Colorful Colorado

When we were in Tucson, we heard coyotes howling in the middle of the night. Last night we heard elks bugling. It’s mating season right now so this went on all night. We kept seeing signs warning drivers of elk but never saw them and doubted they were around. They are and they are loud!

After the NYT Spelling Bee and Tom’s artisan coffee, we hit the road at 8:00 am because today’s ride was a long one. At Springerville we stopped for coffee at Junk and Java, a cute little antique store/coffee shop.

We finished the Devil’s Highway which then became the beginning of 200 miles of desert – uninteresting desert.

We entered into New Mexico and the Zuni Pueblo Reservation and then took Highway 145 through the Navajo Reservation. We stopped in Shiprock for lunch. Cathy was having trouble staying awake again because the scenery was so monotonous. After two coffees didn’t work, a Spark and some cola gave her the boost to press on!

The town of Shiprock is southeast of Monument Valley, Arizona so we could see a different side of some of the iconic sandstone formations.

We gradually started to rise in elevation and the scenery got more interesting. We went from high desert, to crop lands, and then we started to see trees!

We crossed into Colorado at Cortez and followed the Dolores River. The alders and aspens were just beginning to change color and it was a beautiful ride up to Telluride.

Telluride is a tiny town with limited parking. Our hotel is only accessed by walking across a foot bridge that spans the San Miguel River. We were very lucky to find parking at the start of the bridge. Tom was not happy leaving the bike unattended but we had little choice.

Our lodge room is cute with a loft, but smells like weed. Cathy keeps looking for it. No luck yet. We have two days here in Telluride so we can sleep in and relax. We may check out the gondola ride at the ski resort and we will explore the artsy town.

We found one barn today!