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CBAT and a Nomad Ride the Great Divide, Part 1

ive been reading this thread on and off all day today. one of the best mondays ive had in a while. thanks for taking the time to do this, been a great read so far. :clap:
 
Best hour and a half spent today, what a great trip guys. Too bad the route didn't go through Ten Sleep, WY, you could have crashed at my parent's place and jumped in the pond :)
 
Thanks for the comments and taking the time to read this thing. I know it's long but so wast the ride. ;-) Now, on to day six. :coffee:

:coffee: Yes we are reading it thinking how lucky you are while we are stuck back here with News people that are mad because there is no Hurricanes :clap:

You guys be safe and keep your nuts on :lol2:
 
Re: Day 3: Cattle Trail, Closed roads, Bannack, MT

Looks like a small trailer to me :-P
Cbat didn't specify which object, so you're 50% right. :mrgreen:

My guess: hay loader?

Sitting here in this 13th floor lab/office and overlaying your photos and narrative onto the landscape through these windows, I feel as though I'm there.... almost. The odors don't match ;-)

Awesome adventure, dudes. :clap: Was it hard to come back?
 
Day 6: Finally into Colorado, yea!

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We slept good in Rawlins. So good it was 0940 before we started rolling. Even then it was still cool and overcast when we left town heading south for the Colorado state line. :rider:

After about 20 miles of pavement we were back on gravel/dirt. Well maintained and capable of good speed. And we were getting close to trees after being in the wide open expanse of the basin.

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As we started to get into the forest we were greeted by one of the famous stretches of road along the Great Divide MC Route; The Aspen Alley. A quarter mile of straight road with towering aspen trees forming a canopy. I would love to see this in the fall. I could not decide which aspect looked better so I'll post both of them.

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And one of us to to prove we were really there. ;-)

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From the Aspen Alley it's just a few miles until we are back on pavement for a short stretch. Wyoming Hwy 70 would take us through the pine/aspen forest on sweeping curves and past Battle Mountain.

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According to the marker, a large group of mountain men met a large party of natives, guns were drawn and several were killed on both sides. Thus the name of the mountain and the creek flowing through the valley below. Why can't we all just get along? :shrug:

After about 15 miles of lovely highway we turned south onto dirt road at the community of Slater and made our way toward Slater Park.

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For those that don't know, in Colorado an area called ....... Park is a vast open meadow between two mountain ranges. Usually named after a close by landmark. Thus you get places like Slater Park, Estes Park, South Park (yes it's a real place), and Taylor Park (one of my favorites ;-)).

A short distance down this road occurred another fantastic wildlife encounter. I came around a bend in the road and a large bird took flight from a fence post. It settle in about 20 feet to my left, level at about 10 o'clock. It was a golden eagle. We made eye contact, I had my shield open going about 25 mph after making the curve. The eagle flew alongside for maybe 10 seconds then broke left and started to climb. Awesome. Perry saw it but wasn't sure what it was until we talked later and I confirmed that it was an eagle. This and racing with the antelope in the basin are the two wildlife encounters that meant the most to me in this trip.

Then we met the road maintainer. He was creating a nice smooth surface for those traveling the dirt road. Unfortunately for us he was heading the wrong direction. We could not benefit from his labors. The road was barely two lanes wide and he was making a pile of loose spoil in our lane.

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We couldn't use the other lane due to limited sight and there were a few oncoming trucks from time to time. So that left us to the narrow bit left in our lane for maneuvering. A bit of a inconvenience but tolerable. We continued on as we got further from the main road, around a sharp bend we came upon a herd of sheep in the road. They immediately began to scatter so I stopped, not wanting to stress them too much. I was greeted by the sheep dog, a Great Pyrenees.

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Then the shepherd and the rest of the dogs came over the ridge to see what the commotion was all about.

