Alaska Day 26

We made it to Walsenburg, but without the trailer (LOL). We left Rangley bright and early knowing it would be a slow day since we planned on running Highway 50 through Colorado. Highway 50 is very scenic, but every tourist in Colorado will be there with their RV, plus add the local Sunday crowd, and you can plan on a very slow day.

It was light when we left, but still a bit on the dark side. We headed for Grand Junction on 139, which is about a 80 mile drive. Our plan was to have breakfast once we arrived at Grand Junction. As we turned onto 139 just outside of Rangley, I told Dick I was going to run fairly slow due to deer. I have ridden this road many times over the years, and I know it is loaded with my favorite critter. About that time, guess what, one of my fan club was standing on the side of the road. One thing I can say about Colorado deer, they don't seem to be as skiddish as Texas deer. He/she just stood on the side of the road and watched us go by.

Didn't see any deer the rest of the way, but we did run through some open range and had to deal with some cows on the road. Most of the time this is not a problem, but at one location we got between a momma and her baby, and momma got a bit upset with us. It all worked out they were reunited and we suffered no damage.

We arrived in Grand Junction around 7:30 am. I spotted a Golden Corral with a buffet breakfast, so we decided to donate our money to their cause. The breakfast was great, but when we came out Dick informed me the trailer was going no farther. We checked the wheel, and it was obvious it has gotten worse and would not make it home.

We checked out the local stores looking for a small trailer to put his trailer on, but we didn't have any luck finding one. We did find one at a trailer place, but it was closed on Sunday. Our last option was to put his trailer in storage and return to pick it up at a later date. That is what we did. It's going to cost Dick a wopping $12.00 to leave it there a month. I guess I will be returning to Grand Junction with Dick in a couple of weeks to pick it up.

We left Grand Junction and continued on Highway 50. We gassed up at Montrose and continued on. The traffic was bad, I mean really bad. After we passed through Gunnison we noticed Highway 114. This is one of the few paved roads I have not ridden in Colorado. Like the Flaming Gorge, I have ridden around it but never on it. We decided to take it and check it out. I can again kick myself in the arse for never riding this road. What a great road, curves, mountains and summits. What more could you ask for.

Around 4 we arrived in Walsenburg, even after our two hour delay in Grand Junction. We check into the Anchor Motel, which turned out to be a nice place at a great price. We ate at the local Mexican Restaurant down the street, which turned out to be just OK.

Tomorrow we plan to make it somewhere past Lubbock. We will see how it turns out.