Route 50

Day 23 -Fri., 5/30/08 -Montrose, CO to La Junta, CO -Ted and I left Montrose to a beautiful sunny day with a temperature of 61 degrees. I put on my Gerbing jacket liner under my Tour Master. Our goal was to stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnison which was right outside of town and then to head east on Hwy. 50. Kevin Lang said we would like 50. He should know because he has a brother that lives just off of 50 and he has traveled it before.

We turned onto the road that lead to the national park. It was a steady climb up! Horses grazed in the fields to the right and left. It was beautiful. The valley floor became a panaramic view. When we reached the top the canyon showed itself. Granite walls fell steeply to the Gunnison River way below. Birds flew in the space between. It was dramatic and peaceful. As we proceeded to the visitor's center a mule deer walked out onto the road between Ted and me. I stopped to take a picture and noticed he had a friend nibbling at the new green shoots coming out on the scrub around us. They looked like they were loosing their winter coat. We watched the movie at the visitor's center and it was one of the best telling the history of the park and the personalities involved.

After leaving and going down and down we continued on Route 50. We went past Blue Mesa which was another beautiful spot. More traffic joined us. The road twisted right and left. In Florida I don't get a chance to practice my turns much but I had a chance to practice on this road. Up and down over beautiful mountains. This was the Rockies! Snow dotted the sides of the mountains. I thought we were high until we came to Monarch Pass! We must have climbed for an hour. More snow showed itself on the sides of the road. The temperature was dropping. We continued to climb and turn this way and that! I was glad for my Gerbings. Finally at the top we were 11,312' in the air, with a temperature of 48 degrees. Then we started down! The big fir trees were on both sides of the road. At the bottom we picked up the Arkansas River and followed that into the town of Salida, CO where we stopped for gas and lunch. Salida is a wonderful town. We were falling in love with Route 50. On the other side of Salida the twisties got tighter and traffic dropped off again. Ted and I felt like we were craving the curves. It was so much fun! The Arkansas River always gave us something to marvel at. We saw rafters battling the currents and saw a lot of cars with kayaks strapped on top. We love Route 50!

Miles -330
Highest gas seen -$4.15 (Salida, CO)
Highest gas paid -$3.98 (Salida, CO)
Highest elevation -11,312' (Monarch Pass)
Highest/Lowest temperature -89 (La Junta, CO)/48 (Monarch Pass)
Cattle Grates - they have fake cattle grates out here. They paint stripes across the road like it was a real cattle grate. I guess after the wild life/cattle are trained, they don't cross the fake ones either.) -0