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As the shepherd saw that we weren't any threat he went to work settling his flock and the dogs all focused on us. They weren't intimidating at all. They were very friendly and would come right up to me and they all got there ears scratched as a token of my intentions. Five of them in all.

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Then the shepherd, having shooed his herd off the road for us came back and we talked a little. He didn't speak much English and we don't speak much Spanish but we got each others names. This is Demilo.

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We eventually reached Slater Park.

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Through the park the road began to climb some. We met three kids on dirt bikes wearing full MX gear and I figured this road is fixin' to get good. Then a sharp right hand turn onto a forest service road and we began a long steep climb, a few rocky sections but not bad. I stopped on one of the few level spots and waited for Perry. As he pulled up he said, "wouldn't that make a neat video?" I said, "you want to do it again?" So he went back down, I found a good place to stand and get a long view and we got this little video.



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And after reaching the summit of the pass we started heading back down the other side.

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This brought us into Clark around 1230 and time for a little break at the Clark store.

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We waited out a brief rain shower on the front porch and were entertained by several humming birds fighting over the feeders.

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Then on to Steamboat.......
 
Re: Day 3: Cattle Trail, Closed roads, Bannack, MT

Cbat didn't specify which object, so you're 50% right. :mrgreen:

My guess: hay loader?

Sitting here in this 13th floor lab/office and overlaying your photos and narrative onto the landscape through these windows, I feel as though I'm there.... almost. The odors don't match ;-)

Awesome adventure, dudes. :clap: Was it hard to come back?

A hay loader is close enough. it's a hay stacker. Before the proliferation of mechanized balers they would make hay stacks. As the stack go high they would use these to put the hay on top of the stack. The hay was tossed onto the frame then using horses the frame was raised and the hay dumped on top.

And, yes it was hard to come back.
 
Day 6 continued: Steamboat Springs

After Clark we rolled down highway toward Steamboat Springs. Breakfast at the Hampton Inn was much lower than the standard we had been getting. Who puts cheese whiz in omelets? :puke: Anyway it was coming up on feeding time, about 3pm. We cruised the main street through Steamboat and scoped out the eateries. I decided on one with a rooftop seating area to enjoy the view. The Rio Grande. Good Mexican food with an equally good view.

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Nice glimpse of the ski jump and bobsled run on the hill across town.

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Having had our fill we continued on toward Kremmling. This would bring us to the deepest water crossing of the route. We didn't attempt it after Perry's experience in the tunnel. This was is a couple feet deep, if you pick the right spot to cross. Deeper if you miss the groove. Perry offered to go around and meet me on the other side but I declined. Getting wetter than needed is not that big a deal to me. So, we went around and only skipped about 4 miles of dirt road. Discretion and all that.....

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A semi-abandoned building near the water hole. Has modern doors with deadbolt locks installed.

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A little bit of highway and we were off on another section. This bit takes us by an area called Inspiration Point. Beautiful vistas. But first a short break.

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Had we been a week later this road would have been closed at the other end meaning a detour or if we missed the small sign, backtracking most of the way. You may remember the teaser photo posted from Salida. This is the shot I was taking.

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The teaser was Perry's shot. I do like his better.

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Several valleys and overlooks.

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Nearing the end we crossed a ridge and dropped down a long bit of trail with switchbacks into a valley with a window type formation at either end. The valley....

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Looking left....

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Looking right.....

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The village at the right end at a railroad crossing is where the road closure would have been a week later. They had a good assortment of heavy rail equipment assemble and it appeared they were going to rebuild the crossing. Dirt bikes may be able to get through but that wasn't our problem, this trip.

Perry was able to get some video coming down the trail. In the middle of one of the switchbacks is a campsite that we would have used had it been later in the day. We still had time so we rode on into Kremmling and beyond.



Overlooking Kremmling.

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We stopped at Kremmling for fuel and to decide on a camp spot for the night. What we saw was run down but we didn't get very far into town, just he eastern edge. We spotted a place on the map that looked promising for the night. Williams Fork Reservoir had a campground that we would check out. It would do nicely. Grassy spots for our tents.

