Some sprinkles on the tent as the day broke. No reason for most of us to get up in this. Except for Keith, since he decided to sleep under the stars, sprinkles caused him to scramble while the rest of us rolled over in our sleeping bags. Fortunately, it wasn't much moisture and it didn't last long. Breakfast was omelets cooked over the one burner by Steve. Yum!
After loading up and scripture/prayer we headed back down from the top of the park on the same great road to Grand Junction. Stopped at some pull outs for more great views of the red cliffs. In town we made a stop at a Walmart for some more gear then headed south.
We had noticed on the map a very interesting looking highway with some nice twisties which would bring us down into SW Colorado and get us into place for our foray back east into the high mountains of central Colorado. It was State Hwy 141 from Grand Junction to Naturita. After riding it we can all agree that this is a GREAT road and is HIGHLY recommended! It follows the Dolores river valley with cool looking tall red mountainous cliffs on each side. The curves are fun and the scenery is amazing. (remember to click on the pics to make them full size).
We stopped at a little town called Gateway for gas and lunch. Fortunately, the only place in town had both. Next to the gas station was a old fashioned dining car which a couple from India had brought in and was selling really bad, greasy American food. Someone at the pump had warned us not to eat there but the suggestion of where else to eat didn't pan out so we ended up back there and filled our stomachs. There were a few tables set up in the veranda between the dining car and the store and at some point I turned to the family next to us and said "So, where are you from?". Their faces lit up as they said "Why, we are from England!". It turned out they were on holiday for three weeks in Colorado and we were delighted to spend some time sharing our stories. The dad is a surgeon, Mom is a dentist and the two daughters are college students. I shared our Fossil business cards with them and promised them I'd put their picture on our web site if they'd pose for me. They did, and here it is:
Hi folks, sorry it's taken me so long to post this, hope you still see it. It was great meeting you!
After lunch we continued on south on Colorado 141 not sure how far we were going to get that day. There had been some light rain around all day making some wet, even flooded roads. But the light rain turned heavy which settled for us where to call it a day. Steve had zoomed ahead and tried to make it to a town called Naturita without stopping to put on rain gear, He didn't make it dry. Us slow pokes, however, saw the dark clouds and pulled over to gear up before the wet started. It was really pouring heavily as we pulled into town and saw Steve waving us into an enclosed car wash bay where he retreated from the rain. From there we pulled up the weather radar on our phones and realized this was going to last a couple more hours. We decided that this was the town and the only motel in town would be our home tonight.
Supper was in a restaurant across the street. This day is the day that will go down as the day when our food was the worst. Supper was even worse than lunch. The service was lousy and the food was slow, un-done and yucky. Otherwise, it was a good evening and the much needed shower felt great!
The real bed was nice too.
