RFTW Day 2

Today we are heading for Colorado and I-70 and Eisenhower Tunnel. Very cool this morning, 40, so we have all our leather on. Chaps, jackets, vest and gloves. I didn't put my long johns on because I thought it was going to warm up. Nebraska is a helmet state so I wore it under protest. I thought that's what the wars have been about.........freedom. It did warm up and when we stopped in Ft. Morgan, Colorado I took my jacket and helmet off and rode with just a t-shirt and vest. It was 75 in Denver and very comfortable. As soon as we headed up I-70 it begin to cool down and so we pulled over and gassed up and added my jacket and stocking hat. We were standing around and as usual someone will come up and look at the bikes and ask us where we are going. In Ft. Morgan a gentleman told us that he had come on I-70 and through the Eisenhower Tunnel the previous day and it had snowed hard. Now I wished I had put my long Johns on. At a higher altitude we could see the snow falling and sure enough we drove into some snow flurries. Luckily it was about 35 so it was melting on the road. Got spoked coming around a curve and I saw a wet patch and prayed it wasn't ice, prayer answered, no ice. It was beautiful in the mountains but when you are on two wheels you need to pay full attention. Nothing like going down a 6% grade at 80 mph around a 55 mph curve. We got to Rifle, Colorado about 6pm and had supper and again people are looking at the bikes and asking where are you going and we asked about rooms for the night. They said good luck, the oil and gas fields are going nuts and rooms were bought up by the companies for their workers. I thought something was up because regular gas was $4.09/gallon and a three peice meal at KFC was over $9.00. We found one room with one bed and it was starting to drizzle. The room weas not big enough for all of us so we headed for the next town, Grand Junction, 60 miles away. The drizzle soon turned to a full blown rain and we had to keep on going and luckily it quit raining after about 20 miles. The only thing spookier than 80 around a 55 mph curve is doing it at night at 55 mph. There was a big high school event going on in Grand Junction plus it was a Friday night and once again we couldn't find a room for all of us. One clerk started calling around and found us two rooms at a downtown motel. Now it was raining again and off we went to our motel. There are seven of us on the trip, Jim, Jim, Tim, Bob, Curt, Al and myself. Jim and I are are Army Vets. Jim was a Grunt with the 101st Airborne in the Ashau Valley and a Purple Heart awardee. Bob, Al and Tim are Navy Vets. One was a Seabee in Vietnam, another was blue water vet and another was on submarines off the coast of Vietnam. Jim was a member of the Marines, Air Force and National Guard. Curt is not a Vet, but his brother was in Vietnam and he knows the other guys and wanted to make the trip. Tim, Jim and Curt have never been to the Grand Canyon and so they are splitting off tomorrow and joining up with us in Los Angles on Monday night. The rest of us are heading to Utah, Arizona and Nevada.