Wednesday July 15
I left Alamosa at 10am as I waited for the day to warm a little bit, as it was below 60 when I woke. This was the day I ride the Million Dollar Highway (route 550) from Durango to Ouray. It was an hour to the start, and a nice ride to get there. For the first time, except the Ozarks there were many motorcycles coming and going. I stopped for lunch in Pagosa Springs and talked to another biker from Corpus Christi.

Lunch in Pagosa Springs.

Amazingly, after I stopped for lunch, prior to the ride, I was very tired after having ridden only 100 miles. This was not good I thought. I was about to ride a route with very few guardrails and many places to die. I hate coffee and never drink anything but water, so I thought maybe some caffeine shot was in order. Before I got one, I just kept thinking I hope I don’t have a heart attack from it, but I also didn’t want to die riding off the side of a cliff so I bought one and drank it. It worked, because I don’t remember anything else about the tiredness before I started the highway. Words really can’t describe that ride. I can say, many people won’t drive it from their fear of heights and what they have heard about the cliffs. There were amazing sites, most of which I couldn’t enjoy, as I raced through the twist and turns, passing cars and trucks where I could, but the few stops I made, were worth every moment of suffering through the heat in Oklahoma.
I passed through Silverton and was so excited for more of the mountain, that I didn’t stop to look at this old mining town, but kept going to Ouray. I rode up into “the amphitheater” which is a park on the side of the mountain overlooking the city and has camping. It was only about 5pm, a bit early to stop riding, so I continued on. I drove through Ouray and thought it might be the coolest town I have ever passed through in the US. There were so many people, tons of tourist all over that it made me think I will have to back there someday with my girlfriend. About an hour later I started looking for camping while I drove, and finally settled on a $27 a night KOA in Montrose, CO. I set up camp and met Jack and Mara from Texas and they asked about my trip and discussed more traveling. Very nice people as everyone I met has been. I am very pleased that there are so many interested in where I am riding and planning to see. For dinner I went to the Horsefly Brewery.
Days travel = 260 miles