#12- Cache La Poudre, Walden & Rest

So sorry for the delay....I'm running way behind so I'm going to combine a few days.

Saturday, Sunday & Monday, August 29, 30 & 31, 2015

Very close to where we're staying in Laporte, an absolutely beautiful ride starts along the Cache La Poudre River. It goes a long way west to the town of Walden and that's where we went on Saturday. I think I've mentioned this ride before but haven't given it enough credit and told you how much we really love it. It's 92 miles of high canyon walls, mountain passes, beautiful alpine meadows, and as our book guy says...."all without a single stoplight." There's a place called "The Narrows" that is particularly amazing. You look straight up at these truly rocky  mountains and the road winds right through them. Just what we love.
We ate lunch at the Moose Creek Cafe in Walden and we got to see some real life cowboys! Hats, chaps, spurs, dirt, young and old. They had just come in from "taggin' 53 this mornin'." Their horses were in the huge trailer they hauled in. I could've listened to, and watched them all day. What is that about me?
Sunday was a quiet day around the campsite. Rick did some maintenance on the bike. It definitely is more stressful on the trike when hauling the trailer in the higher elevations with temps in the 90s. It has continued to be very hot out here. 
Monday we took a farewell ride to some of our favorite spots and got organized for our departure early Tuesday.

Happy trails.

#11-Peak to Peak

Friday, August 28, 2015.

Our ride today, about 220 miles worth, was called "Peak to Peak." Another pretty day through different territory that had very beautiful mountainous views. It actually started in Estes Park and went directly south from there to two small towns called Central City and Blackhawk. They were both old Victorian mining towns and today, are brimming with casinos. I, of course, wanted to play a little once we got there, but we were also a little worried about the time and not getting home before dark. We have learned that when the sun sets out here, it gets dark very fast. So, I got a measley 20 minutes at the "Red Dolly" and didn't make a cent. Surprise, surprise.
There was another very cute town on this ride called Nederland, which is Dutch for Netherlands. Apparently, a Dutch company owned several mines in this area many years ago and named the town. 

We arrived home early evening and the campground was still very quiet. We were thinking that maybe it would fill on a Friday night for the weekend but I guess with school starting....  It's nice having the peacefulness (and bathrooms) to ourselves. I don't know if I mentioned earlier about the bunnies in camp. They are wild but so funny. They come very close (5-10 ft) and eat, sleep or just watch us. I think they're getting used to us because we've been here so long! Speaking of that, we're thinking it's about time to move on down the road. We have loved it here, gotten to know some very nice people, but we've done almost all the rides and have so much more to see. So a few more days and on our way to different... 

Happy trails.

#10-Early Evening Ride

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Today was kind of a mixed up day.  We were going to go riding after a late breakfast/early lunch, but for the first time in quite a few days, it started to rain. We decided to go back to our campsite and wait it out, and  well.... that ended up being a long afternoon nap! It was wonderful.
The nice thing about rain out here is that everything dries so fast. When we crawled out, you could hardly tell it rained. It wasn't long and Rick is looking at me with those wondering, are you ready to go for a ride, eyes and so....off we go. We did a close ride that we had done part of before and really enjoyed. This time it was late afternoon/early evening and everything looked different. The way the sun danced over the mountains as it was setting, was a show in and of itself. At one point, we rounded a curve and there was a 6-point mule deer buck standing right on the side of the road about 20 feet away!  I don't know who was more surprised; him or us! He trotted off down the road and we continued on. I only got a picture of his butt so I'll refrain from posting. Tonight's ride was a slow, minimal traffic, sunset ride that brought us home to the moon rising over the campground. It has been one of my favorite so far. Happy trails. 

#9-Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Today we decided to go back to Rocky Mountain National Park and do the Bear Lake ride. It was highly recommended by our book guy and wow, was he right. We hiked the loop trail around the lake, ~3/4 of a mile, and it was absolutely beautiful.
The weather continues to be warm during the day and cool at night which is right up my alley. If we go to the higher elevations during the day, which is almost always, I'm a very happy camper!
Such a fun story here. As we were leaving the park later that day, we came upon a few cars pulled to the side of the road. We looked over and saw a whole family of elk in the meadow right before us! The big buck, the doe and two smaller ones. There was also something really dark that was in the field with them. It was a moose! Oh my gosh, we were so excited! The doe was clearly very unhappy with the moose (we think it was a young male) being there and she would approach him, (say something, I think) and he would run away, to slowly sneak back. It was just fascinating to watch, which we did for close to an hour. The big buck could have cared less about anything but eating. Mr. Moose was very close to him at one point and he didn't even look at him. It was all just so beautiful to watch. A real gift.
Happy trails.