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Looking back toward the lake.

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And a nice sunset to end the day.

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One more day to Salida.
 
Day 7; Rain, sun, Salida

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We had intermittent showers all through the night. It made for great sleeping but made everything nice and wet. I was just glad we were riding and not backpacking. The rain let up enough for us to get loaded before starting again.

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Here is one of the road. It really was that dark and dreary. Not too slick though. And the road was firm, not goopy.

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The road soon turned into pavement to cross Ute pass. To be truthful I was glad of that. There had been a lot of rain and a slippery trail would been dangerous. Near the summit the route on the Zumo was diverted because of this operation. The Henderson Mill.

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You can read about it here if you want. Bottom line is the mine produces molybdenum, 21.000 tons of raw ore per day from an underground operation. The mill refines the raw ore. Molybdenum is vital for producing many metal alloys. This truck was dumping a brown sludge into the holding pond for settling out.

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Shortly after passing the mill the rain stopped and the clouds parted as we rode the rest of the way toward Breckenridge.

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As we arrived in Silverthorne the rain started again, with the sun shining brightly. This happens in Colorado quite often. Makes for interesting viewing through the face shield. With the help of the Zumo we found a place in Frisco to eat breakfast. The Log Cabin Cafe. More wonderful omelets. Mine had smoked sausage, grilled red peppers, mushrooms, and cheddar topped with their fresh made salsa. :eat: Yeah, it was goooood.

Our good mood was short lived as when we exited the cafe the skies opened up on us with great claps of thunder and visible lightning. I was bummed because the next leg of the journey was to include Boreas Pass, one of the highest along the route. But I was too concerned about safety to risk it in a thunderstorm so we opted for the paved route over Hoosier Pass. Still a risk at the high altitudes with lightning but safer with the paved surface. After riding through Breckenridge we made the climb up the pass in pouring rain. The higher we rode, the colder it got. Finally as we neared the summit we rode through about 5 minutes of sleet. Just as we reached the top the rain stopped but the temps were in the mid 30's. Brrrrrrrr. Here's the photos. Perry was warming his hands on his exhaust after bumping up the idle with his throttle lock.

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Monkey was feeling pretty abused at this point. Head hanging and fur soaked. At least he got a bath which was badly needed.

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We rode on down to Fairplay and stopped for fuel. I spoke to a local woman who told me it had rained there all night. The roads were still wet. So, we decided to slab it down to Hartsell and try to pick up the trail there for the last 70 miles into Salida. As we approached Hartsell the road dried and they puddles disappeared. By the time we made the turn off the pavement everything was fine. :rider:

Some very nice scenery along this road, the back way into Salida.

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Road conditions were good but you could tell it would have been messy had it been wet. In the low spots there would be rutted out sections and the type of dirt, no gravel, that gets gooey when wet. Today it was fine. This guy had a nice cabin.

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With this view. I'm jealous a little. :mrgreen:

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We continued winding our way toward Salida and stopped at what I figured was one of the last vistas before getting to Salida.

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Perry opted for video.



I had one more dirt road stop planned before our entry into town. What we refer to as The Big S Hill. A cone shaped hill that towers above the town with the letter S on it for Salida. Duh! Looks like this on the GPS.

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The view.

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We had made it.

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And our trusty steeds.

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Coming back down we saw this "art" project. I just hope it wasn't funded by tax dollars.

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One more stop for posing.

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And now we are officially in Salida. But more to see and do. Back in a bit with the rest of the story.
 
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Day 7 in Salida; the rest of the story.

Once in Salida we made a beeline for Fattees. A T-shirt shop owned by a guy over on ADV, Hayduke. I wanted to get shirts to commemorate the journey.

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And we found one perfect for us.

