We took a side trip on our way home from Salida, and visited St. Elmo, Colorado. Originally named Forest City, the town was renamed St. Elmo in 1880. During its peak in the 1880s, over 2,000 miners and their families lived there, supported by the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad. When the local mines dried up and the railroad discontinued service in 1922, the town began to empty. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains one of the best-preserved ghost towns in the West.
I was actually not sure what to expect with the drive up as I had read somewhere that it was “off road”, but we found it was just a normal gravel forest road. There was a good amount of summer traffic and people towing side by sides up into the Sawatch Range.
We arrived in town and walked the main street, stopping to pick up a brochure and map. Several of the buildings have been restored and have exhibits and photographs inside further explaining the history of the town.
We of course went into the General Store to look around and grab a cold refreshment before perusing the antiques for sale in the lot next door.
It is a neat place to visit, and because it is so complete it is easy to imagine yourself there in a different time. Make sure the kids bring some food for the famous St Elmo chipmunks, or buy a bag there at the General Store!
Summers are always so busy here in Creede, because they’re fairly short you’re always trying to cram every activity possible into the summer! We’ve intended to go to Wheeler Geologic Area the past couple years, but it always seems like the weather or timing never quite lined up. This summer it finally did!
We knew from checking out maps and talking to other people that this was an all day trip. From our cabin to the beginning of the trail at the Hansen Mill area was about an hour drive, from there, 14 Miles of forest roads lead to Wheeler geologic area.
We left early and arrived at the trailhead where we used the restroom and aired down the tires. We hadn’t seen another vehicle the whole way up, so we took advantage and hit it! The road definitely requires a high clearance vehicle as posted. Lots of whoops and rocks along the way, although it was honestly less technical or difficult than I had heard. There were a couple steeper hills and small stream crossings, but realistically nothing you actually need four-wheel-drive for – at least in dry conditions! I’m guessing after a good rain, all the loose silt and whoops make this road a bit slippery.
It took roughly an hour and 40 minutes to arrive at the hiking trail at the base of the area. From there, we started the hike up, well marked and easy to follow. We ran into a couple coming down, who advised us to head up to the top of the loop saying it was a better view. We made our way up and I believe they were right, this is a pretty incredible area! Originally named Wheeler National Monument, it is an area so strange it has been referred to as “The City of Gnomes,” “White Shrouded Ghosts,” and “Dante’s Lost Souls”. Check out the full history here on the Creede website! We were lucky enough to be the only ones there and we’re able to just sit and enjoy the silence and of course snap a few photos.
We headed back down to Hansen Mill, passing a few side-by-sides and a couple jeeps on their way in. I felt it was absolutely worth the trip and it’s pretty amazing to have something like this in our backyard!
If you haven’t checked out Part 1, do it now! But a quick recap: We left Colorado headed to our destination, the El Diablo Run in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. So many curvy roads, small mountain towns, and good food!
Day 4 – Into Ol’ Mexico. We headed into Mexico this morning, crossing the border at Los Algodones. It was a warm ride, but we were focused on dodging potholes! A few hours and a couple quick gas stops and we arrived on the beach in San Felipe, Baja Mexico at the Hotel El Cortez. It was a gorgeous day! We hit the beach for a well deserved soak and some sun. We cleaned up and rode to the malecon (the pier en inglés!) to check out the bikes and search out friends. It was people and culture overload after days on the bikes! After a few hours, chats, and a margarita we headed back to the hotel to check out the restaurant on the beach. Delicious fish tacos and fresh guacamole!
Day 5 – We had a beachfront breakfast, then took a ride to Valley of the Giants to see the cardón cacti, the tallest growing cactus in the world. The entrance was gated, not open, and no signs! Still a pretty morning ride, so we headed back to the hotel and out to the beach (you have to take advantage of this when you live in the mountains and it is snowing at home!). We headed over to the EDR camp for the Biltwell Biker games. It was a lot of fun to watch, but hot! We caught up with more friends and reminisced about past EDRs. We headed back to the playa for the bike show and awards, caught up with a couple more friends, checked out bikes and people watched. Pastor tacos for dinner! And for dessert….churros! We decided to head back to our quiet section of beach, so we took them to go. That’s what saddlebags are for, right?!?
