Not a big day’s riding but we fought the wind the whole way with nothing to stop it across the plains. The pictures will talk.

Some interesting facts: Elevation above sea level.
Flagstaff USA –2,134m
Mount Kosciusko Australia – 2,228m
Traralgon Australia (hometown) – 60m
Highest elevation on our travels today – 2,134m

Lovely dinner spot last night in Holbrook and loved the sign.

The Wig Wam Motel on the way out of town.

And an old sign close by.

Called into the Jack Rabbit Trading Post. Got another sew on patch for my vest.

Then the Meteor Crater, still captivates me. Impact 50,000 years ago with a force 150 times greater than an atomic bomb. This is a view from the very windswept viewing platform with snowcapped mountains in the distance which we headed for at the end of the day.

And the crater itself, 550 feet deep

And then Walnut Canyon National Monument. Cliffside village houses from hundreds of years ago like at Mesa Verde which we visited in 2019…. when we were younger and fitter.

And to give some perspective.

And some weary climbers nearing the end.

Last night’s Accommodation.

Travelodge by Wyndham Holbrook.

Again, dated but comfortable accommodation and served our purposes well. Parking and continental breakfast included and a short walk to dinner. Laundry and pool on site which we didn’t use.

We had a day of cold riding today, strong wind in patches, thank heavens for lots of layers to be warm. The views were magnificent and changing at nearly every turn. Truly a vast country with ever changing views. I found it hard to rejoin Route 66 and heavy traffic on the Interstate just out of Holbrook, so back on Route 66 tomorrow. I think we have all enjoyed the seeming isolation.

Some interesting facts: Elevation above sea level.
Holbrook USA –1,547m
Mount Kosciusko Australia – 2,228m
Traralgon Australia (hometown) – 60m
Highest elevation on our travels today – 1,949m

Bikes parked up at San Juan Motel. Would have been a nice spot on the river's edge for happy hour last night but was too windy. The wind had gone this morning but unfortunately that didn't last, and it was much colder than yesterday.

Forest Gump stopped runnin here and we stopped for a photo opportunity along with many others.

Monument Valley, truly awesome.

And more Monument Valley.

Last night’s Accommodation.

San Juan Inn at Mexican Hat

A dated but comfortable accommodation literally perched between a massive red cliff face and the San Juan River. Clean, comfortable bed, parking included and restaurant on site as well as a Trading Post with all sorts of interesting things to buy if we had room. Ah well. Wi-Fi but very slow.

It wasn’t a big day overall but felt like one fighting strong winds nearly all day. When we travelled the same road to see Monument Valley 9 years ago it was raining so hard we could hardly see the surrounding countryside and this time it was much the same but with dust, initially it was cream colored then changed to red as the geography changed. It was a battle holding the bikes straight and needless to say we didn’t encounter pushbikes because they wouldn’t have been able to remain upright. The wind dissipated a little late in the day and the sun finally poked through.
Wi-Fi was slow so will be a day late loading this.

Some interesting facts: Elevation above sea level.
Mexican Hat USA –1,294m
Mount Kosciusko Australia – 2,228m
Traralgon Australia (hometown) – 60m
Highest elevation on our travels today – 2,600m

Durango Silverton Steam Engine just out of workshop and about to find his carriages.

First shot at close to an American Diner. Denny's at Cortez for breakfast.

4 Corners, a spot on an Indian Reservation where 4 State lines intersect and this brass plaque marks the spot.

And we 6 Aussies are looking at it ... and the camera.

And this was the stormy sky that we rode through for the rest of the day.

Twin Rocks with a Trading Post and Cafe which used to be called Rosey's.

The Mexican Hat (still waiting on a pic of this from Graham ......

The red cliff face behind our motel tonight and there seemed to be someone parked under the falling rocks sign the whole time we were there. Go figure!

Last night’s Accommodation.
Strater Hotel

A delightful stay in the lovely historic hotel built in the 1800’s and still going strong. There were a number of saloons and lounges still operating and multiple places to dine and the surrounds are in keeping with the era. The atmosphere was lovely. Beautiful comfortable bed, tiny but functional bathroom and parking included.

A beautiful day of riding through all sorts of spectacular scenery including majestic snow-covered mountains, rugged cliff faces and rocky outcrops of all shapes sizes and colors as well as conifer forests and farming country. The roads were awesome, and food stops agreeable.

Some interesting facts: Elevation above sea level.
Durango USA – 2,000m
Mount Kosciusko Australia – 2,228m
Traralgon Australia (hometown) – 60m
Highest elevation on our travels today – 3,852m

Silverton Hotel foyer.

Silverton Hotel from the outside.

Silverton in the street, yes, it is cold and that's a new beanie and a hot cup of coffee.

In transit heading for Durango and we had a little snow soon after.

