Getting Stuck in Frisco CO.....

....was not as bad as I thought,once I got a few cups of coffee in me and thawed out as I made my way up to the bar at the 5th Ave Grille in Frisco,Colorado.As I unceremoniously deposited my snow covered helmet and my shivering body(it was 18º out) into a comfy bar stool and after getting the "Are U Nukin Futs" looks from two ladies sipping their wine at the horizontal slab,Johnny kept the coffee coming for me as I thawed out from refridgerator cold back up to room temperature.

Owner Seth Zelen with Johnny.


I pulled into Frisco simply because I couldn't ride any further.It takes a lot for me to be stopped by weather,I can pretty much ride in any weather except ice,I can ride in cold as low as zero all day long,i'll be cold and shaking,but i'll ride it if I have to no problem,but coming out and up past Vail on I-70 it started to rain a little,which then turned to snow the higher up to the Eisenhower Tunnel I got,which in turn caused a snow and ice build up on my helmet visor,which in turn necessitated opening the visor to be able to see out...........and at 40 mph with wind gusting to 25 mph and near white out conditions the snow coming in through my open visor felt like a hundred pins being stuck in my eyeballs.I had to stop riding.I couldn't go any further safely.
I came up on an exit that I could barely see,I nearly ran off the road thinking it was the turn but it wasn't,finally got the exit and gently and carefully rode downhill and into Frisco and ran smack into the 
5th Ave Grille.

My helmet and jacket blend right in............kinda.


After about my sixth cup of coffee Seth bought me a staff dinner that he had prepared for the staff that day,homemade spaghetti and meatballs,and for someone who doesn't eat meat,he makes a killer meatball.That doesn't sound quite right..........oh well.


Thank you again Seth for your hospitality.


I ended up camping on Seths recommendation at the back of the church grounds in a little kids playhouse.It was shelter from the storm,good enough for me.

The little kids house behind the bike was perfect..........and free.

The next morning I waited until lunch to head up to the Eisenhower Tunnel,it was a cold and windy ride but I got through to Denver and on up to Boulder,piece of pie.....


Before I got to Frisco,back on 133 as I headed out over McClure pass from Delta toward Carbondale the weather started to turn a wee bit,nothing to look at and go Uh oh,no,just little things like a quick drop in the mercury or the wonderful smell of rain approaching that you get accustomed to being on a motorcycle for more than a year or so.All part of the adventure(he said reassuringly to himself)as he daydreamed of Florida beaches with warm sand and the sound of the waves lapping up on the shore..........



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The route I took back up to Boulder from my stay with The Pope in Durango was 550 north through Silverton,Ridgeway,Ouray then on to Montrose and Delta.A beautiful scenic ride,over snow capped mountain passes,the air as crisp and clean as it gets.I have travelled this route many times before when going to Ouray Ice Park for the winter Ice Climbing events.

Ouray Ice Park,Ouray CO.


With snow storms looming up ahead of me,it just made the view more interesting,and as purple blue clouds loomed on the horizon,I was reminded of these thoughts,"If we had no winter,the spring would not be so pleasant;
if we did not sometimes taste of adversity,prosperity would not be so welcome".
As seems to be the case as my journey begins to extend from months into years,the less I plan ahead and prepare for,the more interesting and eventful the outcome seems to be.I stopped planning at the end of last year,and since then it seems like I left a 500lb weight behind.
Meeting adversity on the road will either drag you down,OR,will bring out the best in you,the person you didn't realize you thought you were.
How we deal with adversity makes us who we are.

Georgetown Lake,Georgetown CO.

As I travel north from Durango on 550,I came across the 12 ton,16ft tall "Christ of the Mines" shrine,linking the towns mining heritage with the present.The shrine is a reminder of the importance that the mining industry was to the town of Silverton.Though the mines are now closed,the legacy still remains.The statue is sculpted from Carrera marble,the same marble that Michelango used for his "David".

 As 550 winds north out of Silverton to Ouray,you are now on whats is known as the Million Dollar Highway.The origin of the name "Million Dollar Highway" is disputed,but several legends include that it cost a million dollars a mile to build in the 1920's,and that it's fill dirt contains a million dollars in gold ore.

