Day 2... Wimping out...

Well we planned on heading south through Colorado to Cortez, but that didn't happen.

The day started at 9:30 with overcast skies and very little rain - it was pretty warm (in the 40s) and was going to warm up to to the 60's on the way. Also, I decided to stop by a local motorcycle shop to pick up a balaclava. No, I didn't bring one - because I didn't have one. Unfortunately the motorcycle shop on the way to Gunnison was closed today. Well, I felt I had survived this far, so I could live a little longer.

Fortunately the trip was pretty uneventful, until we went through Monarch. Those high mountain passes are just BRUTAL even in the summer I guess. There wasn't any snow, but it was wet and I was afraid it was cold enough to freeze. We made it through without any major mishaps though and it was smooth sailing to Gunnison which we reached by about noon. We stopped for some hot chocolate and I picked up a balaclava at a local sporting goods store. Oh, man, that made a HUGE difference.

We pressed on to Montrose and it actually warmed up even more. Of course it helps if your neck isn't exposed to the elements. We had lunch in Montrose and started looking at the map. The road to Durango had 2 10,000+ foot mountain passes. Well, I had enough of that (cold, wet, potential snow) for one trip after yesterday and this morning, so Pete and I decided to head north to Grand Junction and perhaps try to hit Moab.

The road to Grand Junction was boring - it was a divided highway and straight as an arrow. Fortunately it warmed up significantly and we started peeling layers off. We got to Grand Junction by 3:30 and had plenty of time to get to Moab. The roads weren't great but the sun was worth it. We pulled into Moab about 5:30 and called it a day.

Here's the revised route:

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(you may have to click the "larger map" to see the proper route)

Tomorrow we are going to try to get to Flagstaff. We are going to go through Monument Valley and try to hit the edge of the Grand Canyon. It's going to be the longest day yet, so we may miss the Grand Canyon loop.

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Well, that isn't quite right - we may take a little detour west to the south end of the Grand Canyon National park.