Very good day today with decent weather. Departed Glennwood Springs, CO and headed up Hwy 82 where the goal was to reach Aspen, Independence Pass and The Twin Lakes beyond. Aspen looked kind of like an alpine town./ Plenty of tourists holed up here. We, however, tore right through without stopping, and climbed up the narrowing, scenic road up to Independence. Temperature dropped as we climbed up, and reached a low of about 34 on top of the pass. Snow was scattered all around, and the fog hung low. We met two other riders on Gold Wings and exchanged stories and weather conditions. At about 12100 feet, this place feels surreal.
Road up to Independence
At the pass
The ride down on the south-east side of Independence was gorgeous. Didn’t stop for pics though. We followed 82 passed Twin Lakes and headed south on 24 to Buena Vista. We planned to have lunch here, but couldn’t find anything, so we continued up toward Cottonwood Pass. It was still overcast as we started the climb, and of course the temp dropped drastically. Beautiful views, and terrific road.
Top of Cottonwood Pass
Then the miles and miles of dirt road that awaits us on the other side of the pass. Perfect…
In the middle of nowhere, this little place shows up. Taylor Trading Post close to Taylor Lake.
They even have gas. Great. No food. Lunch has to wait. We hit up the bathroom, ate some snacks and continued the hunt for lunch. 20 miles later, we found a pristine fishing’ lodge with a restaurant along Gunnison River. Perfect. Chicken wraps for lunch. But it was raining, which put a little damper on the fun.
We decided to continue, this time hunting for a spot for our castle. We finally found it on the west side of Gunnison on the shores of Blue Mesa Reservoir. We set up camp, started a good camp fire, and…..just as we had a good roaring fire going, the rain start again. Time to dive into the tent for the night. About 200 miles with fantastic view today.
