Del Norte, CO

We arrived in this small town early on the 12th of September. The ride over the big passes from Salida was very straightforward as the grades on all three were very moderate. We continue to experience very benign weather which makes life so much easier. The aspens have just barely begun to turn in a few places, so signs of the oncoming change of seasons are not much in evidence.

In Del Norte, we are staying at Gary and Patti's home. They are a local couple who welcome GDR riders. We have only had a brief conversation with each of them at this point, so don't know much about them yet, other than they are kind and welcoming and have a very comfortable home in town.

Tomorrow, we head for Indiana Pass, which, at 11,900+ is the highest point on the route. After that pass, we drop toward New Mexico through very isolated country without the benefit of towns and libraries, so it may be some time before we get to post again.

While crossing the large dry basin east of Gunnison, we did manage to see a single Gunnison Sage Grouse, an extremely rare and local species of bird. It was only separated as a species from the Greater Sage Grouse a few years ago; it is only found in high sage covered areas in central Colorado and eastern Utah. Given how few birds there are, maybe 5000 total, and what a large area they can be found in, we consider ourselves quite lucky to have seen the one we did.

best to all; Amy and James

NOTE to GDR riders present and future... There is a terrible stretch of jeep track as you approach Del Norte - a "biking disaster". Apparently it used to be rough, but is now REALLY rough due to a very heavy storm a month or two ago. The bad stretch is from mile 144.2 until 149.8. Lots of unridable sand. Very loose rock, bumpy, and unpleasant. We recommend you take the more straight-forward route mentioned in the book. At mile 139.9, don't turn right onto FR660. Instead stay on 38A all the way to 112 and take that into town.