Pic Heavy Ride Report - MS to Bella Coola & Back 11,000 Miles Heat, Hail & Bears

[DK Custom Products]

Day 31 - Headed for Durango-

After a couple of days of riding and visiting with Alan, we are packing up, and heading out.

Yep, that's a bunch of water, will probably all be gone by the time we go thru the first tank of gas.



Alan gave me a route to Ouray,that he says will be cooler, and much more fun & picturesque than the direct route. I'm punching in the waypoints on the GPS before heading out.



We had just a bit of interstate before taking an off-ramp to get on the back road route to Ouray. His route is taking us to Gateway, then thru Naturita, then Ridgeway and on to Ouray. From there we are taking the 550/Million dollar highway to Durango.



Can't tell from here, but the next 93 miles are going to be some of the best we've ever traveled!



Just starting out, and looking like fun!



Can you tell...this road is going to be nice and winding, along with some very scenic views!



Amazing....



...HUGE sights, everywhere we look.



We're very early on, & I can already tell, this is turning into one of those perfect riding days!



It is difficult for me to verbalize what a day like today is....

Perfect road - combo of good surface, sweepers, winding and some tight curves too...

Hardly any other vehicles on the road....

Mind-blowing scenery....

Good weather-warm but not uncomfortable...

Perfect running bike...

Riding with my bride...

Well...I tried. This is one of "those" days!



More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

31 Road to Durango continued.

Oh yeah, I'm liking this road!



The TG laughs at 30 mph, more like 55-60 is where she's comfortable in this sweeper.



It is a lot of fun when a long sweeper is immediately followed by nicely banked triple S curves.



View to the side...



...View ahead...



...and we're just barely started! Fuzzy sure gave us a great route to ride!!!



To the right...



...To the left...



...In front of us...



...and behind us. We're surrounded by an amazing world!



Mary took 792 pics today. We traveled less than 275 miles. It's gonna take at least another 40 pics to just scratch the surface.

Will be continued soon.

Kevin

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Yep ... 141 from Grand Junction to Gateway then Naturita is a ride I do regularly ... never get tired of it. Gateway has a car museum that has 20 Million in cars there ... that's pretty amazing when you consider it's a town of about 500 or so. The owner of the museum also owns discovery channel and a large chunk of the canyon around Gateway.

[DK Custom Products]

Yep ... 141 from Grand Junction to Gateway then Naturita is a ride I do regularly ... never get tired of it. Gateway has a car museum that has 20 Million in cars there ... that's pretty amazing when you consider it's a town of about 500 or so. The owner of the museum also owns discovery channel and a large chunk of the canyon around Gateway.

No Doubt! What a great route you gave us!

Kevin

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Durango continued.

Well, I am cutting out big chunks of the ride, but still am looking at 60 or more pics before arriving in Durango. Hope y'all don't mind...just so many good pics to choose from. I'm just posting a small fraction.

Everywhere we look, we are amazed...



...the road is great...



...the views are great...



...and the curves are seemingly endless!



There is very little traffic on the road...hardly any at all, but we did see this motorcycle enjoying the curves too!



A different perspective.



This road is a blast!



Another shot out to the side.

These curves with the high grass right on the side were some of the ones I was most cautious with. Never know what it is hiding. Dawn, at our shop, was riding passenger a couple of years ago, a rabbit ran out, hit her leg and bounced up into her lap! She had to literally throw it off her lap...this all happened at about 60 mph.



Curve after curve.



Followed this river off and on through the entire canyon...rarely was it this close to the road.



More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Durango continued.



Looking back.








Heading into some tight canyon walls and curves!









This is a bit different...









...I wouldn't say claustrophobic, but both sides are quite close relative to what is has been.









Mary's view when she's not out to the side.









Looking back as we...









...come out more into some open space.









Little did we know when we took the turn, off the interstate, towards Naturita, what a scenic and fun road this was going to be. Definitely one I want to ride again!








Dunno if you can see in this pic, how the road just flows, in curve after curve, along the edge. Huge beautiful country!







More coming soon.

Kevin

[Papa Zook]

Beautiful country and as always great pictures from Mary!

[FuzzyWuzHe]

And I get to call it my back yard ... ... Anyone passing through, let me know ... I can tell ya all the good rides here.

[DK Custom Products]

Beautiful country and as always great pictures from Mary!

Ditto that.

And I get to call it my back yard ... ... Anyone passing through, let me know ... I can tell ya all the good rides here.

Yep, he steered us right! Great guy to meet too!

Kevin

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Durango continued.


We're starting to come out of the canyon we've been riding in...








...but there are still curves as far as I can see.









We stopped at this gas station/car wash in Naturita. Bunch of bikes there. We're at 5400 feet elevation, and this is the warmest it's been today. 98*

Filled the tank, hydrated a bit, talked to some of the guys coming and going...none had been on the canyon route we just finished.









Leaving out of Naturita, we had a long flat pass to the mountains in the right side of this pic.










We are now in the foothills of the mountains from the previous pic, starting to climb.









A lot closer to the Million Dollar Highway now!










We're now on the 550 (MDH), making our way toward Ouray.









Climbing the last little bit before coming into Ouray. Beautiful country.








There are a lot of bikes, parked everywhere in Ouray. We have plenty of gas, and I've got ants in my pants to get on the Million Dollar Highway that I've heard so much about.