Day 6 – Bye bye Mexico! We hit the road early, gassed up, and dodge the potholes headed North. We had an easy border crossing at San Luis, we didn’t even have to take our helmets off! We made the decision to take the fast way home, so today was all freeway, a hot and windy ride. We decided to stop in Anthem, AZ, have some dinner, and get a good night’s rest.
Day 7 – We looked at the weather and were disappointed to see snow back home, and more importantly through Wolf Creek Pass – not great on motorcycles! We decided to change our route and take a more Southern route, East towards Gallup and make a left at Albuquerque. This added a few hours to the trip but avoided all the weather and mountain passes.
We left Anthem, and cut North East through the national forest at Camp Verde. The ride started out beautiful but as we headed up in elevation the temperature dropped to 45 degrees! We were dressed for warmer weather, and by the time we stopped to gear up we were both shaking.
Heading out of the mountains and catching the 40 headed East out of Winslow, AZ we had to deal with 30-40mph winds and blowing dust. We took a rest stop at an Indian trading post so Bee could catch a quick nap. The wind and frequent stops required us to cut our day early and stop in Albuquerque for the night. Hopefully tomorrow will be an easier day!
Day 8 –
It was a windy and chilly ride home from ABQ. The weather lied! It was supposed to be a calm day but we woke up to serious wind, and if you have ever driven that stretch North of Albuquerque, you know it is already windy on a good day. We just throttled it out and made a hard push home. Our cabin was a welcome sight, home sweet home! Over 2000 miles, some beautiful roads, friends, the beach, and tacos. What more can you ask for from a motorcycle trip?
After a long winter we are always excited to do a big motorcycle trip, and our friends as Biltwell provided us with the perfect excuse, the 20th, and Final, El Diablo Run! Bee and I have both attended this event several times, but never together, so it seemed like the perfect excuse for an adventure. This EDR was a 3 day event starting in Southern California, heading down to Ensenada, Baja California Mexico for a night, then over to San Felipe for 2 days of sun and fun on the beach, ending with the ride back to CA. As we were coming from Colorado, we decided to just meet everyone in San Felipe for the main event.
We planned the route the week before leaving, keeping an eye on the weather and mountain passes. We planned to ride the whole trip – trailering bikes for half of it just doesn’t sound like fun to us! We decided to avoid all highways, and take a longer, twistier route down to Mexico – stopping in towns we had not been to, ones we wanted to revisit, and hitting all the great curvy roads we could. The weather agreed with us, so we left as planned!
Day 1 – Creede to Cortez, CO right after work. We left home right after work, t was a beautiful warm day riding through Wolf Creek Pass. On the way we stopped at the Mud Creek Hogan Trading Post to do some turquoise shopping. In Cortez we grabbed a sushi dinner, and spent the night at the usual stop, the Retro Inn!
Day 2 – Cortez, CO to Sedona, AZ. This day started with a ride right through the Navajo Nation. Green sage brush after the monsoon. Wild horses along the highway. Cows drinking windshield wash at the gas station. We hit some pretty strong winds and cool temperatures through the mountains and dropped into Flagstaff, so we stopped at the Galaxy Diner for lunch and a break. From there we had an amazing ride South on 89A to Sedona. The smell of oak and pine, curves n smiles, and into the red rock canyons. We stayed at the Greentree hotel, and enjoyed the hot weather and awesome pool.
Day 3 – Sedona to Yuma, AZ. We had a gorgeous cool morning ride to Jerome, unfortunately we hit town pretty early. We did not stop, hopefully we did not wake the town up! We continued on the 89A South until we hit Prescott, Arizona, more beautiful curvy roads. We had a great breakfast on the rooftop patio of the Raven Café, then looked at a couple antique & jewelry stores in town on Whiskey Row. We rode the Beautiful divided highway down out of Prescott and headed into the desert towards Quartzville. Hot and dry! A quick stop for some gas and popsicles in Quartzville, and back on the road. We made it to Yuma, AZ and hit the pool right away. A short ride to historic downtown and Prison Hill Brewery for fried avocado tacos and an elote/brisket bowl dinner!
Check out part 2 coming soon: Into Mexico, the El Diablo Run, and the difficult ride home!
A couple of our neighbors invited us to go for a horseback ride at Cottonwood Cove Guest Ranch here in Creede. The ride was scheduled for an hour through the 4UR Ranch, (check out the history of this property!), and because we’ve never been on the ranch before we jumped at the chance to go.
