We headed South West into the Rocky Mountains and spent most of the morning on a small winding road through the forests, past lakes with fishermen and many people on Paddle Boards and Canoes, its Summer Holiday and Colorado is a very popular holiday destination. We passed many cyclists and little busses taking clients for some White Water Rafting on the Colorado River. We were in high spirits. We heard from Peens that his bike has run well and he has ridden 900km yesterday towards where we are heading, it was great to be out in such beautiful scenery, the bikes were all running well, and there were many Harley Davidson riders on the same road as us, so that was proof we were on a scenic route. But that was all going to change soon, our spirits were in for a dip.
The route we were on, Highway 101 is claimed to be the highest “Highway” in America. (In the USA they call a single lane main road a Highway, in South Africa a highway is what is know here as The Interstate or Turnpike.) The road was twisty and we were having fun.
We stopped for a Coffee and for the 1st time in my life I saw a Humming Bird, they are the smallest birds in the world, not bigger than my thumb, and they flap their wings extremely fast.
So we sat at the window watching them drink sugar-water and hovering around before landing, spectacular, a 1st for me.
My riding buddies had much to say about my Retirement (they are just jealous,) when they saw this sign, but I have news for them, I am living the dream, regardless.
Could life get any better?? It could get worse, quickly.
But then Tex, who planned the route turned off onto a very bad gravel road that ran over the mountain. The further we climbed the more rutted it became and many loose rocks, much worse than Sani Pass. Tex was ahead of me when he hit a rock that pushed him off his line past a rut and the next thing he went off the road towards the little river running next to the road.
Tex was not very happy with the “help” I was offering and had to wait until I had documented this close-shave with my camera.
All of a sudden the Touring is over!!! The wrestling commences.
The road deteriorated further and eventually we had to turn around as we were losing too much time on this unexpected un-maintained forest road. Tex had scheduled our lunch stop in a town where he had set up a quick Business Meeting, (I guess as there is work involved it is a Tax Deduction for his company???) So we turned back with our egos broken and our tails between our legs. As we say in Afrikaans, “Eerder bang Jan as Dooie Jan.”
Sadly there was no Cell Phone reception, and as the route was planned on Google Maps we needed to connect to the Internet to re-route our planned route to the other side of the mountain where we would have turned off the gravel road. So much confusion followed and in a little town Tex got signal and re-calculated the route and sped off into the distance, as a result the group was split into two groups that continued on two different routes.
Our group had to switch back to using our GPS’s and arrived at the overnight destination on the less scenic route.
Leadville is a little town with lots of history. Its main road in Down Town consist of old buildings dating back to the mid 1800’s
We stopped at The Silver Dollar Saloon for a bite. This Saloon is 143 years old and one can spend hours there lost in the history depicted on its wall through old photos and News Paper Clippings.
As you enter the Saloon there is a wooden wall\screen, it use was not just to block the wind from blowing onto the customers at the bar but as we were told, it was mainly so wives walking in the street could not see their husbands inside, and in those days no respectable woman would enter bars and saloons.
Let me give you an example of just one such slice of such history:
Doc Holiday, the Dentist who became a gambler and gun-slinger stayed opposite the Silver Dollar Saloon, above the Opera House, and he shot an ex-cop outside the Saloon over a dispute about an $5-00 debt Doc Holiday owed him. This famous character depicted in many Cowboy Movies I have seen often sat in the corner and played this very same Piano which is still used today when musicians get the place rocking.
A copy of his Funeral Notice still hangs on the wall.
We plan to go for dinner in Down Town and I will post more photos of this little Historic Town tomorrow.
Thanks for sharing Johan
Love Colorado!