Colorado Scenic Byways

Checking out Colorado via the Scenic Byways. Pics from the Silver Thread Byway from South Fork to Gunnison. In Creede and coming over Slumgullion Pass into Lake City.

Road is paved the whole way. 120 miles. Slumgullion pass has the steepest grade of any continuously paved road in Colorado but not too intense. Nice stops in Creede and Lake City. Wind near Blue Mesa can get strong.

Being from Northern New Mexico I’ve ridden that part of the country several times on my bike. Took Highway 550 (Million Dollar Highway ) from Durango to Silverton, when the narrow gauge trains were running and then over Red Mountain Pass at 14,000 feet of elevation on then to Ouray which people call Little Switzerland. Highway 550 is considered one of the most dangerous roads in the world. I also have been to Paonia for the Rocky Mountain BMW rally and also to Aspen. Lots of beautiful country and also lots of twisty roads.

Boy PeteP, reminds me of when I was a student attending New Mexico State University, I took my Suzuki T500 motorcycle during spring break from Las Cruces, NM to Gunnison Colorado. Traveled to Albuquerque, then to Durango for which I camped overnight inside a self serve laundromat. After eating breakfast at a next door diner, I left Durango and headed to Silverton, but got too cold and had to stop at a restaurant at the base of a ski run to warm up.  In Silverton a friendly service station attendant allowed me to park my motorcycle in one of the warm service bays. IIRC there aren't that many miles between Durango and Silverton. There was snow drifts on both sides of the road. I remembered following semi trucks just to feed off of some heat they generated for me. The drivers didn't like the idea and flagged me to pass. Anyway after leaving Silverton, headded through Red Mountain Pass. Named for all the deaths that happeded traveling through this pass. Started to warm up once I got to Montrose. Headed east passing Blue Mesa which was a frozen lake at the time. Saw a Gunnison County border sign while passing Blue Mesa. I gave a shout for joy reaching my destination. Then rode for miles, miles, and more miles before entering the town of Gunnison Colorado. My wife, then my girlfriend set me up with some friends to stay with.
I visited for about four days then headed back to Las Cruces. A professor at my wife's college advised me to change my return route to the eastern side of Colorado. The temperature was a lot warmer than the route from Durango to Montrose.

Mahalo for the memories PeteP!!

Wow. Great ride tale. Brings back memories.

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

Wow. Great ride tale. Brings back memories.

Indeed my / our 1st riding adventure was on a Vespa 125, to what was to be the Kinzu Dam site, slept on a park bench the 1st night. Good thing we were young dumb and tough back then

Very nice photos. Rocky Mountain High. Lived there a few years been to a few of those places a long time ago. I need to go back...

There sure is some beautiful country out that way. I think it was 73 or 74 when the wife and I went to CA to Disneyland for Christmas. We had the kids and our niece. It was sure lots of fun.

Easyrider
I also went to NMSU and remember when I bought one of my absolute favorite bikes, a 1980 KZ650, from a dealer on Valley Drive. I used to drive between Las Cruces and Albuquerque to visit my mom and dad when they were still with us all the time. I also went to El Paso and Juarez all the time on that bike. I also went to Alamogordo, White Sands, Cloudcroft during spring break where I nearly froze to death as I only had a light jacket on. I also went to Deming and Roswell. Now that I have my Silverwing I hope to travel on it but not like I used to because I’m a lot older than I was then. Thanks for the trip down memory lane from a special time in my life!

Beautiful place. Thank you for sharing.

PeteP wrote:

Easyrider
I also went to NMSU and remember when I bought one of my absolute favorite bikes, a 1980 KZ650, from a dealer on Valley Drive. I used to drive between Las Cruces and Albuquerque to visit my mom and dad when they were still with us all the time. I also went to El Paso and Juarez all the time on that bike. I also went to Alamogordo, White Sands, Cloudcroft during spring break where I nearly froze to death as I only had a light jacket on. I also went to Deming and Roswell. Now that I have my Silverwing I hope to travel on it but not like I used to because I’m a lot older than I was then. Thanks for the trip down memory lane from a special time in my life!

PeteP,
My best friend from Maui, ended up living in Albuquerque. His wife was from Roswell and my wife and I visited her family in Roswell many times.  Did you know that John Denver was born in Roswell.
Ah yes Juarez!?@#$&%! Spent many a time in Juarez as a SINGLE student and with my wife. I once rode my Yamaha 100 along a frontage road to El Paseo. Could not get enough speed to ride I25. Parked my bike at a service station and walked to El Paseo because Texas had a helmet requirement and I didn't have one. While walking I somehow I found myself on the Mexico side of a high chain link fence. There was also a drainage ditch between me and the other side of the fence. Found a fence brace that spanned the ditch and climbed the fence, like an illegal, to get back to the US side. I was technically still in the USA because I never crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico.

My wife and I did alot of camping at Caballo Lake and beside the Rio Grand in Las Cruces. We got car problems traveling back from camping at Lake Roberts in the Gila National Forest.

My wife and my youngest daughter have been to Alamogordo, White Sands, and Cloudcroft.
I think that we did some tubing down this hillside in Alamogordo in the winter time.

Most of my travels in NM with my wife was done in my 64 GTO, for which I still have it in Hawaii.

Boy the memories  

Great roads. My Helix and I rode the Million Dollar Highway a few years ago. I wasn't sure how a carbureted 250 would do at that elevation, but it did great. We got there via CO 141 and CO 145 from Monticello. Those are also some really pretty routes.

Great pics

Howard