We arrived early to handle signing waiver, meet the wranglers, and our horses (I rode Bruce, and Bee was on Diamond). After everyone was ready to go we headed off through the cove and onto 4UR ranch and across the river!
I was pleasantly surprised that even though it was more or less a nose to tail ride, it was not just a flat trail. The trail ran along the Rio Grande and then up into the hills, winding through the ranch property and providing some great views of Wagon Wheel Gap, the river, and Cottonwood Cove.
After about an hour the trail looped us back down to the pen and we said goodbye to our horses. This is worth the ride whether you are a new rider or have spent some time in the saddle, and I am sure we will be bringing visitors for rides here in the future. Beautiful scenery, and good horses – it feels like summer is here!
We’ve spent a little bit of time through Moab before, including a visit to Arches National Park. This four corners trip allowed us to plan on spending a couple days here, revisiting the park, and doing a bit of off roading and exploring as well!
Day one of our trip we visited Hovenweep National Monument, and made our way to Moab. We booked a room in the famous Apache Motel, one of the oldest operating motels in town and a frequent stay for John Wayne and his family! We arrived about a week before Easter and also the National Jeep meet, expecting it to be quiet, but town was hopping. After a delicious Italian dinner, we called it a night.
The next morning, we got up before sunrise and headed to Willow Springs 4 x 4 Route. This route starts in Utahraptor State Park, and allows you to enter BLM land and head directly into Arches National Park, bypassing the main entrance. On the way in, you can also stop and see the Willow Springs petrified dinosaur tracks!
Beyond the tracks in BLM land, the road gets a little more technical, nothing overly difficult in dry conditions with some sand and slick rock, but a high clearance vehicle is definitely required!
The off-road trail arrives in the park at standing rock, which brought us in a little past sunrise and ahead of a lot of the incoming park traffic. We were able to stop at a couple of the normally busier landmarks, and proceeded to the end of the line at the Garden of the Gods.
We decided to hit the trail, when we arrived, there were probably only about 20 cars or so in one of the largest parking lots in the park. We decided to hike in a few miles to see all of the rock formations before turning around and heading back to the truck. As we were heading out, there was a huge influx of incoming hikers, The shortcut into the park definitely allowed us to take advantage of these sites without the normal large crowds.
We headed back to town to grab a little lunch and rest. Our plan was to pick up some Mediterranean food takeout and head back into the park at dusk. We decided to have our dinner at the Panorama Point Viewing Area, which allows a gorgeous 360° view of the park. It was a new moon as well so we decided to stay for sunset and to watch the stars come out. Quite a few people actually showed up with the same late dinner/stargazing plan as us!
The next morning, we decided to hit a bit more offloading in the area. We headed out of town to Dead Horse Point State Park for some light offloading. We saw signs for bighorn sheep, but unfortunately, never saw any!
We headed back towards town and hung a right and headed to the Long Canyon OHV Route trailhead. This 15 mile route takes you down through a canyon, with over 2000 feet of elevation drop. One of the more notable sites is passing passing through a fallen rock tunnel! This is considered a moderate trail, with our tires aired down the 4runner handled this with ease. We decided to have a picnic on the Colorado River near Jughead Arch, then headed back to town to enjoy another dip in the pool before some dinner and shopping in town. This was a fantastic couple nights in Moab! Stay tuned for part three.
Bee and I decided to do a road trip around the Four Corners region. We figured we’d be able to see a bunch of new spots we had not yet been to and revisit a couple we had – but spend a bit more time. We cleared ourselves a four-day weekend (which happened to coincide with a bit of a heat wave for the area), and hit the road.
We left Creede and headed through Durango, CO and made our way across the Utah border to see Hovenweep National Monument.
Hovenweep National Monument preserves “six prehistoric sites built between 1200 and 1300 CE which may have served as ceremonial centers” and includes “a variety of structures, including multistory towers perched on canyon rims and balanced on boulders.
I’d been here before years ago, but Bee never had, so we decided to do the full 2 mile rim hike. From the visitor center this takes you around the end of the box Cannon, across the other rim, and down into the canyon before heading back up to the visitor center. The hike down and back out of the canyon could be a bit challenging depending on your knees, but is also completely optional. You could stay on the upper rim and still see everything, however, seeing all of the sites from the bottom of the canyon definitely offers a unique perspective!
