WeSTOC was over and it was time to return home. I decided to take a route that would let me see a little more of Colorado as well as allowing me to take a route that I had traveled in 1970 just fresh out of college.

My return trip took me back north on highway 550 from Durango through Silverton and Ouray. I proceeded on to Montrose then headed east on highway 50. After just a few miles I swung into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The roads in the park were a lot of fun and were a welcome relief after the relatively straight roads that I had been on since just past Ourey. The canyon itself was pretty spectacular (see below).

Upon leaving the park I got back on 50 headed east and settled in for a long ride. As I continued along this very scenic route I crossed the continental divide at Monarch Pass. The roads were in extremely good shape and a lot of fun but the dropoffs made the ones near Silverton and Ourey look like just a few feet. They made for some very spectacular views. As I headed east the climate became drier and the temperature climbed. I continued on past Salida until I got to the intersection of 50 and highway 69 at a little hamlet called Texas Creek. At this intersection I turned south on 69 and headed for Walsenburg.

The trip down 69 turned out to be quite a treat. The road ran right down the throat of a very wide valley with the Sangre de Cristo mountain range to the west and another mountain range on the east. Most of the valley was devoted to growing hay and it was harvest time. A light rain peppered the valley and made the smell of freshly cut hay quite strong. It really was quite beautiful. About halfway down the valley I rounded a curve to find one of the biggest buffaloes I have ever seen standing on the side of the road. He seemed be as big as a house. Rather than stop and take a picture I decided to just get the hell out of there. He looked big enough to eat STs for breakfast.

At Walsenburg I hit interstate 25 and turned south headed for Raton Pass, NM. Along the way I passed a group of three STs going north, probably returning home from WeSTOC. It was also on I-25 that I began to see tons of Harleys headed north. I must have seen a hundred being ridden and trailered. When I reached Raton Pass I found out what was going on while stopped at a gas station. A guy on a Sportster was getting gas and said he was headed for Sturgis.

At Raton Pass I got on highway 87 and headed for Dalhart, Tx. I continued to see Harleys heading lemming like to Sturgis. At Dalhart I stopped and got a motel just before dark.

The next day I continued my journey down highway 87 until I reached Dumas. I decided to loop around Amarillo on smaller roads (152 and 207) that took me through Stinnet, Borger, Panhandle, Conway and Claude. At Claude I was going to get on 287 and head for Quanah but changed my mind at the last minute. Instead I headed back west to take a tour of Palo Duro Canyon State Park. I had been there once before several years ago but never on a motorcycle.

After leaving the park I hoofed it south down I-27 to Tulia where I got on highway 86 and headed west with the intent of linking back up with 287. Along the way I passed through the town of Turkey, the home of the famous western singer Bob Wills. Eventually I got on 287 and headed east.

As I rode along 287 I was reminded of taking this same road 30 years ago. I had just graduated from college and my roommate and I decided to go to Colorado to blow off some steam and wait for the draft to get us. Along the way we saw what was one the most incredible weather phenomenon I have ever seen. About four or five miles west of Childress we came upon an awesome storm with a rapidly rotating wall cloud. Tornadoes were forming in the fields ahead of us. I got a good picture of the wall cloud (below) but when my roommate saw what was going on in front of us he stepped on the gas and got out of there in a hurry. I have always been fascinated by violent weather and wanted to take a picture of a fully formed tornado. Well, I never got my picture but several miles down the road we heard on the radio that 5 tornadoes had emerged from that storm some of which hit Childress. I've never seen anything like it since.

At Quanah I got on highway 6 and began the long trek south toward Cisco. It was a great road and very lightly traveled. Because of that I was able to really put the ST in afterburner mode and make good time. When I finally reached Cisco my ass was hurting, my back was hurting (I had injured my back a month before the trip), I was hungry and I was ready to call it a day. I asked at a gas station about a good place to eat and I was directed to I-20 just east of town. Well, I took I-20 just east of town and never saw the blasted place so I continued on to Eastland and got back on highway 6 and headed to Stephenville via Dublin and highway 377. I finally got a room and a meal in Stephenville and promptly crashed for the night.

My original intention had been to stay in Cisco then take some very small, country roads through central Texas then back to Houston. When I got up Saturday morning in Stephenville however, the condition of my back dictated that I return to Houston via the quickest route possible. I decided instead to head to Ft. Worth, via 377, visit relatives for an hour or so, then hot foot it to Houston via I-35 and highways 6 and 290. I arrived back home around 2:30 Saturday. It was nice to be back!

The "damage" to my ST's odometer was 3700 miles from the time I left the preceding Saturday. It was a great trip and I really met some great folks. Maybe by the time of the next ST rally (TexSTOC in October) I'll have the 3700 miles worth of splattered bugs and bird crap off my motorcycle. What a great vacation!

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