We passed thru town slowly.







More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Durango Continued.

Climbing out of Ouray we see these signs...they were not kidding.









Soon after, we see this sign...it can only mean fun road ahead!









I like curves plenty, tunnels, not so much. But this is a short one.










Soon after we come to a scenic stop where there are a few waterfalls. Pic of an old Sporty and a dirty Trike.










This is a panoramic shot that Mary took of me taking a pic of a waterfall.









The pic I was taking of the waterfall while Mary was taking the panoramic.







After taking a bunch of pics of all the waterfalls, reading the amazing history of the Million Dollar Highway, & talking to an Amish guy about how he would not have taken his horses on the road...he figured they would get too spooked by the edges with the drop-offs and no rails....we sat in some shade and had our lunch.

Back on our way.

Yeah, the edge really looked like that. Sheer drop-off...notice that I am in the left part of my lane. lol










Looking behind us....I don't know how far she was leaning out to take this pic...but it looks scary to me!










Beautiful country....









...and super fun roads!









More coming soon.

[consitter]

Man, I love this stuff.

It's gonna end soon.

[nova]

i just want to say as a newbie to this site and a future triker, i really have enjoyed your travels. i started reading this last week before i even signed up to this site. i hope that i enjoy my trike as much as you seem to be.

thanks for the great words and even greater pictures.

[55il]

DK, This has been more fun to read than any book I have read ina long time. This should be on DirecTV’sTravel Channel……. Thank you DJ

[Zammy]

This has been more fun to read than any book I have read in a long time. This should be on DirecTV’s Travel Channel……. Thank you DJ

Ditto for sure, an absolutely wonderful ride along journey, I can't say thank you enough Kevin & Mary

[Gorilla]

Kevin what a ride. Thank you Mary for such great pictures.

[Trikindan]

Fantastic Trip!!! Thanks for taking us on the journey with you. With the GREAT Pics and narration I feel like I took a Trip and never left the Farm!!

WELL DONE

[DK Custom Products]

Man, I love this stuff.

It's gonna end soon.

Yeah, but there's a little more left...and come Jan/Feb we'll start thinking about the next trip.

i just want to say as a newbie to this site and a future triker, i really have enjoyed your travels. i started reading this last week before i even signed up to this site. i hope that i enjoy my trike as much as you seem to be.

thanks for the great words and even greater pictures.

Glad you're enjoying! We've been doing trips for a long time. The last 4 years on a Trike, gotta say it makes it even more enjoyable. Here's hoping you make tons of great memories!

DK, This has been more fun to read than any book I have read ina long time. This should be on DirecTV’sTravel Channel……. Thank you DJ<o></o>

Ditto for sure, an absolutely wonderful ride along journey, I can't say thank you enough Kevin & Mary

Kevin what a ride. Thank you Mary for such great pictures.

Glad to hear you're enjoying, and the words of encouragement. lol It's a lot easier, and more fun, to do the ride than do the ride report.

Kevin and Mary,
I cannot tell you how many times that I have been on that highway and now I am living in KS and it has been almost 20 years since the last time. Seeing your pictures and the water fall brought it back like it was yesterday. I used to ride that area at least 3 to 4 times a year when I lived in Flagstaff, AZ.

Wonderful pictures and great write up to go along with them.

Thanks ever so much.

Norm

Man, Norm, you're a fortunate man! We've been on that road exactly once. Can't wait to do it again. I wanted to turn around this time and do it again, but time would not allow.

Fantastic Trip!!! Thanks for taking us on the journey with you. With the GREAT Pics and narration I feel like I took a Trip and never left the Farm!!

WELL DONE

Cool! Glad you're enjoying, and thank you!


Kevin

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Durango continued.


Well, there are just so many good pictures of this fantastic day of riding in Colorado! I am cutting out big chunks, but still have 20 more I am going to post tonight, and then another 20 in the next day or so, then we'll be done.



I love this road! The curves, the sights, the elevation changes!








Getting close to Silverton, there is a super fun section that gets really tight...








...we came around this one corner and there were two sights-

The mountain peak view

They drop-off on the left...asphalt and then nothing!








Another shot- what's that John Denver song?








A nice predicament, but a predicament, for me, all the same...the view or the road?









Solution-if ya like em curvy, this is a road to ride many times!








Coming into Silverton, we've climbed about 4000 ft today.








We've plenty of gas, so we pass by and start climbing even higher...









...looking back at Silverton, a few minutes after passing by.








Up ahead is Molas Pass, at 11,000 ft, and it's looking like some rain.







More in next post.

[DK Custom Products]

Ride to Durango Continues.



If you like curve after curve, this is most definitely a FUN ROAD!!!








Looking back the sky is clear...








...not so much looking ahead, but it appears a ways off still...








...and the sights are captivating.








Scenic pull-out up ahead on the left.








We ended up spending about 45 minutes here. Just some of the high peaks that we got to see today.










Here are a couple of panoramic pics that Mary took corresponding to the pic above...if you click on them, they should show up even larger.














There is a reason we live out in the country, and when we do our trips, even though we are compelled to travel thru cities, almost all the pics are of the country side....well, and curvy roads. lol








Hey Mary! Don't get bit!







Conclusion of our ride to Durango coming soon.

Kevin