After finally leaving Phoenix, we went by Montezuma's Castle which was built over 100 years by the Sinagua Indians starting around 1100 and who had never even heard of Montezuma.

After enduring temperatures well in excess of 100 degrees while in Southern Arizona, we decided that we are thermal wimps and revised our travel plans. North to Canada seems like a better direction than east to Florida. First stop was Oak Creek Canyon on the way back to Flagstaff.

That first night was interrupted by a vicious kidney stone attack. Jim, the campground host was the hero by transporting us to Sedona Emergency Clinic even knowing that Ann was vomiting from the pain. The folks at the clinic were extremely efficient and got things settled down while the diagnosis was confirmed. After 5 hours, Ann was released and spent the next day recuperating while watching our camping neighbor feed her unseen babies.

While still unsteady from the pain killers, Ann became a reluctant passenger as we traveled up and down Oak Creek Canyon on various errands. But that meant she could take pictures from the back seat.

Recovered, we made one last trip into Sedona and stopped at Garland's to admire 'Bumper'. It is a striking sculpture of welded chrome automobile bumpers by Sean Guerrero who seems to have dropped out of sight.

Back on the road again, we headed to the Grand Canyon by way of the east approach to the South Rim. This took us along the Little Colorado Canyon which empties into the Colorado River.

The road between Desert View and the South Rim in the park closely follows the edge of the canyon and at times is only 20 feet away. There are many overlooks and view points that are not overcrowded.

At many of the stops along the way, you can see the Colorado River wind its way through the canyon. We stood and watched river rafters navigate some of the rapids (binoculars required).

The people at the overlook gives a hint of the scale and extent of the canyon in this crook of the river. You can just make out the river (middle left).

After leaving the canyon, we backtracked a bit to see the Wapatki Pueblo ruins. Actually this is a reconstruction based on an 'educated' guess from the pile of rubble and stone that was originally found. Ann usually plays tour guide at these sites by finding all of the numbered signs and reading the corresponding entry from the trail guide booklets (aloud).

We also stopped at the Sunset Crater Volcano. The lava flows in this region are still very evident. The northern Arizona area was a very active volcano field not too long ago (geologically speaking).

After backtracking and fighting the afternoon winds, we pulled up in Tuba City and treated ourselves to a motel room. Loading up the next morning, with all of our 'stuff' on one cart, one wonders what we left behind!

With a little pushing, shoving, coercion, and creative vocabulary, it does all fit! After the bikes got packed, we were off to the four corners area and out of Arizona at last!

After riding around the monument that defines the intersection of the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona (wow - four states in 23 seconds), Jym sat in four states at once.

Entering Colorado, we set up camp at Mesa Verde National Park. The cliff dwellings are spectacular and three of them may be entered on a guided tour. Cliff Palace (where where more than 200 people lived) is one these.

Although the cliff dwellings are impressive, they were built and occupied only in the last 100 years of the more than 700 years of settlement in the Mesa Verde area. By 1300, the area was abandon for reasons unknown.

After traveling to Durango, CO (a short distance east of Mesa Verde) we spent a day riding the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This is a vintage, coal powered steam engine that runs along the Animas river from Durango to Silverton.

Along the river, you may see kayakers and rafters coming down through some pretty exciting rapids and gorges along it's length.

In Silverton, there is a two hour lay-over in the middle of town. Silverton is a historic silver mining town in a small valley (at 9,300 feet) in the San Juan Mountains area of the Rockies. Although all the mines are closed, the shops in town do a good job of mining the pockets of the train passengers.

One of the 'downsides' of a coal burning train is the burning embers that pour out of the stack. This requires that a 'Hot Spot' crew follows the train to put out the fires that are started as the train passes.

Winding our way back to Durango, you can see the engine, coal tender, boxcar, and passenger cars (we were in the last of ten cars) as we round a curve higher up the canyon side.

In the Durango area, you can't resist waving at people along the way. On occasion, someone takes the waving to another level and races the train while waving (good thing the horses are watching for the fence at the end of the yard).