#8-Our Trip So Far

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

As of today, we have been on the road 11 days. (Seems longer than that.) Two of those days we were rained out, so we've had nine days of actual riding. We've been in 5 states and put on 1615 miles, averaging about 180 miles/day. (Not including the rain days.) Just right. Three nights have been spent inside hard walls and eight in our little camper. We're getting along great, enjoying each other and the fun adventure. What more could we ask?
Today we took an ~50-mile ride, (recommended by our book) on a loop located very near us. We weren't expecting anything too different but it ended up being a really beautiful ride providing us with a lot of the variety Colorado has to offer. Deep canyons, very steep climbs (12%), rocky cliffs, meandering streams, peaceful Meadows and Horsetooth Reservoir.....right in our own backyard.
It was a very warm day (93°) and given our long ride yesterday, we decided to take a break. We went back to the campground and headed to the pool to cool off. Met a local lady there who told us a lot about the flood in Loveland/Estes Park two years ago. She was very interesting....and entertaining. We hit the laundry room later in the day so we're good to go for another 10 days!
Happy trails!

#7-Rocky Mountain National Park

Monday, August 24, 2015

Early this morning we headed out for what I think is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen... Rocky Mountain National Park. What a fascinating place and to top it off, the weather was perfection. Mid 80s in Estes Park and low 60s at the summit. We made our way across the park on Trail Ridge Road headed for Grand Lake. Around every curve is a surprise and we got a real special one.  Beautiful elk, males and females, on a hillside about 20-25 yards from the road. What a thrill!
The mountain views were amazing while riding to the summit of 12,200 feet. We just couldn't get enough and plan on heading back to do the Bear Lake Drive on Thursday. (We plan on taking a break tomorrow and do a little less riding).
We wish you all Happy Trails.....twice, 'cause I missed saying it yesterday.

#6-We're in the Mountains!

Saturday & Sunday, August 22 & 23

After a good breakfast Saturday morning, the ride from Sterling to Laporte was uneventful, yet another windy experience. 'Hang on to your helmet' type of ride. We stopped for gas at a little town along the way and I asked a guy there pumping gas if it was always so windy. He said no, he didn't know where all this wind came from!  I sheepishly told him that I thought we might have brought it with us from Iowa. 

We got to the KOA in Laporte, just a bit north of Fort Collins, mid afternoon and are thrilled. We have a really nice site, under the trees, across from the pool, facing the mountains, 35 miles from Rocky Mountain National Park, and close to several other rides we want to take. We bought a book before we left home called, "Motorcycling Colorado" that describes the rides in any given area, maps them out, and tells you just about everything you need to know. How many miles for the ride, what you will see, typical traffic, gas, food, etc. It has already proven itself invaluable.  

After settling in and later that afternoon, we looked at each other and said, "Let's go for a ride!" and off we went! We picked a nice short one close to home base called Red Feather Lakes. It was a beautiful ride about an hour before sunset. Saw a couple of mule deer but that was about it. Rick built a nice campfire at dusk and it wasn't long before the day was done. 

Like two years ago, we're meeting really nice people along our journey. The camper still attracts attention and there are always lots of questions. 

Late Sunday morning we took off for a longer ride called the Cache La Poudre. (Hidden powder) It's name has something to do with French trappers in the 1820s stashing their gun powder along the shore of the river during a terrible snowstorm. The ride followed the river through the mountains and canyons and it was just a beautiful day. 

#5-We're In Sterling, Colorado!

Friday, August 21, 2015

The morning at our campsite at Red Willow was just as pretty as the night before. Instead of packing up and hurrying on right away, we decided to relax, go for a walk down by the reservoir and just enjoy the pretty morning. We finally left McCook around noon to drive about 150 miles to Sterling, CO. We had made reservations at a campground there as we're finding out there are not a lot to pick from in these rather remote areas. The ride was a hot one and out came the cooling jackets  again!  The guage on the motorcycle read 95°. We just missed a really big storm that was coming through right after we entered Colorado! We got lucky and were able to drive right out of it.
Not quite so lucky with Buffalo Hills Campground in Sterling. It was a sorely neglected campground that needed major work and renovation. Because we were having difficulty finding places to stay over the weekend, we initially thought we would stay there two nights. After seeing it we were quickly motivated to find a new place to stay, which we did. On the bright side, the pool was cool and refreshing and we slept great. Come to think of it.... we seem to sleep great every night!
Tomorrow will take us to Laporte, CO, just north of Fort Collins, to do some highly recommended motorcycle riding. Until next time, Happy Trails.

