Day 3 - Glenwood Springs to Delores, 345 miles
Day 3 was another long day, but a good one. We woke up without a plan, but after some discussion, decided to head south west into the White River National Forest. The route we chose was pretty confusing, because the road numbers changed so often, but Dan wrote down all the numbers on a slip of paper and I don’t think we missed a single turn.
The route was filled with gentle switchbacks, an excellent morning ride.
During the second half of this forest route, we began to see a large flat mesa on the horizon. As we would soon find out, this was Grand Mesa.
The route took us out of the forest and back to civilization, through the town of Collbran. We turned south on Highway 65, also known as Grand Mesa Scenic Byway, a road recommended by Butler motorcycle maps. We had planned to take 65 all the way to Orchid City, but a chance stop in Mesa for root beer and snacks changed our plans. The waitress there suggested that we ride to the top of Grand Mesa, promising an amazing vantage point with a view of Grand Junction.
So we continued south on 65, with a new plan to head west on Land’s End road, across the top of Grand Mesa. Highway 65 began to climb; here’s a view of the highway down below and also Grand Mesa in the left of the photo.
The top of the mesa is about 10,000 feet, and the road across the top was cold and windy. Eventually we reached the western side of the mesa, where there’s a parking area, an information kiosk, outhouses, and a lookout building. The western side of the mesa is known as Land’s End, and it is aptly named. There are sheer drop-offs on three sides of the mesa.
Here’s a view looking north west. You can see Grand Junction in the distance.
When we first rode across the mesa, I didn’t realize there was a road down the west side. Upon seeing the steep switchbacks winding down to the bottom, I think Dan, Brad, and I all had the same reaction - “we are not backtracking; we are taking THAT road down.”
To give you another view, I overlaid our GPS tracks on Google Earth. What an awesome road. The first few switchbacks have a bit of “exposure” as Dan would say… slip off the side of the road and it’s a long way down.
There were dozens, maybe hundreds, of these chipmunks living at the lookout building. I guess the tourists who drive out to Land’s End feed them, and they were quite persistent in their demands for food. I told Brad to give some peanuts or something to one of them, and he got bit! Sorry Brad.
After descending the switchbacks from Land’s End, it was a short ride to Grand Junction, so we headed there for lunch, and came up with a plan for the rest of the day. We were going to ride the Divide Road across the Grand Mesa - Uncompahgre - Gunnison National Forest. Yes, that’s a mouthful.
Here’s one of the first switchbacks, as we started the climb to 9,000 feet.
We had been warned that traffic could be heavy on the Divide Road, and at one point we had to pull off and wait as a convoy of pickups, campers, and fifth-wheelers came down the switchbacks. It was Sunday afternoon, and most of them were likely returning home.
While we were waiting for traffic to die down, Brad kept looking back at my Tiger. I think he wants one.
The Divide Road rises to the top of a long plateau, and was interesting for the first 10-15 miles. But it just kept going on and on and ON. It must’ve been 40-50 miles when we finally decided to bail to the south and descend back to Highway 141. At least most of the road was at 9,000 feet, so we stayed relatively cool. That was about to change.
We continued on highway 141. None of us were particularly impressed with this area… I’ve always thought north-eastern Wyoming is desolate but I believe this exceeds it if you’re looking for god-forsaken barrenness.
The temps were climbing (we weren’t really that far from Moab) and it was mid-afternoon. At one point we pulled off on a county road to try and find a remote campsite. We crossed a bridge over a creek that was not quite dry… I learned later that this was “Disappointment Creek”, a major contributor of sediment and saline to the Colorado river. After a couple miles we ran into a pretty serious rock garden, not easy passage on big bikes, and stopped to discuss options.
Dan had stopped in a draw just short of the rock garden, and noticed some fresh mountain lion tracks. The idea of remote camping here was becoming less appealing. We decided to bail and continue on to Delores or thereabouts. On the way back to the highway, Dan informed us that it was 104 degrees, which explained why I had been feeling a bit hot while standing around with riding gear on.
Eventually we found a remote campsite outside of Delores. Dan rode into town for beer while Brad and I set up tents. Brad started a fire and it turned out to be a pretty nice evening, although Brad did get attacked by a hummingbird. First the chipmunks, then the birds.
It got very cold that night, probably due to our altitude. I think Dan said 30 degrees. 104 to 30 degrees is quite a swing for one day of riding, but that’s Colorado.
