It was the worst of days it was the best of days....

I left Denver after a warm farewell with my hosts.  Melissa gave me half a loaf of her [ridiculously good] homemade bread, and a short trip to Safeway helped me get set for the road.

The ride started off well enough, a little overcast in the beginning, and I pulled over to put on rainpants after a couple of drops.  At this point I met a couple Germans renting Harleys.  Tony and Bridget were very nice and very proud that they owned Harleys back in Bavaria.

Then it got a little colder.  Then the rains came.  All the while I'm still climbing the pass headed towards the Continental Divide.  I made a mental note maybe 15 times to look into putting handguards on my bike.  I also laughed at my stupidity when I told myself to not throw wool socks when I was packing.  But alas, I was determined to make it to Vail, as I knew there was a parking garage where I could at least do something about my soaked boots with a roof over my head.

An hour or so later, through the wet and cold I made it into Vail. A quick walk through the area and I found Blue Moose Pizza had a $5 lunch special and I convinced the server, Tony, to substitute coffee for my soft drink.  After almost an hour there, Tony mentions that he has never seen it really rain like this in the valley.  Generally only lasts an hour or so and then subsides - I laugh at my luck.  At the same time he tells me that it should break up maybe 25 minutes down the road as the valley opens up.  Wishing that I had asked that earlier, I get some homemade waterproofing for my boots, pay and get out.

Already the weather had lightened up a little and visibility was a tad more manageable.  But as Tony had mentioned, 20 more minutes and I was pretty much out of it. The scenery along 70 was pretty bland until Glenwood Canyon came up which was pretty awesome.  Unfortunately along the canyon there wasn't much of a place to pull over, so I didn't manage to take any pictures, you'll have to trust me that the high, light brown narrow canyon walls along the Colorado river are inspiring.

After entering Utah, I could see red jutted rock in the distance.  The scenery was pretty similar along the way and I took the scenic road to Moab (hwy 128) in and my excitement grew as I started to encounter additional motorcyclists headed in and out of Moab.

So needless to say, the ride was beautiful getting in.  I ultimately found a camping spot along the Colorado just outside Moab proper.  I met a young couple who invited me over for a beer at their campfire, so I knew  they couldn't have been all bad.  Steve and Ellen were from DC making a zig and zagging trip to San Francisco.  Ellen insisted on making me Korean ribs and rice.  I could hardly complain about the hospitality.