July 16, Paonia, Colorado
The stay in Durango, Colorado, was off the charts wonderful, and it’s been added to my short list of places to live. The physical beauty of the surrounding area goes on and on. Valleys, streams, lakes, mountain views, a feast for the eyes. It was hard for me imagine a greater difference in the physical appearance between the average person seen in Durango’s streets, and that of fair New Orleans. They all look so fit!! Hikers, bicyclists, equestrians, skiers, white water rafters, you name it, Durango’s citizens do it! And the air is pure, with no diesel dust that turns your home, and lungs, black. Durango is a great town, and one well worth visiting…and maybe living.
Yes, That’s snow!
My dear friends, Jay and Stefany Rhodes provided hospitality to be remembered, and cuisine that rivals any great restaurant. Grilled elk tenderloin washed down with a vintage 2001 Trefethen cabernet sauvignon, will not soon be forgotten.
This morning I rode out of Durango in cool but sunny condition, and very excited in knowing that today was the first day I’d enter into regions about which there was absolutely no prior understanding. Harvey the Harley and I rode breathtaking highways on high altitude roads (11,000 ft) with unending sharp turns, and lots of 180 degree stuff, with no guard rails and sheer drops of hundreds of feet. I kept telling myself, “don’t look, pay attention to the road”, but I couldn’t stop myself from peeking, which scared the living shit out of me! A lot of second and third gear driving and hard angle leaning. A one point, while going at what I thought to be a safe 35 mph down a curve riddled section of mountain road, I was passed, I mean, smartly passed, by a guy on a bicycle doing about 50!! I got to talk to him a short while later when we had to stop for construction. He was amused by my concern and absolutely unconcerned about his speed…he looked exactly like Lance Armstrong.
The photo to the left shows a town lying below; it’s Silverton, an old mining town with an elevation of 9300+ feet! Silverton has a real deal Old West feel and a population that braves complete isolation in winter when the roads are impassable.
The real test came next. The road between Silverton, and Ouray, CO, is not only beautiful, but also patently dangerous.
Far more compelling than the ride between Durango and Silverton, I can’t imagine how these roads exist in a modern world because the level of danger is truly max. But the challenge and splendor of the ride is quite remarkable, and thus worth the risk.
Ouray, elevation 7,300, sells T-Shirts that say, “Got Oxygen?” A photo of Main Street, Ouray, is in the photo to the left. After a bite to eat and some fuel for Harvey, we pressed on to Ponia, Colorado, on roads far less frightening, thank Christ.
The stop in Paonia, Colorado was unplanned, sorta, but what a find! It’s micro climate has made it a major source of fruit, especially apples and peaches for many years. My God, the peaches! Georgia holds no candle to Paonia’s sweet and juicy treasure. I’m staying at the Fresh & Wyld Farmhouse Inn, and a more pleasant place would be hard to imagine. Shortly after Check-in I availed myself of a 90 minute massage followed smartly by a most pleasant dinner of organically grown grilled salmon with local veggies, and a fab tiramisu for desert. Next time you’re in Paonia, do yourself a major favor and dine at the Flying Fork Cafe, and Bakery.
In my next blog, I’ll have a photo or two of Paonia. But suffice it to say that Paonia, (pay-oh-nee-ah), a town of about 1,500, is a sheer delight.
Tomorrow is a grind it out day of big mileage on two-lane roads to a back ass of the beyond town in Wyoming…a staging point for the next big adventure…the Grand Teton’s, and Yellowstone.
XO
Middie
