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From years past 2004

Joined
Oct 16, 2008
Messages
3,600
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4,346
Location
Bryan, TX
First Name
Dennie
Last Name
Spears
I scanned a few photos from past rides. Any year mentioned is approximately correct. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have over the years but probably not since you "Had to be there."

2004

Sign on the way to Crystal Colorado
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Looking toward Mount Crested Butte from our campsite
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My wife and 2 of our best friends sitting on Exclamation Point on the north rim of the Black Canyon. It's 1700' straight down!:eek2: Notice my wife sitting way back from the edge. She said, "I looked once and saw all I needed to see."
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Looking down at Telluride from Black Bear Pass. Where the road drops out of sight in the lower right of the picture is where the **** hits the fan. We were all on XR 100s. Perfect bikes for a first time attempt of Black Bear.
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My wife started riding at 55, a few months before this picture was taken. This is her first water crossing.
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On the way to Imogene Pass.
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Waterfall on Engineer pass (east side)
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Nice. I agree about the xr100 being a good bike for Black Bear. The smaller the easy to handle. I'm a little heavy for one of those these days, but it would have made the steps easier than my DRZ was.
 
JUNE, YES JUNE OF 1993. Solo 31 day trip, 2 sets of tires, several oil changes.

Lower falls on the Yellowstone river. 308' straight down!!
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Grand Teton NP
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It didn't scan right but you get the idea. Maroon Bells, Aspen Co.
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June 15th, Grand Mesa Lodge. The cabins are still not accessible when this picture was taken.
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Angel Arch in Canyonlands NP. For scale, the 2 small side by side holes at the bottom of the arch opening are about 4' tall. From Planetware: The Angel Arch is 150 feet high and is located in a side canyon in the southeast corner of the park.
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I met this guy again 12 years later under entirely different circumstances. Heck of a nice guy even if he did give me a ticket this time.
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City limits of Animas Fork?:mrgreen:
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Looking back toward Animas fork and Silverton on the road to Cinnamon pass. My notes say I pushed the bike 2 times. My memory, such as it is, says it was more than 2. Those Eclipse saddle baqgs were purchased in 1980. I'm still using one of them as a tail bag on my DRZ.
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Nice. I agree about the xr100 being a good bike for Black Bear. The smaller the easy to handle. I'm a little heavy for one of those these days, but it would have made the steps easier than my DRZ was.

Thanks Woodbutcher. I hope you really meant to say DRZ and not the DR650 listed at the bottom of your post. I think a DR650 would scare me for at least 50 yards of that downhill through the steps.
 
Did I mention that I also enjoy cross country hiking? This one is my wife on a 62 mile hike from Spring Creek pass to Molas Pass in 2007?

Is she in awe of the scenery or in fear of being on top of the continental divide during a thunderstorm.
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our first campsite
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Another hike last winter, main reason is to test gear for a planned 10 day hike this coming December.
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Creek along the way
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Weird snow formation
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There were short periods when I didn't own a motorcycle. This was one of them.

Fire Watch at Camp Pendelton in early 1968, right after infantry training.
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I'm going to post more until someone says STOP. I'm in a very difficult period of my life and this is my therapy.

On a ride to the hill country. Everyone has this picture. That's me, 2 brothers, a nephew, and bros.
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My niece likes to watch cartoons with me. I like to sleep late on Sat. We compromise.
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She also likes playing in water.
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Different niece-my main pit person at TMGP races
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2 more nieces on my '79 yamaha 750 Venture. Did I mention that I have 39 nieces and nephews and quite a few grand nieces? No, I can't remember all their names, but these 2 are Becky and Debbie.
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My mom and mother in law at the great Sand Dunes NP- I took them there last year. They refused to go on bikes. At 87 and 97, I can't blame them.
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We took them on a train ride to Silverton and back.
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Looking out my mom's back door
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Next up, more colorado rides. I wanted to post rides I did while in the Marines but I remembered, at $21.00/week, I couldn't afford film.:-P
 
Great pics. What kind of bike were you riding in the June 93 trip?

Thanks lucky. I was riding a 1982 Yamaha 650 Seca. One of the few bikes I wish I still owned. 4 cyl, shaft drive, shim above bucket valve adj, a basic UJM for the late 70s and early 80s. People that started riding in the last 20 years don't realize how important UJMs were to the growth of the motorcycle industry. If you bought any 1980 Japanese street bike in 1980, there would be a better than 90% chance that the after market could supply you with:a fiberglass fairing (Vetter sold more than 600,000 Windjammers alone) one size fits all but he had other designs for smaller bikes. Saddle bags, hard or soft. Back rest or sissy bar. Luggage rack. Clear fairing/windshield

Other bikes I wish I still owned:

Honda Nighthawk 700S
1962 250 Yamaha twin
93 DR650 with kick start only
None of the other 40+ bikes
 
2009

The little boy is 9 years old. He rode a klx110 up to clear lake and up to Engineers Pass. We know the family from Texas but ran into them by chance in Ouray.
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Lori and Jeff scaring fish in clear lake
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Some pass near Ouray?
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Taken on I-25 on our way home. It was like the skies saying goodbye
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Thanks lucky. I was riding a 1982 Yamaha 650 Seca. One of the few bikes I wish I still owned. 4 cyl, shaft drive, shim above bucket valve adj, a basic UJM for the late 70s and early 80s. People that started riding in the last 20 years don't realize how important UJMs were to the growth of the motorcycle industry. If you bought any 1980 Japanese street bike in 1980, there would be a better than 90% chance that the after market could supply you with:a fiberglass fairing (Vetter sold more than 600,000 Windjammers alone) one size fits all but he had other designs for smaller bikes. Saddle bags, hard or soft. Back rest or sissy bar. Luggage rack. Clear fairing/windshield

Other bikes I wish I still owned:

Honda Nighthawk 700S
1962 250 Yamaha twin
93 DR650 with kick start only
None of the other 40+ bikes
I still ride a UJM. Great all around bikes. Your pics make me want to ride to the Rockies.
 