The Million Dollar Highway stretches for about 25 miles between Silverton and Ouray on Hwy 550 in Colorado,but it's really the 12 miles south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass which gains the highway it's name.This stretch through the gorge is hairy as all hell,and thats on a good day.Steep cliffs,narrow lanes,off camber curves,no guardrails and lots of "S" curves used to gain elevation,it's not a road for the weak or timid,or those suffering from vertigo.Going north,as you look at the picture above,there's nothing but a sheer drop of a thousand feet or more to your left,so imagine these roads in Winter.

Hence the reason for this plaque,halfway down between Red Mountain Pass and Ouray.

Just by the Amphitheater north of Ouray.

In Rigdgeway,from the movie of the same name.


That concludes this episode of "Travels with Murph".
I hope you are enjoying the trip as I am enjoying re-telling the adventure in pictures and narrative.I have heard from some followers of the blog that if it were not for my adventures,they wouldn't get out at all,and for you,I am touched and honored to be your guide.


So 'till next time...........

MURPH

Boulder,Durango,Amado,Prescott,Durango,Ouray,Frisco,Boulder.....

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A little over a two thousand mile round trip,for the most part a stunningly beautiful ride winding and twisting it's way through a large part of the Navajo Nation.
The Navajo Nation from Colorado, extends into the states of Utah,Arizona and New Mexico,covering over 27,000 square miles of unparalleled beauty.Diné Bikéyah,or Navajoland,is larger than 10 of the 50 states in America.

The Navajo Nation Flag was designed by Jay R. Degroat,a Navajo from Mariano Lake NM.It was officially adopted by the Navajo Nation Council on May 21,1968.
On a tan background,the outline of the present Nation is shown in copper color with the original 1868 treaty Reservation in Dark Brown.At the cardinal points in the tan field are the four sacred mountains:


*Mount Blanca-Tsisnaasjini'-Dawn or White Shell Mountain.
Sacred Mountain of the East,near Alamosa in San Luis Valley,CO.


*Mount Taylor-Tsoodzil-Blue bead or Turquoise Mountain.
Sacred Mountain of the South,north of Laguna,NM.


*San Francisco Peaks-Doko'oosliid-Abalone Shell Mountain.
Sacred Mountain of the West,near Flagstaff,AZ.


*Mount Hesperus-Dibé Nitsaa-Big Mountain Sheep-Obsidian Mountain.
Sacred Mountain of the North,La Plata mountains,CO.


A rainbow symbolizing Navajo sovereignty arches over the Nation and the sacred Mountains.In the center of the Nation,a circular symbol depicts the sun above two green stalks of corn,which surrounds three animals representing the derrick symbolizing the resource potential of the Tribe,and above this are representations of the wild fauna of the nation.At the top near the sun,the modern sawmill symbolizes the progress and industry charismatic of the Navajo nation's economic development.


While in Durango I met,through the Pope,Jackson Clark,owner of the Toh-Atin Gallery.Toh-Atin is a Navajo word meaning "No Water".Jackson's father,Jackson Clark Sr,named the company after a mesa just south of the  Four Corners Area on the Navajo Reservation.In the next month or so,I will do a more in depth feature on the Jacksons and the Toh-Atin,as Antonia(Jacksons sister) gave me a copy of the book their father wrote many years ago called "The Owl In Monument Canyon" by H.Jackson Clark.
Through Jackson Clark Jr,I am arranging to meet Anthony Tallboy,a Navajo Medicine Man,a very powerful person in the Navajo Tribe.This will come under the Toh-Atin post in a few weeks.

So in about a week or so I will be riding much of the same route again as I make my way down SW to Mexicali the first week in May for the start of the Mexican 1000.
That will be more like a six thousand + mile round trip by the time i'm done and stop off at the places that I want to go and people that I want to visit,Anthony Tallboy being one of the stops,and as soon as the race finishes in La Paz I have to do a pretty quick turnaround back up to Boulder.

