Sunday, July 12, 2009

Road Trip!


Leaving the Queen




In Cortez Colorado FINALLY!


Leaving Cortez the next morning
So we finally decided to do it! We took at 1084 mile
road trip on the motorcycle. We left out on Monday
morning and headed out through St. Johns, onto
Zuni, up to Gallup and then to Shiprock. In Gallup
we ate lunch at a little place called "Jerry's" that
I found on Trip Advisor - it was great! That leg of
83 miles from Gallup to Shiprock seemed like 283! It
was hot and windy and the dead reservation. Whew!
We were so glad to finally get to Cortez another 45 miles
past Shiprock where we spent the first night in the
smallest hotel room we have ever had! I made reservations
on hotwire and it was a Days Inn. Super small room!
But we didn't care - we were pretty tired.
The next day was an absolutely gorgeous ride from Cortez
Colorado to Ouray Colorado. It is only about 125 miles
so a short day but the roads are super winding so it takes
a bit longer but it was so nice. It was cool and beautiful
and just great! We stopped at "Stoner Ranch" in Stoner,
Colorado - a little stop in the road literally. For those of
you who may not know - Stoner is my maiden name.
From there we went to Telluride and had lunch at another
Trip Advisor recommendation which was good again.
Telluride is gorgeous and we saw the home that Tom
Cruise once owned. The ride from Telluride to Ouray
is again spectacular. I have always loved Ouray and
wanted so badly to finally stay there -so our next night
was planned for here. Unfortunately I wasn't able to
get reservations at the hotel I wanted so we ended up just
stopping in and getting one - wow - they do not need
good deals in Ouray because it is so touristy - we paid
a fortune for a Best Western but it was clean and nice
and had a real hot springs pool right at the hotel that
we got to try out. The next day on the way from
Ouray to Santa Fe New Mexico I talked Chris into
stopping at Purgatory and riding the Alpine Slide. We did
this with the boys when we took them about 16 years ago.
We were surely the only people there in long sleeve dark
shirts, jeans and boots - but we had a ball - it brought
back great memories.
We found a nice little mexican place in Pagosa Springs for
lunch and then into Santa Fe. I had never been to Santa
Fe and there is alot of history here - it dates back to about
1620. I got a great hotel here on hotwire that was in the
plaza and therefore walking distance to everything. We
had dinner there that night and walked around the plaza.
We were having so much fun that we decided to extend
our trip a night and not go home on Thursday as planned,
instead we got a Priceline room in Albuquerque for the
next night. So on Thursday morning we had some extra
time and took a trolley ride through Santa Fe that told
alot about the history - we had a great time. Then on to
the short 50 mile or so ride into Albuquerque - because
we got there early we had time for dinner and a movie
that night. The next day was the ride home. About 285
miles to Show Low through Soccorro. The ride from
Socorro home was really nice - we got a little bit of rain
a couple of times but it was nice and helped keep us cool.
We had lunch at a favorite biker place in Quemado and
then on home over the mountain from Springerville. We
realized on the trip past Sunrise that with the exception
of parts of Colorado, we have as beautiful a place as any
we visited right here at home! We feel fortunate to live
in such a beautiful area and we loved getting out and seeing
more of our wonderful country! What a great trip.
I am learning the pros of being a biker chick is that you just
can't worry about your hair - I had a hat on the whole time
and getting ready in the morning is sure speedy!


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