We rented a cabin July 2019 in Walden Colorado and made day trips from there. Two days of riding to get there, two days back. Four Fossils strong, Paul, Keith, Jeff and Wayne. Unfortunately Jeff had to leave early to get home.
First day was from Minneapolis to Kadoka SD, about 500 miles. Second day was from Kadoka to Walden CO, about 460 miles. Stayed off of interstates for the most part except for the last stretch from Vivian SD to Kadoka. Nice but long days. (Click on any pic for full size)
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| Second day was very hot, this is my helmet on ice. |
Once in Walden we found our rental house, settled in and planned our day excursions. Walden is in the middle of the high plains surrounded by mountains in every direction. An excellent place to call home away from home.
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| Our daily rides from Walden. |
First day was south to Granby, then north and east through The Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, then skirting west of Fort Collins on a twisty, less traveled road and back home on beautiful US14.
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| our rental house in Walden |
Rocky Mountain National Park was very busy that day but still very nice:
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| at around 12,000 feet here |
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| Keith and Jeff checking out the view |
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| Wayne and Paul checking out the view from the comfort of our seats |
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| Found a nice place to eat in Estes Park. Open air with a talented singer/guitar player. |
The next day we rode west to Steamboat Springs where we did some souvenir shopping and ate lunch. Afterwards the other guys headed back to Walden and I zoomed way south to Loveland Pass and then back north through Grandy.
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| a stop on state hwy 134. Highly recommended! |
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| This is what can happen when riding on open range state highways. That is manure on my side stand. |
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| Loveland Pass |
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| There was snow up there. So much that I met a guy who was skiing on a snow field just over the mountain to the right. |
The next day was to the north east, north and west into the southern Medicine Bow range. We rode part way towards Laramie and said goodbye to Jeff then I headed north on gravel and the other two went back to Walden for R&R. Beautiful passes from Centennial WY to Baggs WY. Then home was so far away with no highways through the mountain wilderness that I had to go way south through Steamboat Springs and got back to Walden after dark.
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| Shortcut to WY was up a gravel pass. A bit of problem for this big touring bike but we did alright |
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| Rain and cold on Snowy Pass, Medicine Bow National Forest. Still beautiful! |
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| Warmer and dry once I got to the western ranges. WY Hwy 70, don't know name of pass. |
Our last day out of Walden was east back on beautiful hwy 14 to Fort Collins where we had brunch at a restaurant owned by Keith's nephew. Yumm!
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| This is Larry the BBQ guy in Walden. A wonderful Christian man who became a close friend. |
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| Keith and his nephew, owner of Doug's Day Diner, Fort Collins. |
From there we visited the Harley Dealer in Fort Collins and then made our way to Keith's brother's house where we had supper. Then a couple of long days home back the way we came.
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| Odo shows total trip miles: just under 3K |
all in all, it was a great trip, with great brothers, great fellowship, great rides, great scenery, ... i think you get the idea...
grace and peace in our Lord, Jesus Christ
Fossil Wayne
