Wandering Retirees

We’ve now been on the road for two weeks.

Today we rode north to Paonia, CO where we will spend the next eight nights and ride out on day long excursions. This allows us to buy groceries and prepare our own meals, keep up with laundry and add in some down time.

We’re staying at a lovely VRBO on the side of a mountain that overlooks the north Fork of the Gunnison River, and faces Grand Mesa. What a great base to ride from.

Our route took us north on US 491 to Monticello, then north on US 191 to just past Dove Creek, and then CO 141 north. This last road is really popular to motorcyclists as a gorgeous, fun and sometimes challenging ride. We pulled over a number of times to take in the mesas, ridgelines and expansive valleys. Connie has a bunch of shots.

Just south of Grand Junction we picked up US 50 and headed south along the Gunnison River to Delta. We turned east on CO 92 which took us into Hotchkiss and supper fixings, then on to Paonia. 250 miles and 5 hours in all.

A question for someone who knows these things: so much of the lower lying flatlands we passed look suspiciously like old sea bottom. I seem to remember reading about an inland sea. Did this sea cover what is now southwestern Colorado?

Of course we met some folks today. Just before we set out, we chatted with another couple on a two-up adventure. They are Sean and Amy from neat Toronto and ride an “adventure” version of our bike. By “adventure” we mean it’s designed for off road riding. We seem to have spent a lot of time talking about rider comfort (aka, the seats) and how to make it more cushy for the tushy. Not very dignified but a fun conversation anyway.

A kindly woman in a pickup approached us with her sweetheart of a dog. She is looking for a home near Cortez that has a garage big enough for her 1972 Chevy Pickup. The truck is in mint condition and came to her from her dad when he passed not long ago. She embraces her sentimental feeling and will keep looking. Turns out she rode a Harley 883 Sportster in a prior life and loved it. She was excited to reminisce with us while we finished prepping our bike.

And then there was Bruce who is returning to Texas after visiting relatives. He, too, rode back in the 90’s and misses it still. He is a soft spoken, very polite, man. Very glad we met.

Well, that’s all the text I can coax out of my fingers. Thanks for following along. It’s a special gift you give us.