THE LONG WAY
I felt much better the next
morning. It was remarkable – I went
from feeling like death warmed over to semi-human after one good night of
sleep. It seems like I’d picked up a
24-hour flu virus, except that I can’t imagine who I would’ve gotten it
from. We’d only seen a few people on
the trail in the Weminuche Wilderness.
What we did see plenty of was mosquitoes. In hindsight, I wonder if I didn’t pick up a touch of the West
Nile Virus. I’ll never know for sure,
but it does make for a better story than the flu.
We broke camp at the Long
Holiday Motel and had breakfast at Farrell’s in downtown Gunnison. The breakfast tacos there were good, but it
wasn’t exactly what we were looking for.
Christy had definitely been looking forward to a feast involving
pancakes.
We debated our options while
eating. Christy and I had reservations
at a real Holiday Inn in Alamosa that night.
Our plan was to stay there so we could spend the next day at Great Sand
Dunes National Park. Alamosa isn’t far
from Gunnison, but unfortunately Myron was flying home from Denver that
night. We needed to take him to the
airport before driving back to Alamosa.
Myron mentioned that he had
seen an interesting bike path along I-70 in Glenwood Canyon while driving to Grand
Junction. Christy and I had brought our
bikes 2/3 of the way across the country, but we’d hardly ridden them. We were both ready for a break from hiking,
and a bike ride sounded nice. I was
feeling better, and thought that an easy bike ride might be a good choice for
the day. We decided to head to Glenwood
Springs that morning and spend the afternoon there. Then we’d take Myron to the Denver airport before heading for Alamosa.
From Gunnison, we drove to
the cute but pricey town of Crested Butte.
From there we drove a good dirt road over Kebler Pass. The drive was scenic, as we passed along the
edge of the Raggeds Wilderness. The
highlight for Saucony was the numerous free-range cattle here. At times we had to stop, as they liked
hanging out in the road.
We reached the North Fork of
the Gunnison River and drove route 133 north.
We paid a brief visit to the McClure Campground, which was
unimpressive. The campground is near a
major road, and it appears to receive minimal maintenance. Beyond the campground we crested McClure
Pass, where we were treated to fine views of the peaks in the Maroon Bells /
Snowmass Wilderness.
A drive along the Crystal
River followed. We reached Glenwood
Springs in time for lunch, and then headed over to the hot springs. Glenwood Hot Springs is a massive tourist
destination that blew us away. The
springs are natural, but you’d hardly know it, since the facility is basically
a giant swimming pool surrounded by a hotel.
We parked there illegally and made preparations for our bike ride.
Myron was still experiencing
back pain, but decided to skip the springs.
Instead, he offered to wait in the parking area with Saucony while we
rode. This was fortunate, since it was
way too hot to leave her in the car.
We’d left the rain behind in southwest Colorado, and here it was
sweltering. Myron seemed content to
relax and make some overdue phone calls.
Christy and I headed out from there, riding past the springs complex to
the end of the road. The Glenwood
Canyon bike trail begins there, parallel to I-70. Despite those auspicious beginnings, it’s a pretty nice
ride. We followed along and then over
the interstate before descending to a scenic bend in the Colorado River. This is one of the nicest stretches of
trail, as it is well away from the highway.
That stretch was
short-lived. Beyond the bend, we
followed the path as it merged onto a residential street. After a long, grueling climb, we reached a
highway rest area. There are several
rest areas along this stretch of highway that are developed like small
parks. The bike path accesses each of
them, which provides water and facilities.
A long, steep descent to the
river followed. From there it was a
relatively easy ride along the river.
This stretch of river has some impressive rapids, and we stopped at one
to watch some whitewater rafters. This
part of the ride was nice, but it ended at a power plant just upstream. This is the type of power plant where the
water from the river is diverted through pipes away from its natural
channel. The next couple of miles were
along the virtually dry riverbed. There
was nothing here but boulders and the smell of dead fish. This was rather uninspiring, and Christy
wasn’t feeling well. She decided to
head back and visit the springs. I was
feeling much better, so I decided to complete the trail before returning.
The trail improved beyond
the dam. I passed a small lake and
continued into the less-visited upper reaches of the canyon. This part of the trail was nice since I
didn’t have to dodge other riders constantly.
I passed two more rest areas, as well as an interesting restored
ranch. The scenery opens up along here,
as the path emerges from the depths of the canyon.
I was concerned about
keeping Myron and Christy waiting for me, so I picked up the pace. I covered the last four miles (slightly
uphill) in 17 minutes. I turned around
at the final rest area, anticipating an easy ride back down the canyon. That never really materialized. It is a rolling trail, so there were still a
few minor climbs. The downhill grades
were mild, too, so I wasn’t able to coast.
The steep hill before the
final rest area was a monster. I passed
several people walking their bikes up this one. Somehow I was able to ride to the top without stopping, but it
wasn’t pretty. I finished off the last
of my water and cruised from there into town.
I covered the full 30-mile round-trip in 3 ½ hours. I returned to the parking area, and Christy
arrived a few minutes later. She had
attempted to swim laps in the hot springs pool, but found it difficult in the
warm water.
It was nearly 100 degrees,
so we stopped for ice cream on the way out of town. By the time we got on the interstate, I’d seen enough of Glenwood
Springs. The bike path was nice, but that
area is far too touristy for my tastes.
The drive to Denver was
uneventful. We wisely stopped for gas a
couple exits before Vail, but still paid $3.39 a gallon (it was 10 cents more
in Vail). I tried to talk Christy into
holding her breath through the Eisenhour Tunnel, but decided it would be a bad
idea since she was driving. We reached
Denver shortly before dark, and dropped Myron off at the airport, which was
deserted. We’d found out earlier that a
foiled terrorist plot in England had resulted in new restrictions in carry-on
luggage. Fortunately Myron was able to
pack all of his liquids in his checked baggage.
We left Denver after sunset,
and drove south through Colorado Springs.
We stopped for dinner at Wendy’s along the way. We eventually left I-25, and drove back west
to Alamosa. The drive took longer than
expected, and we didn’t arrive at the Alamosa Holiday Inn until 1AM. So much for getting an early start the next
morning!
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