2007, 2008???

Four of us on dual sports and 1 on a YZF250 with an outdated tag taped to the rear fender.
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About to leave Hancock pass. Lightning kills lots of people in Colorado. I read somewhere that it averaged 2 per year.
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We needed a break from riding. Let's do some class 5 whitewater. 4 of the people in the boat lied to get on the boat. 1 has high blood pressure, 1 has asthma and none of the 4 had been on class 4 water. That leaves me and the guide that didn't lie. But, there's only 5 people in the boat. The guide fell out. Not a good feeling being in a boat in class 5 water with 4 noobs and no guide.
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Misc?

Bridal veil falls on the way into Telluride from Black bear pass.
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Next 2 pictures are hiking. Continental divide just before dropping down into Elk creek pass. We've been walking for 5 days and have 1 more day to go.
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Flowers along the Colorado Trail. This was the only time I saw this type of flower in 335 miles and 28 days of hiking.
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About 1998 I believe. Statues in Crested Butte made entirely of chrome bumpers and other chrome parts off old cars.
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My mother had high blood pressure and got severe headaches even at 5,000 feet. Her last wishes were to be cremated and spread on one of the pretty mountains that I had photographed. This is the view from her "burial" site.
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Some of you might be confused since I showed a picture of my mom in an earlier post. The earlier mom was foster mom to over 200 children during her earlier years. She was a home of last resort and would sometimes have as many as 20 children living in her house along with several grown children and grandchildren. Several stayed from birht to 18. She quit being a foster mom around 80 years old. Over 500 people showed up for her 95th birthday. She told one former "daughter" that she couldn't think of any birthday present she wanted except gardening tools. She got a bunch and still gardens but she has to have help starting her garden tiller. She's the tiny one in this reprinted picture.
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I wasn't always old but I've always been ugly.:-P
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My brother on his Triumph 650 chopper, 16" extended and raked fron end.
around 1981
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I still ride a UJM. Great all around bikes. Your pics make me want to ride to the Rockies.

I highly recommend it. I've been in more than half the states, including Hawaii, and Colorado is my favorite for riding.
 
Keep posting as much as you like. The pictures are beautiful. I recognize many of the places from having been there. Most of the others are on the list.
 
Keep posting as much as you like. The pictures are beautiful. I recognize many of the places from having been there. Most of the others are on the list.

I have more coming. I don't have a scanner so I have to wait until a work day.
 
Blue Ridge Parkway 2000 I believe.

Gas was getting very high in Texas. I took this picture to show people at work how ridiculous it could be.
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Along the parkway
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Vanderbilt summer home in Ashville, NC. I went there because Jamie James or his wife (I don't remember which) told me I shouldn't miss it. I planned on stayin a couple of hours. I spent the entire day and that wasn't enough. The house covers 4 acres and has 5 stories counting the attic and the basement. Indoor swimming pool, flush toilets, bowling alley and a steam iron big enough to iron a sheet in 1 press. All built before 1900. Don't miss it.
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small waterfall near Ashville. The last scenes in "The Last of the Mohicans" were filmed in this area.
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Linville Falls near the parkway. Have to hike a short distance.
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Along the parkway. Rock barriers and bridges are typical of construction by the WPA and CCC during the depression.
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My trusty steed
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Along the rock ledge where the last Mohican was killed. It's been a while since I saw the movie. He was killed, right?
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Now, to tie in the picture of me leaning against the Marine Corp quonset hut and the Blue Ridge Parkway pictures. Tim, Dave, Mack and I met in the Marines. We were all young and naive. We planned a motorcycle trip/reunion for 1997, the 25th anniversary of our planned exit from the Marines. Tim and Dave didn't come home from Viet Nam. Mack did 2 tours as a grunt and didn't get a scratch. He later fell off a brick layer's scaffold only 3 feet off the ground and broke his back. In 2000, I decided to go on the trip for all of us. I rode 1642 miles in 2 days to Washington DC and spent a couple of hours sitting near the statue before I could approach the "wall".

The wall is big. It takes a lot of rock to chisel in 58,000+ names. It's very sobering. You'll notice the change in the atmosphere as you approach the memorial. Tim and Dave are on the west wall. Tim is on 15W line 12 and Dave is 22w line115. Stop by and see them some time. They'll enjoy your visit. We had a wonderful ride.

I thought I took pictures of the wall but I looked through my album and they are not there so I must be mistaken.

The parkway and surrounding area ride was our ride together.
 
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Another picture to date me. Elvis sang at my wedding:trust::trust:
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Keep posting, man. This is great stuff.

Your mother was an awesome woman! I have a soft spot for foster parents. It is a wonderful calling.

I know what you mean about the Wall. I've been twice, and was deeply moved both times. I'm very, very thankful that my oldest brother wasn't on it.
 
That "some pass around Ouray" looks a whole lot like the approach to Black Bear. I remember cause that's about the spot where I went "Aw heck, this ain't that bad. Whats all the hubub about?" Guess I could call it Epiphany Point. See, just beyond there is where entirely different thoughts began to shape up.

Keep 'em coming! Great pictures...we've ridden and stomped over a lot of the same ground.
 
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