Heading north out of Durango, we start going through mountain passes on our way to Black Canyon. Here we just came through Red Mountain Pass (between the two mountains in the background) at 11,018 feet. We have spent the last week between 6,000 and 12,000 feet (not bad for flatlanders).

Arriving at the Nation's newest national park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, we were amazed at the sheer sides and depth of this 53 mile long cut through the Rockies, 12 miles of which lie within the park. Here, the canyon is about 2,000 feet deep and very narrow (at some points, the width is less than the depth). The Gunnison River empties into the Colorado which then carved the Grand Canyon (experience counts).

The north side of the canyon (on the left) is steeper than the south side because it dries faster and doesn't experience the severe freeze/thaw cycles that spread the crevices in the rock.

Traveling east along the Gunnison, is the Blue Mesa Reservoir and the Dillon Pinnacles along the mesa. Since the first dam was built in 1909, continued formation of the canyon has slowed dramatically.

For a side trip from Gunnison, we went to Crawford, the home of Mad Dog Ranch Fountain Cafe. It is owned by Pam and Joe Cocker and is a gathering place for bikers from all over (Pam is an avid biker).

On the way back, we stopped along the way to admire the upper Gunnison River canyon. Although this section is not quite as dramatic as the stretch that is in the national park, it's still breathtaking!

North of Gunnison is the small resort town of Crested Butte which we discovered is the part time residence of the sculptor Sean Guerrero. He also lives in France and may have a studio in Denver. He also makes embellished park benches from bumpers that are eye-catching.

On the way east, we crossed the Continental Divide (at Monarch Pass) for the first time on this trip. Unlike us, the bikes hardly seemed to notice the rarified air - More oxygen please -

Although the bridge across the Royal Gorge is an engineering feat, it doesn't actually lead to anything. It is an expensive theme park/tourist attraction. We went to the free city picnic area and walked a short distance to take this picture and watch some rafters run the rapids 1,000 feet below.

Although you can pay to drive your vehicle to the top of Pike's Peak, the road to the top is gravel. We opted to take the Pike's Peak Cog Railway and enjoy the scenery as it worked it's way up 25 percent grades using a toothed third rail for traction.

At the top! Along the way we watched elk and bighorn sheep graze, and marmots scurry around and watch us. The view from the summit (14,110 feet) was awesome - until the clouds lowered and it began to snow a little.

At Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument there are some amazing 35 million year old petrified sequoia stumps. A close examination reveals the growth rings and grain of the original tree. The area was a lake bed where volcanic ash killed, then covered a host of critters and bugs. It is now a very rich fossil bed that was being picked clean until it became a national monument.

In Golden, we went to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. The two current exhibits were pieces from the James collection (all over 100 years old) and some examples of work by Ricky Tims (very colorful mural style contemporary quilts). Unfortunately, taking pictures was viewed as a criminal activity (although some are shown on their web site).

While in Golden, we stopped at the Geology Museum at the Colorado School of Mines. The museum is on the campus and is free. It contained thousands of specimens (fossils, minerals, gemstones, precious metals, and pieces illustrating Colorado's mining history).

The last stop in Golden was at the Colorado Railroad Museum. It covers 14 acres and has more than 100 pieces of equipment as well as extensive displays of Colorado mountains railroad history.

The Galloping Goose (above) was built from used Pierce Arrow cars and spare parts as a cheap way to haul people and freight around the mountains.
Steam Engine 5629 was built in 1940 and used until 1956 to haul up to 100 freight cars. It's HUGE (317 tons) - and has 72 inch driving wheels.

The coal powered steam engine (# 20) was built in 1899, and the diesel streamliner (# 5771) in 1955.

These inspection cars were belt driven and could be moved on and off the tracks by the men they carried.

The museum also hosts the Denver HO Model Railroad Club and houses it's 45' by 20' layout depicting areas from around the state.

Leaving the Golden area, we went through Estes Park and up into the Rocky Mountain National Park. We kept climbing higher to cross the divide again (which runs through the middle of the park).

We stopped to catch our breath after crossing the divide on the highest paved pass in Colorado (at 12,183 feet) and look around from the top of the world (or so it seemed). Then we headed north through North Park (parks are big meadows in Colorado speak) and into Wyoming.