A Durango streetscape.

And another.

And a mural in the Main Stret.

Last 2 night’s Accommodation.

Adventure Inn

Budget accommodation but clean and comfortable with breakfast and parking included and friendly and helpful staff. Best scrambled egg I’ve had since I’ve been in the USA.

I pulled up well today after feeling pretty broken last night but opted for a recovery day and spent my time doing the washing and updating the blog and just chilling a little. The weather was 16c when we woke and got to 26c so very pleasant. The photos come from Norm as he took the others around lots of sights and then headed back up the river for a few shots he wanted to get.

Some interesting facts: Elevation above sea level.
Moab USA – 1,227m
Mount Kosciusko Australia – 2,228m
Traralgon Australia (hometown) – 60m

I wasn't kidding when I said Adventure Tourism had taken over, I cannot believe the number of AGTV's are on the road or sitting to be hired!

Queueing up to get into the park, only to find you cannot get there without a prebooked pass, so Norm opted to go back up the river for some photos and then lunch with me and the others went to Dead Horse lookout. Worked for everyone.

Still snow beyond Moab.

On the river and a great bridge as well.

Awesome canyon.

And another incredible structure.

Had a good 5.5 hours of riding lined up today (plus extra for stops) so it was a case of getting on the bikes and getting it done with stretch, fuel and food stops only, but to say the scenery was amazing would be an understatement. We were glad we had multiple layers of clothing on because we travelled through lots of snow (not on the road) but all around us and it gradually reduced until it was in the distance only. All kinds of wonderful which is impossible to convey, it felt like we were riding from one great Cathedral to another and witnessing the majesty and wonder of a master artist. Now 2 nights at Moab to allow for some exploring. I was glad my highway pegs were fitted; I was able to rest my hip so more comfortable.

Moab is a surprise for us. We visited 9 years ago, and commercialization and adventure tourism has taken over. ATV’s and pushbikes are everywhere with multiple camping spots and canoeing along the river and national brand name accommodations in town. I think I liked it better more unspoiled, but all that is still dwarfed by the surrounding countryside. A bonus for us this trip was taking the Scenic Byway from I 70 (how we traveled last time) onto Route 128 which initially was a shocker of a road but then turned to all kinds of meandering on a perfect surface along the Colorado River and through massive pillars of rock resembling great fortresses, embattlements, spires and whole cities. Truly breathtaking!

Some interesting facts: Elevation above sea level.
Moab USA – 1,227m
Mount Kosciusko Australia – 2,228m
Traralgon Australia (hometown) – 60m
Highest point on our way today – 3,410m (Eisenhower- Johnson Tunnel 2.736km, the longest tunnel in North America about 96.561km from Denver and traverses the Continental Divide)

I’ll let the pictures tell the story, which they really don’t because they lack the depth and perspective but for all of us on the trip, they will be memory starters.

Yep, I wasn’t making that Mile High City quote up!

A quirky building from my hotel room and this was the street the fire truck pulled up in 3 times over the 2 days for false alarm fire calls. Very unsettling!

A view from our first fuel sop for the day.

A partially frozen lake on our way.

The Eisenhower Johnson Tunnel entrance.

In transit. Reduced to one lane and surrounding trees were dusted with snow so possibly protruding into the lane and icy earlier but all good when we passed

The place with no name really exists!

Awesome infrastructure. Would have loved to see a train on the tracks.

Changing landscapes as we headed for Moab.

Bighorn sheep, a random find!

The snow persists even amongst the awesome red of our approach to Moab.

Last 2 night’s Accommodation.

Holiday Inn Express Denver Downtown.

A nice spot to stay, comfortable bed, breakfast included and secure parking not far away. We have had a variation of bathroom sizes, but this one wins the miniscule space award and the room though functional is also small, but good spots to eat nearby and not far from lots of stuff. No laundry. So, swings and roundabouts.

A quiet day to chill a little, pick up some highway pegs for my bike and walk about Denver a little. Cooler day today (16c) but comfortable.

Norm heading off on my bike to get the pegs and Graham along for the ride. Major roadworks going on so convenient for us with our parking with the road closed so easy access.

The Church at the end of our street.

The Palace Hotel across the road from us. A beautiful example of an Art Deco building. Note the Cowboy statue on the corner.

Inside the Foyer where we had a drink last night. I had to retrieve the drinks from the Cigar Lounge … yep you heard correctly, and I was glad to get out of there. The exhaust fans were nearly as loud as the patrons, but I still thought I’d choke!

And also close to our hotel, the American Museum of Western Art. Was closed but interested me.

Although we didn’t have a huge distance to our destination today, we had planned for a lot of interesting sights to see along the way. It was an incredible assault on the senses … in a good way. Had planned to visit the Garden of the Gods which is a series of incredible lumps of sandstone somewhat like the ridge on the back of a dinosaur but opted for a ride by only. It looked magnificent, Google it you will be amazed, we were wearing out and wanted to get to a hot shower.