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Duke is a local dual sport guru and can answer any question you might have about riding the area. Very nice to meet him. Shopping down we went in search for the hotel my wife had booked for us that night. The Super 8 is a very nice place and very motorcycle friendly. We met the owner when we checked in, Don. I here it is frequented by many riders on the GDR and the TAT. We were checked in, a couple hours early, and our bike had reached the end of their journey. Miles for this leg was 147. Total miles or the cycles, 1680.

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We had our little family reunion with Sandy and her parents, loaded teh bikes on the trailer, then headed downtown for dinner. Saw some of the local yard art for sale on the way.

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Even the fire station has some art.

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Our favorite pizza place, Amicas.

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Wood fired brick oven pizza and their own brew, for those that like that. :trust:

Here's the menu.

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The root beer is fantastic. I tried the Rex's Amber Ale, very nice. :chug:

Back at the hotel the circus had come to town. These guys made us look just like the rank amateurs that we really are. This is The Go Big Ride. You can read all about it on Facebook. Quite an operation.

Support truck from the Dakar.

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The bikes. About $150,000.00 worth of rally bikes. 1 950, 4 640s, and a 450. All KTM's with rally pedigrees.

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The next morning we went over to take a look in the daylight and got to meet some of the riders. Perry got us a personal tour of one of the rally bikes.

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At the end of the tour we found out the guy who was instructing is Robert Pandya of Geortetown, TX. about 15 miles from our house. Small world indeed. We also met the leader of the expedition, and owner of the bikes, James Embro. Nice guy. I wish them a great ride and good luck in their cause of trail preservation and access to wilderness areas for riders like us.

More photos of the bikes.

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This photo is for my daughter, Janelle, who likes the rubber duckies.

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One more thing to do before leaving Salida, that's breakfast at the Patio Pancake Place. The best breakfast in town IMHO. Get the German omelet with fresh salsa and pancakes. Oh yeah.

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I won't bother you with the trip home. :yawn: Thanks for taking the time to read this long tale of our adventure. There is yet unfinished business with the Great Divide Route so, until next time.......:rider:
 
You guys should join us on our "Kansas Fair Racing Series" starting this Friday in Liberal, Oberlin on sat and Stockton Mon and Tues.
:rider::rider::rider::rider:
 
Great RR CBAT and what a cool finish talking to the KTM guys. I loved the pictures of the old structures (the long tunnel was incredible), better post those up on the ADV old structures thread :). I asked my dad about the old haying machine before anybody posted up and here's what he said...

It is an old horse powered stacker. The loose hay was scooped up by a buck-rake that was pushed by horses. Once the buck rake was full, it would be pushed over to that machine and dumped on it. Then the machine in the picture would take the hay up and dump it over between the poles. As the stack got bigger, the machine would be pulled away to make room for more. The higher the stack, the less loss to the snow and rain.

The round bales in the picture do not have anything to do with it. The country looks like Montana....there used to be lots of them up there.
 
You guys should join us on our "Kansas Fair Racing Series" starting this Friday in Liberal, Oberlin on sat and Stockton Mon and Tues.
:rider::rider::rider::rider:

Oh we are definitely not racers. We like to make good time but my skills are just enough to get along well on a trip like this.
 
Great RR CBAT and what a cool finish talking to the KTM guys. I loved the pictures of the old structures (the long tunnel was incredible), better post those up on the ADV old structures thread :). I asked my dad about the old haying machine before anybody posted up and here's what he said...

Thanks Coolhand. Your dad is spot on. He explained pretty much like that old timer did in Montana.
 
how did the bikes (well, specifically the KLR) go at altitude, did you guys change jetting prior to the trip or was stock just fine and dandy ?
 
Oh we are definitely not racers. We like to make good time but my skills are just enough to get along well on a trip like this.

I meant spectate LOL.

You would have to do ALOT of Mods quick. The races are all half miles ovals. Knobbies tend to get a little shakey on the half mile.

Did really enjoy the pics from your trip.
 
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