From there we headed back down the other side toward US24, which we then took as far as Leadville. We stopped at a nice little coffee shop (okay, I had hot chocolate) and just relaxed. Given the time of day we decided to camp around there. The locals suggested camping at Turquoise Lake about 4 miles west of town. So we headed to Safeway to pick up vittles for dinner.
The lake turned out to be beautiful with practically no one there. We nearly had this whole campground area to ourselves. So another pretty camp with a campfire and a nice evening chatting around the fire talking about the day we had and the day to come. Today's mileage: a leisurely 366 miles
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
6am arrived as it usually did with Tim and I up first. Tim got a fire going and we all had a little breakfast before breaking camp. Once we got packed up, we headed back to Leadville and headed north on SR91 which would take us up to I-70 which we had no choice but to get on. Fortunately not for long however. But if you're going to be forced to get on an interstate, one rolling through the Rockies
isn't a bad one to be on. We got off around Dillon because we wanted to take the Loveland Pass road. Remember what I said about passes being addictive?
Until 1973 when the Eisenhower Tunnel was completed, this was the only way across the Continental Divide.
I'm sure the tunnel is an engineering feat, but in my opinion you just can't beat going over the old fashioned way! We were not disappointed. Just shy of 12,000 feet it was great riding and spectacular views. Of course the obligatory picture with the sign happened. Coming down off the pass you can see I-70 rolling along below and we were due to join the throng on the road to get to our next goal: Mt. Evans.
First we needed some lunch, so we stopped in Idaho Springs for lunch at Subway. Those franchises must be inexpensive because you find them in practically every other town you pass through. After lunch we got some gas (we are with Tiny Bladder Tim and his Harley peanut tank) and then headed up under threatening skies. I thought we'd get hit with rain, but we never did. The ride past Echo Lake was pretty and twisty in itself. Mt. Evans is a national park and like a few other parks we went through, my National Park pass from last year really paid for itself. At Mt. Evans it allowed four motorcycle riders to be covered. Tim had a pass too, so entry cost us nothing.
Tom Clark
I'm a Senior Software Engineer at Intellitect, living in Spokane, Washington. I also do a little development work on the side. And I love riding motorcycles all over the country with my friends.