Having grown up in Ireland just outside of Dublin,a little town called Bray,we had four seasons,mountains,outdoor activities,a little bit of everything.I learned to ride Trials in the mountains a few miles from my house there.I went climbing every week and never had to travel more than 20 miles from my door.
After nearly ten years living in Florida,I now realize there are none of those things there that (I) need to be a part of my life that I grew up with,and Mum feels the same way too.It's flat,about as flat as it gets,and the one season they have per year,HOT,i'm just done with it,and so is me Mum.So i've taken it upon myself after talking it through with her that it's worth going to the trouble and expense to move her up to Boulder for whatever amount of time she has left here on this earth.It's really too hot in Florida for her,she can't go outside for a walk in the day and she has nothing to look at,no mountains,no snow,no changes in the seasons.
So thats why the quick turn around to head back up to Boulder to get down to Florida to pack everything up for her and move her to Boulder for June.It's only money after all,and after finding out the hard way that money does NOT buy happiness,it's an expense that is well worth it in my mind,besides,you only have one Mum,right?.So if you won't do it for her,then who?.


Meanwhile.........

.....one stop along the way is going to be with Zero One Oddysseys Adventure Safari Style Tour Cars.I met Zero One and co-founder David Whitehead at the Overland Expo last week,so i'll be going along on one or some of their adventure trips as the trip photographer.
It will be a little gas money to keep my trip going and the "MMM" fund(Move Me Mum),and it sounds like one hell of an adventure too boot.It's a roughly 150ml per day baja/safari style tour,all off road,with you doing the driving in one of their eleven tour cars.You drive off road to your destination each day,stay in whatever establishment is booked and eat and re-live the days fun for the duration of the tour.They even bring along a Massage Therapist sometimes for the trip,because believe me,after bouncing along for 150 miles in a buggy off-road,even if it is a Safari buggy,it does take it out of you by the second or third day.
Zero One may also be coming onboard as a new sponsor for me,we'll see.When you see the logo on the blog,then they're on board.

I made quite a few new friends in Durango and found out some interesting and neat things about the place.
For example,did you know that it's coming to the end of Soup season in Durango?.I didn't think so,thats why i'm letting you know now in case they run out before you get yourself some.......

I can highly recommend the SW Corn Chowder,and the Chicken Posole was killer also.

 While in Durango I also went to see the Pope..........

...well,actually I bumped into Jerry Pope outside PJ's as I was leaving and he rolled up on his GS 1200,so of course we started yakkin about bikes and stuff.......

I was camped out up at Hermosa but the Pope invited me to stay in his guest cabin by the lake,but I was muy contento in my campspot,I spent a few hours that day collecting firewood for an evening campfire to ward off the falling mercury that was forecast for that night,and also for some ambience,a little mood setting if you will.

So I invited him up to the campfire instead.......we sat around,temps in the twenties maybe,and then a few days later I took him up on his guest house offer.

The view looking north from the deck of the 

Pope's guest house.In the distance is the snow capped peak of Engineer Mountain,just a tad under 13,000 ft in the San Juans.Next on the list to climb.

Engineer Mountain.

But,before I left Boulder for Durango I managed to get in a few climbs up there.....

This climbing axe I have dates to about the 60's also,a gift from the guys I climbed the Matterhorn with.

All the stuff I have is getting older.

Whats up with that?.

These are my Meindl boots that I bought in 1976 just before my 15th birthday to go to Switzerland and go climb the Matterhorn,they still fit me today and have so many memories for me and so much history in them that I couldn't trade them in for a new pair today.Wouldn't go climbing without them.All leather uppers Meindl don't even make these anymore.They should probably be in a climbing boot display somewhere,but they were made to be worn and thats what i'm doing.

My right angle 'biner is becoming collectable also.....

So I didn't do any climbs that'll get my picture in the American Alpine Journal,but still I went and stretched my legs,hoping that I may be discovered by someone..........

......and I was.

Christina and Finnegan.

Meanwhile back at the Popes......

The Band-aid is from a tussle with a sleepy bear.......................you should see the state of the bear.

The Pope was not about to let me go hungry,so while he grilled the steaks I ran down to PJ's gourmet and picked up....

.....the only thing that could improve on a Teriyaki soaked slab of beef,aside from a bottle of '84 Margeaux that is..........which I don't do anymore.

And I had picked up some of these on the way to Durango just in case of an emergency.............so I figured this was a just in case moment.

Then we went out back and looking west caught the sun disappearing as the world turned...

After my stay with the Pope and having been absolved for all my transgressions(he said he had the authority to do it,who was I to argue),it was on to points north.......

Murph