Elevation above sea level.
Denver USA – 1,609m (Nicknamed the Mile-High City as it is exactly 1 mile above Sea level)
Mount Kosciusko Australia – 2,228m
Traralgon Australia (hometown) – 60m
Highest point on our way today – 3,576m (Pikes Peak)

Royal Gorge & Railway Bridge.

Royal Gorge Historic Railway Bridge, now a footbridge over an incredibly deep gorge. Built to pursue mining interests many years ago along with pretty rough feuding and fighting. No lives were lost, and ownership was ultimately decided by the courts and handed to the Rio Grande Rail Company who had to pay Santa Fe Rail 1.4 million dollars for the construction of the track they had already done.

Skyline Drive – one-way road along a ridge between the freeway and Canyon City. The pillion passengers were a little freaked out and we still haven’t seen the video Lyn took with eyes closed, and doubt the volume will be on %#**^”# when we do from what we have heard!

Pikes Peak known as America’s Mountain – what an experience, couldn’t make it to the top as the road was still blocked with snow, absolute top elevation is 4,302m. We were puffing where we were! First shot on the way to start climbing, then on the top, where we had lunch then on the descent.

Note the ice shelf at the top where the snow / ice is blown up and over the top and the snow below is now receding. The next shot is a closer view.  

Last night's Accommodation.

Best Western Plus Eagleridge Inn & Suites

Good facilities, comfortable bed, parking on site and breakfast included. Literally walked across the road to dinner. Forgot to take a photo.

Started the day after breakfast with a visit to the Post Office by all of us to post home unnecessary stuff to free up our luggage space. No one was exempt and all feeling very self-satisfied now.
We wound our way through wonderful countryside into Pueblo and didn’t spend a lot of time off the bikes other than for rest stops, fuel and food so the pictures will tell the story when I have some from Lyn who was free to shoot them from the pillion seat. The views were spectacular with a lot of the time surrounded by snow covered mountains and either climbing up passes or sweeping down great winding roads to plains still way above 2,300m. Incredible!

Some interesting facts: Elevation above sea level.

Pueblo USA – 1,430m
Mount Kosciusko Australia – 2,228m
Traralgon Australia (hometown) – 60m
Highest point on our way in today – 2,800m but majority of trip between 2,200 to 2,300m.

Cute little church as we headed out of Sante e. Love the NM structures and lots of artistic stuff on public roadways.

Bikes parked up for lunch at a Dutch Restaurant with a very Mexican menu.

Fuel after lunch at a Sinclair Servo, hence the dinosaur.

Lots of old trains here and two stations we could see. This was the larger of the two.

Last night’s Accommodation.

Best Western Inn of Santa Fe.

Lovely New Mexican inspired building. Comfortable and includes breakfast and parking and literally dinner across the road. Worked for all of us.

Headed off and checked out the Cadillac Ranch before we had breakfast. From there the day was spent weaving under over and beside the Interstate and sometimes on it to follow Route 66, it was a challenge, but we got lots of photo ops for everyone. A shame to see how much deterioration there has been since 2015 when we were last here and of course that was also pre COVID. In any case we are finally in and will be heading out to dinner soon. Another big day of riding and we will have another tomorrow.

Some interesting facts: Elevation above sea level.
South Santa Fe USA – 2,199m
Mount Kosciusko Australia – 2,228m (only 34m higher)
Traralgon Australia (hometown) – 60m
Highest point through the pass on our way in today – 3,000m

A reminder that the Cadillac Ranch is in fact a working ranch. Was pleased to see there weren't any spray cans spread about this time, so people are using the bins provided, mind you the 2 skips at the gate mainly had rubbish bags in them, I assume from vans. Grr.

Midpoint on Route 66. Literally ??miles from Chicago and ??miles from Los Angeles.

And a cute little diner beside the souvenir shop.

And took this one of the walls for our friend Adrian who couldn’t make it for the trip.

Santa Fe turnoff where we pulled up for a break and stretch. Note the geography and vegetation behind, it could easily be heading north to the Pilbara at home. Very familiar.

An example of a total lack of respect. A traveler (me) needing to get the kinks out of my back and stretch the tendon which makes me walk like I have done a center bearing on the diff …. which was effective by the way, but I was still very glad to get off the bike when we got in. Glad I did so much resilience training before we came but it’s still a challenge.

Last night’s Accommodation:

Courtyard Amarillo Downtown.

A beautiful building and spacious room. Restaurant on site but cash only so we lodged our complaint and went to the Mexican across the road for a cheap and delicious dinner, also gad breakfast elsewhere for the same reason since it wasn’t included.