| Author | Message | ||
     Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  yesterday, nothing but sage brush. today, nothing but aspens! (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  this is the view looking down from the appropriately-named Grand Mesa. the dry, desert southwest is visible in the distance. these photos were taken at the junction of two wildly diverse ecosystems, close enough that one can be seen from the other, but worlds apart in every respect. this stunning transformation in terrain was awesome and amazing to me, and it's not an exaggerration to say that my excitement level was bumping the rev limiter. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  the lighting is a little tough, but note the aspens in the background beginning their annual show, aglow in the cold Rocky Mountain air. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  a long shot from the same spot. i hope you can sense the anticipation i was feeling as i took these photos, anxious to experience the wonders waiting 'round the bend. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  so what WAS waiting for us, 'round the bend? well, SNOW for one thing! JB2 photographs the wart hogs frolicking in the white stuff.  (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  so what IS it about snow? what makes kids, even old kids like me, all giddy about playing in it, and playing WITH it? i surely can't tell you, but i suspect you already know. and yes, it's true: i WAS giddy. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  JB2 and i seldom passed up a photo op. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  several alpine lakes are visible in this photo, and we were told that there are about a bazillion more, dotting the Grand Mesa. had the ride ended here, i think i would have gone home a contented man. these pix do not even come close to taking you to the Grand Mesa of Colorado, one of the most perfect works of nature i've ever experienced. it was a combination of things, hard to put into words, difficult to capture in photos, but palpable and tangible and real, overpowering in a way that was both exhilarating and humbling at the same time. from my journal: "I am literally moved to tears by the beauty and grandeur of this place. I can really feel my Dad's presence. I am...out of words." (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  just a tick further up the Grand Mesa we encountered a diverse group of touring riders, all aimed the direction we'd just ridden, and as thrilled with the ride heading down as we were with the ride heading up. JB2 is a sociable sort and entertains with ease, as he is doing in this photo, while the owner of the white Gold Wing checks out his VFR. me, i'm quite content to hide behind my camera, looking for "the shot", which conveniently avoids having to think of something clever and witty to say, something i'm barely able to do at the keyboard, much less face-to-face in real time. look close and you'll note how far away i parked from my friend and riding companion (well beyond the white Wing). why? d'oh, i accidentally killed the bike rolling up the the stop, and rather than hit the button and fire the thing back up - signaling to anyone paying attention that i'd just screwed up - i opted to coast to a rather awkward stop, well shy of my mark, and pretend that i had it all planned that way. two observations: 1 - i worry too much about being cool. 2 - but in my defense, if i worried TOO much about being cool, i wouldn't have shared any of this with you. somewhere in all of this i hope there's a truth as it pertains to my ongoing yet glacially-paced development as a functioning member of society - let me know if you figure it out before i do... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  the fellow on the Wing studied JB2's VFR with all the intrigue of someone watching a gall bladder operation. "What is it?", asked the lady to his right, genuinely interested. "A VFR Interceptor," i replied. "A crotch rocket!", snorted the Winger in relative disgust. i began to explain to him that it was a Honda afterall, just like HIS bike, how it's probably the most decorated streetbike of all time, how it will carve twisty roads yet tour the world with equal aplomb, how it... in the end i actually only said five words to him. "Yeah, it's a crotch rocket." ps: just LOOK at the view!!! (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  several members of FSAC (Future Steaks of America Club), out for a leisurely morning stroll. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  if you're following along on your map, find where Colorado Highway 65 meets Highway 92, and try not to drool - it makes you look silly. Hwy 92 skirts the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison Nat'l Park, kisses the Black Mesa and the Gunnison National Forest, and religiously hugs nearly every convoluted contour of the Gunnison River, which is all to say the road Just Don't Suck. the shot above i BELIEVE is of the Morrow Point Reservoir. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  again, if you're following along, note the big north-south "spike" in Hwy 92 just west of Sapinero. what a treat! this shot was taken after we'd strafed the spike's apex and were pointed back south. tough lighting, again, but we were trying to catch the kaleidoscope of colors just beginning to explode into all their fall glory. hey, almost forgot! take a look at the back of my bike and what DON'T you see??? all my camping gear! YIPPEE!!! we had stopped back up the line, in Hotchkiss, CO, for gas, and spied a coffee shop on the way into town that looked inviting. after fuel we doubled back and pulled into a charming, shaded, small-town coffee bistro, JUST the kind of place one would want to hang out and get caffeinated whilst riding hither and yon amongst the cool Colorado countryside. i should preface all of this by saying i had decided that morning that at the first opportunity i was shipping all my camping gear back home, and we were on the lookout for a place to do so. well, guess what the little Mom 'n Pop business located quite conveniently right next door to the coffee shop was all about? yep, you're way ahead of me. Mail & Copy Central of Hotchkiss, CO to the rescue. hot damn bobo, it was SO nice to get all this stuff packaged up and off my back. Manager Mike Burns and Crew couldn't have been any more helpful and friendly (there was a framed certificate hanging on the wall indicating that Mail & Copy Central had been named "2004 Business of the Year" in Hotchkiss, deservedly so as far as i'm concerned), and in no time i'd shed almost 50 pounds - Weight Watchers, eat your heart out! this process freed up an entire RKA saddlebag, which promptly gobbled up half of what was in the OTHER bag to balance the load, and note in the shot above that the Chase-Harper strung across the back of the bike barely has enough stuff in it to even hold its shape. ever, um, been constipated for several days? of course you have. remember how good it felt when you finally, errr...well, you know? i felt even better than THAT!!! (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Dino |
Yay!...more photos! BTW, FB, I've got a couple for you I'll send by snail-mail real soon. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Dino, i agree: Yay! (as long as y'all can be patient about me adding the text - this is taking forever.) looking forward to your pix, thanks. maybe save them for Oktoberfast? DAY FIVE, cont.  looking down-n-n-n to the Gunnison River. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  a river runs thru it. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  i AM smiling. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  JB2 'n i truly hope you all appreciate the fact that we had to defeat the safety fence to bring you these photos of the river and gorge. givers, we are. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 01, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY FIVE, cont.  our arrival in Gunnison, Colorado meant more than most of you yet know. ---------------------------------- we had one more little adventure today to deal with. when we got into Gunnison JB2 noticed that my rear sprocket was toast (which is putting it mildly). there WAS a bike shop in town, but Gunnison is a SMALL town, and the shop - Sun Sports - was not a Honda dealer, and in fact they seldom deal in street bikes at all - their business card states "Specializing in Off Road and Snow." expecting the worst, but at their mercy, i approaced the parts counter, explained my situation, and with a smile and a look of confident determination my new best friend Adam went to work. in a matter of maybe a minute he had a part number for a complete chain and sprocket set from one of his catalogs, and was on the phone to one of his distributors. i should add at this point that it was almost 4:30 in the afternoon. big gulp. Adam spoke into the phone, "Hang on just a sec." he looked at me. "They've got a set in California. We can Red Label it here for the morning [WOW!!!], but we need to hurry, and the shipping won't be cheap." "Do it!" i cried. done. Adam rocked. no stress. no heartburn. no excuses. no "Sorry, we don't work on Hondas here." instead, what do you - the paying customer, the person who pays our bills and feeds our families, and the person who deserves our respect as a result - need, and how can we make it happen? it was SO refreshing. i next spoke with Debbie, Sun Sport's service manager. her professionalism and enthusiasm easily matched Adam's. "Be here by 10," she said with a smile, "that's when UPS gets here. We've got a lot of work in the shop, but we'll fit you in." done. it was SO refreshing. we had a great steak dinner at the Trough that night (with a name like that, you KNOW it's gonna be good!), and slept like babies. what a monumental day, only our second full day on the road. we had not traveled far, but we had certainly covered a lot of ground. i gave thanks that night for my many blessings, and wondered how it could get ANY better. TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 198.3 (Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 02, 2004) | ||
| Cj_xb |
Just when you think they can't get better, they do !! CJ | ||
| Bomber |
JH -- you sir, even without the words, are a ring-tailed spell-binder! (ps, CJ, that's a GOOD thing ;-} ) | ||
| Cj_xb |
Again, dictionary didn't help !! | ||
| Bomber |
hint -- check a dictionary of quotes -- see Mark Twain | ||
| Cj_xb |
Psst, if it ain't in Cosmo I probably won't find it, but I get the jist of the quote, that's enough for me !! | ||
| Reindog |
Wow!!!!! I am jockeying my keyboard at work right now but my mind and spirit are in Grand Mesa! Thanks. Jerry is one lucky dog in many ways. Oktoberfast approacheth next weekend and Jerry is gonna lead us up into Sequoia National Park. He is a regular Moses on a motorcycle. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
thank you lady and gents, very much appreciated. i guess it goes without saying that it's fun to hang this stuff out there to see, and the positive feedback is encouraging. thanks again. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
ps to Bomber: "Sometimes my feelings are so hot that I have to take the pen and put them out on paper to keep them from setting me afire inside..." - Mark Twain i know how he felt. | ||
| Pdxs3t |
Moses on a motorcycle, LMFAO, that was good! | ||
| Pdxs3t |
Hey Jerry, are you actually getting any work done today? | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
uh, define "work"... |
