Part 1 - Ride with Christine

This summer is going by way too fast!! Here is a ride that Christine, at Christine's Corner, and I did on June 19, 2006. She has already posted her pictures and narration a while back. The day after the ride I went to Boy Scout camp for five days and when I got back there was just too much going on to post then.

Christine arrived at my house 9am and shortly after that we took off with Christine in the lead. It was a beautiful day for a ride. We went west on Hwy 24 and our first stop was The North Pole!! Yes, you read that correctly. Surprisingly, there was NO snow on the ground, lol. Above is a shot that we both needed for the Mountain Shadow Riders (MSR) scavanger hunt. I'm just sorry we didn't get to see Santa Claus, pout!

As it turns out the North Pole isn't far from the base of Pikes Peak, lol. So we hop on our bikes and head on up the road for another scavanger hunt photo opportunity. Above is the shot I got with Christine enjoying herself. I wonder what the folks must of thought of us!

We get back on our motorcycles and by now a plan has formed. Christine was originally thinking a moderate ride. Since I haven't ridden a whole whole lot, she didn't want to over do it on our first ride. Between the two of us we decided a mountain pass would be fun to ride over. Well, when the whole ride was said and done I forgot how many mountain passes we ended up going over, lol. I will have to go and count!

Our first mountain pass is Wilkerson Pass. We stop at the Wilkerson Pass Visitor Center in Pikes National Forest, elevation 9,502. Here was a chance for me to get another scavanger hunt pic. I needed a "National Park Sign." Christine already had that one.

Above is of me at one of the lookout points at Wilkerson Pass Visitor Center.

From the same lookout, with me not in the way. You can see the Collegiate Mountains (Princeton, Yale, Harvard) way off in the distance. And a few other 14ers (mountains higher than 14,000 ft.).

Above we stopped along the road to get some photos. This view is mostly what we were driving through for most of the day. It would vary to some degree. At times we were in flat lands and then through mountainous terrain. It was fun to hum through the twisties and just drink in the scenery, sigh.

Just before we come to Buena Vista Christine pulls over at this cantina for lunch. The Coyote Cantina is in Johnson Village. I don't see it on the map, but it's here. They are at 12985 Hwy 25 & Hwy 285. The only reason I'm giving you all this information is because the food is GOOD!! You sure get your money's worth here. I came out way too full. They do Country Breakfast and Mexican Lunch & Dinners. It's very rustic and has a wild west atmosphere. On their website they state you can see (and they have a photo to prove it) the Collegiate Peaks range from there. I was way too hungry and enjoying the atmosphere to even notice. And we ate outside!! My husband jokes that nothing gets in the way of food and me, lol.

Because we stopped and saw so many things on this trip, I am breaking it up into segments. We took loads of photos and had lots of fun. Christine is a great lady to ride with and we just had a blast. Keep posted for more on this trip later.

Safe Journeys to You, Betty :)