25th day (Monday, July 11th) Spent the day at the
Starting Line Products (SLP) factory (they develop and manufacture high end products for
Side by Side quads) having a new muffler installed, and most important,
installed a new state of the art main clutch on my RZR 800. Adam Wood (Sales
Manager) and Jordan Meyer (Sales) worked on my machine. They don’t normally do
that, however since they didn't have any mufflers left at the Rally in the
Pines event, Adam asked that I stop at their factory on my way to Meeker and
they would install one for me. I also had my aluminum trailer repaired; one of the hinges on the
ramp had ripped from the trailer frame. Lucky SLP has Ken Meyer from their
Research & Development team who is an experienced tungsten inert gas (TIG)
welder which is needed for aluminum. Took him about 1 1/2 hours to install the
broken rear one and reinforce the other one. Best part is, no charge.
At around 4pm I headed towards
Meeker, Colorado. Got as far as Pinedale, Wyoming and spent the night. The
drive from Idaho Falls to Pinedale was extremely scenic. The pictures will tell the story.
"Wyoming Centennial Scenic ByWay"
Once I headed south from Pinedale
on Hwy 191, 80, 789 and 13 the scenery made a drastic change. This is what it
looked like most of the way. This is a picture of the Oregon trail crossing.
26th day (Tuesday,
July 12th) Arrived Meeker, Colorado (population 2,493). Today was a hard boring day. I
departed Pinedale early in the am, took off on Hwy 191. Not much to see except
the monument of where the Oregon Trail crossed, and the marker where the Pony
Xpress went through. I fought a headwind for over 140 miles. Yep I was tired when I got to Meeker. I located a local RV park, plenty of
space, however around 10PM the park manager informed me that the park was
booked for the weekend. He
apologized for not marking the spaces “reserved” sooner. He gave me a fee
nights lodging. In the AM I
relocated to the Meeker City Campground, luckily I was able to hook up to
electricity, no water or sewage. Not a problem, I have 75-gallon fresh water,
gray water and black water capacity.
That will last me until Sunday. The location is beautiful; I’m camped
right next to the White river.
"View from my Motorhome"
"View from my Motorhome"
27th day (Wednesday,
July 13th) Today was a day for household chores, did laundry,
cleaned the motor home (had a lot of dust from Mackay) and walked around town a
bit. I had no idea this place has such an amazing history.
Nathan Meeker:
Meeker Massacre
Battle of Milk Creek
White river War:
Ute Tribe:
28th day (Thursday, July 14th) More touring today, got my Colorado Off-Road
registration, had breakfast at the local Meeker café. http://www.meekerhotel.com/about/ I thought it was interesting that Billy the Kid hung out here. Registered for the Wagon Wheel
Rendezvous and selected my rides. Decided not to cook tonight, had dinner in town.
29th day (Friday, July
15th) I will be riding trails in the White River National Forest, which
is the most visited
national forest in the nation encompassing 2.3 million acres. With
11 ski resorts, eight Wilderness areas, 10 mountain peaks over 14,000
feet and 2,500 miles of trail.
Today's trail ride was called
"Miller Creek Loop". Was an enjoyable ride to the high meadows
that was covered with lots of flowers. Plenty of wildlife. Clocked in 56
dirt miles. Got to do a lot of rock climbing, played in the river a little
with our quads.
"Potty break"
"Lunch break" Yep, I got wet "Big time"
Got back to Meeker around 4:30,
showered then attended a concert put on by the Meeker Chamber of Commerce. Around 10pm I figured I better get some
rest and got ready for tomorrows ride.
30th day (Saturday,
July 16th) Ride today was much better then yesterday (Yellow Jacket
Historical Trail) . Our guides were just wonderful. They actually would stop
and give us time to enjoy the landscape and take pictures. It was a husband and
wife team. (Alvin & Linda). Linda is really into the history of Meeker. We visited
the location where the Milk Creek Battle was fought, we were on the spot where
the first ranger station was built in the National forest, and we visited a
uranium restoration site. http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/end-in-sight-for-uranium-cleanup/
In addition to our history lesson
we got to take a great ride into the White River National Forrest. We all put
our machines to the test; there was a lot of places that required advanced
riding skill. The trip totaled 7
hours and we clocked in 68 dirt miles.
"Getting ready to hit the hills"
"Climbing to the top"
"Lunch Break"
"View from 9,500 feet up"
"Uranium Mine Restoration site"
Tonight we were provided dinner,
then we got to watch the Off Road Vehicle Rodeo. I was going to enter the drag races, however the track was
way to rough. In fact there were 2 bad accidents during the event. Sure glad I
trusted my instincts.
Tomorrow I start getting ready to
head to Bayfield, Colorado for my 2 weeks of Habitat for Humanities Build.
Since I’m getting there early, I may go work in their Re-Store facilities for a
few days, just to help out.
I just figured out tonight, it’s
been close to a month that I have not watched TV. Most of these small town RV parks don’t have cable, and my antenna
doesn’t pull in the channels. Truth is, I don’t miss it.
Have to admit my initial reaction to the stunning areas you're riding in is a plain old "WOW!" The sky, the trees, the mountains. It's just beautiful. Plus, I noticed your beard is back.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of the national park you're in - surprising to read that it is the most visited. Guess I need to get off the west coast more! :-)
Beard may not last long in this heat.
ReplyDelete