#4-McCook & the Red Willow Reservoir

Thursday, August 20

We left Lake North in Columbus Thursday morning and headed into town for errands.  Gas, supplies, a perfect breakfast at The Picket Fence and on our way, headed for McCook, NE.  McCook is located in the southwestern part of the state and where we needed to go to enter into Colorado. It was a perfect day for riding. Warm, but not hot, breezy, but not gale force winds. A perfect  example of why we wanted to do this trip.
Our destination in McCook  was the Red Willow Reservoir. We had called and talked to a guy who said we'd probably have the place pretty much to ourselves so pick a spot, any spot. On our way up to the Reservoir, 11 miles north of McCook, the sky darkened and it started to rain. We pulled into a spot, went to a shelter and just waited it out. Lasted about 45 minutes. And then.....perfection! We found the entire park so well cared for and just a beautiful spot out on the prairie. I think there were a total of 3 campers, all so far apart you couldn't see one another, a beautiful reservoir, spotless restrooms and showers, and....no bugs! I was so thrilled. We chose our campsite, set up shop, Rick got wood for a beautiful campfire and we just thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Another beautiful sunset and a golden sliver of a moon. Aahhhh.

#3-We Made it To Nebraska!

August 19th

The rain finally came to an end late Tuesday. We're so ready! Even though it looked kind-of threatening and the winds were really blowing, (20-25mph)
we took off early Wednesday morning, headed for Columbus, Nebraska and an  area called Lake North Park. It is supposed to be very popular with the local folk in the summer, big lake, very basic amenities, and to be honest, there weren't any other campgrounds. (You know me, I'm always harping for fancy restrooms. Haha.)
The 200 mile drive was one of those crazy windy ones where you practically have to hang on to your helmet. Lake North turned out to be a nice spot. Lots of puddles from all the recent rain, of course, but a spot next to the lake, cool winds, a beautiful sunset, and a good night's sleep under the stars. What more could we ask for? Thanks for being with us. We're back on.... Happy trails.

#2-It's Raining, It's Pouring

August 17 & 18

We'll, I'm certainly not going to complain about the heat anymore! Ames, Iowa has become our new home. Thank God, we took shelter from the heat, because now we need it from the storms! We knew rain was headed our way but didn't realize how much. When we awoke yesterday morning (Monday) to thunder and pouring rain, we knew we were in a rain delay. The forecast was dismal. Storms predicted on & off throughout the day and in to Tuesday. Some severe. What do you do? I know what I do but being trapped in a hotel room is not Rick Daniel Boone Paris' idea of fun. I have to really thank him here for two things. The first is his insisting on hauling everything inside Sunday night except for the trike and trailer. Haha. His thoughts were around security but I was fine bringing in just essentials and leaving everything else out there. (It's all so big and bulky, I didn't think anyone would want to steal them!) But, being the good wife I am, I helped lug it all in and am so grateful we did. Our stuff is dry! The second thank-you to him is for just staying put. It is so against his nature to be inside with very little to do for two days, but between his common sense and being the good husband he is.....well, I'm thankful.
It's thundering and raining this morning as I write. The forecast is still for two more rounds later today. The good news is tomorrow is supposed to be clear and much cooler. Yippee! Nebraska or bust!

P.S. It just occurred to me that I wrote an awful lot for doing nothing. Feel free to fast forward. Haha.

Happy trails.

#1-And We're Off!

August 15 & 16
Hi everyone! Rick and I left home Saturday morning embarking on The Paris Trike Trip Adventure of 2015. Yes, here we go again. Haha! A lot of people have been surprised that we decided to take a cross country motorcycle camping trip a second time, but I guess we still have the wanderlust. This time for Colorado and southern Utah. I'm going to try writing a blog again to keep in touch with family and friends and also to record what I am sure will be precious memories. (We still love looking at the one from 2 years ago.) So come along with us. We'd be delighted to have you!

Well, we seem to have picked one of the hottest weekends of the year to leave, but what can you do? Hop aboard and deal with it, I guess, and that's what we did. We bought water-activated cooling jackets this year and they have really helped. Don't get me wrong, it's still very hot but they do help. Just soak me down every couple of hours and I'll keep smilin'. Haha.
Our goal for this trip is to go about 200 miles/day, take our time and enjoy the journey. So Saturday we  spent driving across Wisconsin to spend the night at the Rustic Barn Campground in Kieler.  It's in the far southwestern corner of the state, about 7 miles from the Mississippi River. Very nice place....for a campground in 90° humid weather. We were the only people in the tent area so we picked a beautiful site under a big shade tree overlooking a picture perfect farm. Despite the heat, Rick slept like a rock and I did ok, too. (My little portable fan saved me.)
Today, (Sunday) was even hotter than yesterday. We stopped more often along the way (to wet our cooling jackets) and actually decided to find a place to stay the night with air conditioning. We arrived in Ames, Iowa, just north of Des Moines late this afternoon and it's wonderful. I'm a happy non-camper!
Happy trails to you....