We took our time reading through the guidebook for each of the stops, and were lucky enough to come across one of the park workers who was actually doing some restoration of mortar work on one of the buildings which was in danger of an eventual collapse. She was extremely informative and explained the whole process of preservation and their goal of just maintaining the structures, not trying to actually rebuild or add to them.
We spent about two hours at the monument which was a pretty amazing site. Is definitely hard to imagine this at the peak of its time when there were water, catchment systems, and large areas of agriculture. After a little picnic, we hit the back roads and headed off towards Moab! Stay tuned for part two of our Four Corners journey.
Wind blown and happy. Bloodshot eyes, the tip of my nose is sunburnt, my mouth is dry and I couldn’t be happier. Herds of big horn sheep, bighorn sheep mingling with deer. A bald eagle doing lazy circles in the sky over the Rio Grande. A daytime moonrise, watching a big quarter moon peek in and out between the mountains. Speed goats and open roads. Apocalypse moments with no one in front of me or behind me for miles and miles.
I’m much more concerned about the weather out here than I ever was when I lived in CA. Today looks like it will be the last day up near 70 for a while. Next week it’s gonna get back down to the 30’s. Maybe some moisture, we need it so I’m not too bummed, but I knew I’d better get on my bike before I missed my shot. I have projects up in the fortress of solitude that is my craft room and guest quarters. Those can wait, this opportunity couldn’t.
I traveled some familiar roads and unlocked a new road, hwy 114 from Gunnison to Sagauche (suh-waach). Nice open roads, it felt good to get to kick it up in to sixth gear for some long stretches. Ever cautious, scanning the sides of the road for danger deer, because if there’s one you can see there are at least 2 or 3 you can’t see. No danger deer until I made it back home. I did see a small herd of antelope (aka speed goats). They were out in a field and I slowed to watch them and watch the road for more on the other side. Better safe than sorry. I wasn’t paying too much attention to the speed limits out there, just doing whatever made the bike feel best, I wasn’t in any real hurry.
When I Ieave my house I’m riding next to the Rio Grande for about a mile before I hit pavement. That road is The Silver Thread Scenic Byway. It’s a 117 mile journey that starts in South Fork, passes through Creede, over the continental divide, past Lake City, and ends at the Blue Mesa Reservoir. People travel from states away just to pass through and I’m already here! Once I leave my neighborhood I can go either left or right and the route I chose today was left. The shortest round trip route is 250 miles. I’m not gonna see a stoplight for at least 2 hours.
The Silver Thread Scenic Byway dead ends at the West Elk Scenic Byway. I was not on the scenic part for long as I headed in to Gunnison and my first stop light. I topped off my tank, stopped at a Napa auto parts store to get a new battery for my fob and found a pizza joint for a quick lunch.
Next up I unlocked HWY 114. 61 miles of easy going mountain passes, open valleys and big sweepers with nearly zero traffic. I had to pass one Texan. They were doing pretty good for the most part, but they brake weird in turns (IYKYK) and I didn’t want to stare at this guys butt all afternoon. I made a safe pass and had the road in front of me to myself for the next hour. I pulled over once to watch the antelope but I didn’t want stay too long and have Texas catch up with me.
I hit Saguache for a pit stop and then back on the road. At this point I can go on auto pilot. Just a bunch of straight roads til I hit Del Norte for the last leg home. I put it in cruise control and just took it easy. This time of year the cops are like hawks when you get near the towns, I saw one guy pulled over just out of town and saw at least 5 more sheriffs trucks patrolling between Saguache and South Fork.
I made my right turn at South Fork and that means today I will have ridden all 117 miles of the Silver Thread Scenic Byway by the time I get home. Side note: One time my friend Matt, who is a pilot, flew in to Creede and took Kyle and I on a flight to Salida to have lunch. When we flew back we came up the canyon from South Fork to Creede, and as we were nearing the bend at the Blue Creek Lodge we felt like we were in Star Wars flying through canyons like the Millennium Falcon.
Just past Star Wars canyon there was a herd of bighorn sheep mingling with deer in the fields behind the Cottonwood Cove Guest Ranch. (my fifth element* for the day) I top off my tank in town so I’m ready for the next adventure when I park my bike. A friendly flash of the brights from a truck just before the turn by the airport, alerting me to some danger deer, thanks neighbor!
