey took 14 days and 7,500 km across America's Midwest into the Rockies. We met amazing, generous people... Judith and Richard , our kind hosts for 4 days in Bailey, Colorado ( we would love to come back someday!) ...Mike and Joyce in Junction City, Kansas ....Gus and Johanna in Effingham, Illinois !!

Our last overnight stay was with our son, Brett, at his place in Oshawa. The timing was perfect as we got to watch him play in a playoff game with the Gaels. After a nice dinner and good sleep (with lots of laughs...lightbulb), we went for an early breakfast at Wimpy's before Brett went to work and we headed home! We were excited to come home to see Tara!

 

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A Small Delay

Today, July 4th, was not without a little inconvenience. Jim's bike wouldn't start, so we had to think of who to call as most stores would be closed for the holiday. The VERY KIND desk clerk insisted on calling a few auto parts stores for us. Located a mile down the road was a store which was already opened at 8:30 am. Jim hopped on my bike and off he went with his battery in hopes he could buy one that would fit. He came back with the new one and installed it...the bike still wouldn't start! He thought maybe it was the starter which we would have to get towed to the nearest HD shop, but not until tomorrow. Anyway, off to the store again to make sure the battery was fully charged, and this time it worked!

We were on the road once again. Through Illinois and Indiana to Michigan, where we are staying in Lansing. Funny that as a child I, Caroline, would visit my aunt and uncle often here in Lansing, great memories.

The hotel has a really nice pool with hot tub that we took advantage of, it was so refreshing after another scorcher of a day.

Having a water break and some cool air at McDonald's, early afternoon.

Ahhh, so refreshing in the pool!!

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Hot on the 4th of July

Well, the last two days, have been extremely hot and dry and flat. We didn't have a chance to take pictures due to the lack of scenery and it's just too hot to stop except for gas and water. We rode through Kansas then Missouri and last night we slept in Effingham , Illinois. Met a couple from the Poconos, Pennsylvania, who are on their way home from a similar vacation on their bike. Maybe today we will have some pictures!

The long and desolate road through Kansas

Our journey home so far...

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Riding Easy on Canada Day!

Breckenridge (elev. 9,600 ft) is the largest historic district in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. The town features lots of shops, activities, year-round entertainment. People enjoy skiing and snowmobiling in the winter, then summer has it's Fun Park for the whole family. It is only 62 miles or 100 km from Bailey Co. to Breckenridge Co. We enjoyed the easy, peaceful Sunday ride today with these stops along the way...

 

Looking through a park area to the mountains

In Alma we ate at the Highest Saloon in the USA....

and window shopped in the Highest Boutique in America!

 

 

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14,000 Feet

Jim and I thought yesterday's ride on Trail Ridge Road at 12,183 feet was high. Todays ride to the summit of Mount Evans was an outstanding excursion that did not disappoint!

At 14,264, Mount Evans has the highest paved highway in North America. Trail Ridge Road is the highest paved through-road!

This is a very popular destination for autos, motorcycles and cyclists. You definitely have to share the road, and we were hoping to see some herds of big horned sheep. It is very barren as we are well above the tree line.

 

On our way back, we stopped in at the Buck Snort Saloon for a snack...this is in a rustic location in scenic Sphinx Park, Colorado.

 

 

 

 

This just down the road from the Buck Snort...

 

The whole day was totally awesome!

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Rocky Mountain High, very high!

 

Today's ride was over 400 km through the Rocky Mountain National Park. The highest elevation was 12,183 ft., on Trail Ridge Rd. With the threat of the raging wildfires here in Colorado, we weren't sure if parts of the park would be closed....we took a chance and it was a very beautiful scenic tour!

Bits and pieces of the highway...many hairpin turns! Lots o' fun!

Just can't get enough of the view.

 

Cool trivia, we rode through Estes Park, the location for headquarters of Rocky Mountain National Park. The trivia part is in the town of Estes Park is the Stanley Hotel which inspired and was featured in Stephen King's The Shining! Kind of spooky.

 

 

 

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Red Rocks ...Really Rocks!

After we ventured into Denver this morning, our front tires brought us to a few little towns called, Morrison, Evergreen and Kittredge which led us into the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. This park of natural rock formations is known for its very large red sandstone outcrops. The Red Rocks Amphitheatre, is a world famous venue used since 1941, which hosts many concerts and other events.

Of course we had to snap a photo with our favourite artists...

 

Walking up the many steps into the amphitheatre was our exercise for the day! Alan Jackson is playing there tonight and while we were walking up his crew were doing sound check. Great views all around.

 

 

At the top ...

Denver is behind me

 

 

From behind...

 

 

 

...And one of the groups who started it all!

 

Rock On!

 

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