Highway 6 2021
 
 

Day 08

June 28

 
     
   
  Since breakfasts over the last few days have been sort of 'thin' and I am a big fan of breakfast, I decide I'll have me a 'sit down' one this morning. I see this place on my way out of town and it will work just fine.  
   
  Nothing like a big ol' cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream on top to get your motor started.  
   
I love the omelets at IHOP so that is what I order and it is good as usual.  
   
  It is prolonged battle, but I manager to emerge victorious from the field of action.  
   
  With enough pig meat, hen fruit and sugar to power me for the day, I get back to thrashing cats. Not too far out of town Highway 6 leaves the slab as it often tends to do.  
   
  The further west I go, the more mountainous the terrain becomes - which I really enjoy. Back home what they call mountains are really just tall hills compared to what I have seen out west in the Sierras and the Rockies.  
   
Soon I am passing through Golden and ...  
   
  leave the four lane for some really nice twisties ...  
   
  and tunnels.  
   
And along the way I come across some other really 'interesting' objects. I wonder if they are coming down to wait for the bus to go to the mall.  
   
  Then there are some more twisties ...  
   
  and more tunnels ...  
   
  and then some twisties in a tunnel. This section of Highway 6 proves to be my favorite one of all the parts that I have ridden so far.  
  I get my first glimpse of snow capped mountains which I always find fascinating regardless of how many times I see them. For a hillbilly like me to see snow in July is a bit of a visual treat as we rarely see snow back home even in the dead of winter.  
   
  Soon Highway 6 takes me to and through Loveland Pass and Basin.  
   
  It's a lovely ride and sort of reminds me of some of the Alps Passes that I encountered in my ride over there.  
   
  Loveland Pass is almost 12,000 feet in altitude. It is slightly higher that Monarch Pass that I crossed on my Highway 50 trip.  
   
  It's a lovely run down from the pass and SweetTreat has no trouble with the altitude at all.  
   
  Now this is what you call a real hairpin when it almost closes back on itself.  
   
  Down off the mountain is this beautiful lake to take in with its unspoiled beauty.  
   
 

But as I journey on, I'm brought back to reality by a major traffic jam. I just have to chuckle at the message on the back of this truck -

"Clowns To The Left Of Me ... Jokers To The Right."

 
   
The weather is great, the sights outstanding and the roads have been wonderful. This day has all the makings of what makes my trips so enjoyable.  
   
 

But then the 'vulgarities' of the road raise up their ugly head. It seems there is a landslide blocking I70/Highway 6 and CDOT has done nothing except close the interstate. They have put up no signs to indicate where the detour would be or how to get there. I finally see a state trooper in a pull across and stop and ask him -

"Sir, I'm not from around here so how do I get around this mess?"

About all I get out of him is to go to Steamboat Springs which means I will have to go back some twenty miles to get to that exit. I head back to the last gas station I remember in Gypsum to try to figure out my new route. I finally get a new route charted and loaded to my GPS and realize that what would have been a nice early arrival at the motel will now be a very late arrival. The 'detour' as best as I can tell appears to be about 200 miles out of the way.

 
   
  As I head back to the exit to Steamboat Springs, I see traffic backed up for miles and a lot of confused people as to what to do since there are no instructions offered for a detour. I don't guess it entered CDOT's pretty little heads that people not from this area do not have a clue where to go or how to go.  
   
  The 'closest' detour will take me up north to Steamboat Springs then west then back down to I70 on the other side of the landslide. CO 131 is the only option north so I take it. It's a nice run but I would have really preferred to do the extra miles on another day. But such is the life on the road - you play the hand you are dealt as best you can.  
   
  Once I get to Steamboat Springs, I find that there are plenty of other folks trying to do the same thing.  
   
Finally I get through the mess and reach US 40 which takes me to the other 'corner' of the detour in Craig.  
   
Out of Craig, I take CO 13 south back toward Highway 6.  
   
  Finally I'm back on Highway 6 on the other side of the landslide but now I am way behind on time where I want to be. You can can fuss and complain or just deal with it and go on. I've always been of the mind to deal with it and go on and it has served me well over the years.  
   
  Soon I come to where 50 and 6 do their dance together that I remember from my Highway 50 run back in 2017.  
   
  The last time I was through here I saw this sign and turned to the interstate as it advised and I latter regretted it. Though I'm already late, I decide I will not make that choice again.  
   
  So today I press forward on this 'historical' portion as this is the way Highway 6/Highway 50 originally went. It goes really good for a while but then...  
   
  it goes to not so good ..  
   
  to pretty bad and then to a nasty mess.  
   
  When it finally gets back to the interstate, it is barely passable but it's not my first rodeo on taking a ST1100 on terrible gravel roads. The big problem is there is no gas in sight and I'm on reserve. As I get back on the slab I am wondering how far I can get before I'm pushing. Finally after thirty miles on reserve, I see this sign and I am very thankful. I remind myself not to get in this situation again - for what that is worth.  
   
I am really tired at this point and I've still got a ways to go. But there's no options out here unless I want to sleep under roadside bush, so I push on. Highway 6 and Highway 191 run together for quite a while until Highway 6 splits off to head for Spanish Fork where my accommodations are for the evening.  
   
  This is the way I came when I did Highway 50 across the United States. This old diner, long boarded up, is just one of many indications that Highway 50 originally came this way, sharing the route with Highway 6.  
   
  I was hoping to stop at Thistle, the ghost town, again. But thanks to CDOT's insanity, the hour is far too late.  
   
  This was to be a short day with a leisurely supper at the next door Cracker Barrel but by the time I get here, the Barrel has been closed a long time. I'm just thankful that I can still get my room that I reserved as late as it is.  
   
  So supper this evening is provided by that world famous chef 'Le Vender Machina'. It's very pricey but at least it somewhat fills an empty spot.  
   
 

This old boy is past being tired - as we say out in the country -

"I'm slat wore out."

But I ain't seen nothing yet as tomorrow holds another 'surprise' for me. But so it is on the road - and it still beats a good day at work.