I’m back on my dusty road home, sun shining straight in to my eyes like laser beams. As I round the last corner towards the cabin I see the garage door is already open, my husband to be (he’ll do) is down in the garage after finishing his time in the fortress of solitude, waiting for me to rumble in and settle down with him for the evening.
*Fifth element: The element of surprise. Unplanned, inimitable.
“Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.”
I’ve loved Gogol Bordello since I first heard them in 1999, but I’ve never had the chance to see them live. Bee has seen them a couple of times, but it’s been years., so when we saw they were playing a short drive away in Albuquerque, New Mexico we grabbed tickets right away!
We left Creede on a Tuesday morning, stopping in Monte Vista, Colorado to see the Crane migration. Every year about 20,000 Sandhill Cranes migrate and stop in the area. As we were passing by, we figured we would take a gander. There was an absolute massive amount of them both in the air and on the ground, unfortunately with my phone I was unable to get good aerial shots.
We had an uneventful drive down, and checked into our mid-century hotel in downtown Albuquerque, within walking distance of the theater. After a quick dip in the pool, we cleaned up and headed out for a sushi dinner (no sushi in Creede!), then made our way to the venue.
I couldn’t think of a better venue to see this band, the historic El Rey Theatre, once a movie theatre and now a concert venue. And the best part? A capacity of around 700 people…that is the population of our whole county! I’m not sure if the show ended up selling out, but it was definitely packed. We started the evening up on the balcony watching the opening bands and the beginning of Gogol Bordello’s set. The sound up top was decent, but our view was a bit obstructed so we decided to make our way down to the floor.
It was a great move, we were able to get right up front where we could really see the band and the sound was amazing. The crowd was energetic, singing along and dancing. I can honestly say it’s been years since I felt that kind of energy in a crowd. I took a handful of photos and one short video, but honestly, I was too engrossed in the show!
I loved seeing these guys, it was one of the most high-octane, eclectic shows I’ve ever seen. I’m hoping to see them again down the road someday!
We took a drive down to the remote area of Negeezi, New Mexico to visit Chaco Culture National Historical Park. We knew the area had no cell signal, no restaurants, or places to stay within hours of the park except the camp sites on location… so why go? To put it simply it is one of the largest concentrations of pre-Columbian indigenous pueblo ruins anywhere and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
From Creede it was about a four-hour drive through the gorgeous Southern Colorado mountains and the Jicarilla Apache Nation Reservation. After the last 7 miles of gravel road we arrived at the park. (We had read it was a much more treacherous road…..but maybe the people writing that had never driven forest roads before?)
We stopped at the visitor center to get our vehicle pass ($25 per vehicle or no charge with a National Park Pass!) and talked to the ranger to see where our time would be best spent. It turns out the five major sites are easily accessible from the 9 mile loop access road running through the park. We chose to purchase some additional guidebooks and do a self guided tour rather than wait for a ranger-led program.
This weather this time of year was perfect, about 68 degrees out, sunny, and barely any other visitors at the park. We drove in, said hi to a couple coyotes, and parked at the lot for the Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Bonito sites.
Immediately we were surprised at how large and tall the ruins were. After seeing Pueblos at nearby Mesa Verde National Park and Chimney Rock National Monument we did not expect to see such a large complex. These ruins were constructed between 850 and 1250 CE, so it is amazing how much is still standing.
We started at the smaller site Chetro Ketl and examined the ruins and the masonry techniques outlined in the guidebooks, then made our way to the largest complex in the park, Pueblo Bonito via the petroglyph trail.
The Pueblo was stunning, walls remain over 2 stories tall, and the Great Kiva (a large, typically circular, subterranean or semi-subterranean structure used by Ancestral Puebloans for major community ceremonies, political meetings, and social gatherings) was the largest and best preserved we have ever seen. The guidebook was easily worth the $3.00 as it took you through the complex, pointing out the different sections and techniques used through hundreds of years of planned building, and highlighting features unique to this park.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park was one of the largest pueblo complexes we have visited, allowing the most access through the buildings themselves. We would absolutely recommend a detour to this park in you are in Northern New Mexico, it is worth the detour for sure!
