We were up a bit early today to head out. We opted for another complimentary continental breakfast at the hotel. It was not your ordinary continental breakfast though - it had homemade cowboy coffee cake! Yummy! We enjoyed multiple pieces of the cake, some cereal, tea and apple juice before prepping the bikes, packing up, and heading out.
Again we had beautiful weather. There were some low clouds initially, but they burned off pretty quickly. It was the coolest morning yet so we rode about 20 miles with our leg warmers and jackets on.
As we left Creede, the first thing we passed was the RV town outside of town. Dave estimates about 1,000 RVs there. It was enormous! Okay, I've got to ask - where does all the human waste go? No matter the answer, my response is "Ewwwww!"
Like everyday, the views on this day were beautiful. Though the riding was mostly flat, the surrounding terrain was not. At every turn there was a new and beautiful view. Lots of high cliffs, trees, birds and other assorted mammals.
This day had the worst traffic of all the days. Where were all these people (primarily with Texas Plates) going? And why is it that when a car buzzed us, they were always (no exceptions here) from Texas? My own people trying to kill me. I keep wondering are they ignorant (and don't know how dangerous - and deadly - that is to a road biker) or just mean? I really believe the same drivers would give a dog trotting down the shoulder more space than some gave us. Would they drive the same way if it was their daughter or son on a bike on the side of the road? Many of these drivers made me really sad wondering when people became so hateful or lacking in any consideration for other humans.
We stopped occasionally to have a drink and enjoy the scenery. Times like this water tastes so delicious!
We arrived in South Fork to see that it was Logger Days. This may have explained the volume of traffic we experienced heading in that direction. We stopped to check out the fair. It was odd that the biggest attraction was a stand to "Pet ID Tags Made While You Watch". Maybe it was the heat - but both of us found that pretty funny for some reason.
A bit further, we stopped at a convenience store and enjoyed a drink. We were able to do some good people-watching as well. We were in any hurry since we knew that Sagauche is a tiny tiny town and there would be little to do once we got there.
The gas station was a riot. People drove up in all sorts of vehicles. At least the gas is a bit cheaper in South Fork than it had been in Lake City.
Later we stopped at a tiny market in the middle of nowhere and had an ice cream cone. Again, everyone here was from Texas. I think Dave was one of the only non-Texans in the state. Ha! I asked the guy at the counter how it came to be that so many Texans were in the cities in this area. His response: "Colorado is Texas' largest state park". Pretty funny!
Shortly after leaving South Fork, I started thinking how squishy my rear tire felt. It took a second to snap that that feeling was because it was flat a pancake. I have no idea what I ran over - but this innertube was history.
Dave circled back and changed the tire while I did important tasks such as take photographs and water the roadside vegetation. Happily we had a decent shoulder to repair the tire on. Had it been on the portion of the road before South Fork, it would not have been so pleasant. There was about a 6" shoulder there and the road was lined with haters. Glad it happened when it did.
Also glad I had a new innertube in my bike bag. I never really thought we'd need it. We road to Del Norte and found a convenience store. While I went inside to grab some drinks, Dave waited with the bikes. As he stood there, he heard a peculiar sound: Psssssssssssssssss...... He looks at his bike as the front tire flattens before his eyes!
He changed it easily, but we had a problem in that the town had no place that sold innertubes. Should we continue with the remaining 100 miles of riding (in the least populated portion of our trip) with no spares? Or do we go in a different direction to a town that *may* have innertubes?
We opted to press on and hope the flat tires were done for the trip. If they weren't we would have a lot of walking in store for us.
Happily, the remainder of the ride was stress free. No more flats. We were able to get on some roads barely traveled. On these roads we saws lots of raptors. At one point on Hwy 285, we saw two large baby raptors in a nest next to the highway! At one point, a baby deer trotted along side Dave for about a half mile.
Saguache (population 595) was the smallest "town" on our tour. And the hotel in Sagauche worried us the most. When we made reservations, there was no choice. It was merely staying at the Saguache Creek RV Park and Cabins or nothing. When making reservations, we were told there was no phone and no tv. After the cabin in Lake City, we wondered what something 1/2 the price would get us. I was going to be angry if I got bitten by knarly bed bugs!
Our fears turned out to be baseless. Our cabin was really a room and it was nice. There was nothing else anywhere near us so we watched the weather for a while after checking in. From this hotel, we could see the Great Sand Dunes in the Distance.
We walked over to the only restaurant (the Gunbarrel) for dinner. We were scared. What would be on the menu? To our surprise, the menu, though limited, had great options. We got a chicken breast dinner and a Tempe dinner. Both were really delicious. I thought it to be the best meal of the trip without a doubt! The woman working there even wrote down the Tempe recipe and gave it to us.
Following dinner, we wandered around on the grounds. Here we were able to get a photo of the beautiful grass we'd been seeing on the roadsides for the entire trip. The stuff looked like silky hair. It was almost iridescent. Very beautiful.
We headed back to the room, and for the first time on the trip, we both slept very well. This is the place to stay if you find yourself in Saguache for sure.
