Arizona and Colorado

This is Colorado from the top of Mount Monarch which I reached via a short gondola ride.


Northern Arizona is beautiful; even if it's nearly a dessert and the temperature is in the 40s.

One of the 'monuments' right along Route 160.

You've got to enlarge this one to get a sense of the scale of the Grand Canyon. Its impossible to imagine how immense and impressive it is.

5 steps back and I'm a Grand canyon statistic!

From Tuba City I headed northeast on Highway 160 up to Colorado. Thee sceneray in Northern Arizona is beautiful; the blue sky with white clouds and the orange-red and pink earth frame some monumental rock outcrops, some of which are referred to as monuments, and one can see why.

Colorado is something else again. By the looks of it it,s much more a bikers destination as I saw was more motorcyclers here than anywhere else on my trip. It probably doesn't hurt that the roads are curvy, the scenary is beautiful and the gas is cheap. I slept in a small motel with a pool in Montrose last night and have made my way to Winter City, still in Colorado, where 've found a room at the Sundowner Hotel. Earlier on I had stopped for lunch at a family mexican restaurant in Buena Vista. I picked this spot because there were a half dozen or so motorcycles parked in the lot beside the restaurant. While I was having my lunch I noticed out of the window that one of the riders from the group, a guy of about my age I'd say, was cleaning the windscreen of my motorcyle. I thought to myself, now that's really a nice gesture. I hurried to finish my meal and pay my bill, and went out to thank the author of this good deed.

When I approached the group he asked: "Is that your Beemer?"

''Why yes, and thank you for cleaning my windscreen; you folks sure are friendly."

The others in the group were smiling when he said: "Well I thought the bike was one of ours, but when I noticed it wasn't I stopped. But if it's not clean enough I can finish it."

I told him he had done a great job, we chatted a bit and then we were off in our seperate ways. Another lovely moment on the trip. I continued through the magnificent mountain passes to Winter Park where I had a lovely dinner in an excellent italian restaurant; the food and wine weere excellent and for a while i had the whole restaurant to myself as apparently it's slow season.

Now i must plan tomorrow's route.