Day Eight – Left out of town just before some incoming weather arrived. Was sprinkling a bit but very light. The road out of town wound its way down and out of the tree covered hills. Traffic is fairly light but does get slowed down from time to time due to slow moving vehicles. I eventually catch up to a group of six bikers. Before long, three more fall in behind me. We’re now ten deep, rolling through the hills of western South Dakota for several miles.
We finally cross into Wyoming and the land begins to flatten out. I finally able to break free from the pack and really get moving. There’s nothing out here. The land has flattened almost completely and the road begins to run in long, straight stretches. It’s only a 350 mile run into Erie, CO but feel like a lot more. Most of the day is spent running through the flat grasslands of eastern Wyoming.
Lunch is in Lusk, Wyoming at a place called Young Ducks. It, like the town, is small. But they do offer a decent menu. I simply opt for an order of wings with house BBQ sauce. Then it’s back on the road through more of the never-ending fields of yellow grass.
A couple of hours later we make it to I-75 and continue south through Cheyenne. I stop just south of town for a break and to check in with my cousin. I’m only about 75 miles out and just about to cross into Colorado.
I-75 is moving quickly as Libby and I cross the border and continue our way towards the Denver area. At Loveland traffic slows to a stop and continues as stop and go for several miles. It takes some time but eventually we make it to our turnoff and escape the slow moving traffic.
My cousin and her husband have some out of town guests in for the Colorado Buffaloes game. They’ve all been going since before 7:00am enjoying the early game as any true fan would, with plenty of adult beverages. The boys are still out when I arrive, just after 5:00pm, but arrive shortly and it’s clear that they have been having a good time.
We spend the evening chatting and enjoying pizza, more adult beverages and football. Eventually, people start dropping out until just me and the cousin husband are left. We make it until midnight before calling it a night. I don’t know how he makes it that long. He’s been going since 4:00am and on just a few hours of sleep. But as always when we get together, we have some great conversation.
Day Nine – We all begin waking up one by one. I get Libby loaded back up as breakfast is getting started. It’s eggs, sausage and biscuits. A small meal but just enough for pretty much all of us. We conversate for a bit longer and then I’ve got to make my exit, there’s a lot of miles to go before I reach home.
After hugs, handshakes and goodbyes, Libby and I are back out on the road. I was advised that I needed to be on the road and out of town by a certain time as the Broncos season opener is at home and traffic will get ugly. It’s a completely overcast, and chilly morning. There’s a good bit of traffic heading around the city of Denver but it’s moving fast. We quickly make it to I-70 and head eastward to Limon and then on a more southerly route.
The landscape returns to flat grasslands once we exit the Denver area. A lot of straight roads between towns. Farmland does pop up when approaching or leaving one of the many smalls towns we pass through. A hundred miles out of town and the cloud cover finally begins to break up, the sun now shining brightly. Still just chilly enough to keep my jacket on.
It’s a long, windy day through Colorado and finally into Lamar, the largest town we’ve come through so far. Just a week ago we were here. We headed east then, coming in from the west now. The rest of the run into Amarillo will be the same roads we left out on.
It’s a long run into Springfield and them Campo before finally leaving Colorado for the Oklahoma panhandle. It’s only about 40 miles through this part of Oklahoma and about halfway through is Boise City. Coming through here last weekend sparked one of those memory pings. There was something about this small town, I couldn’t place it then but I picked it up coming through today. I passed a small airfield with about six small hangars, didn’t look like any were still in use. One of those hangars is where Dad camped on his way back from Sturgis in 2011, it’s in his daily reports from that trip.
We finally cross back into the great state of Texas. Wind is still blowing pretty steady and passing big rigs is always exciting. Some can actually pull you towards them as you pass but you get a good blast of wind once you clear the front end of any of them. Weather is starting to brew in the distance.
In Texas the road has begun to rise and fall a lot more and the straight shots are shorter. The farmland has gotten much larger as well. It’s a long hundred miles from the border to Amarillo but we finally make it back to the campsite we stopped at last week. The sky surrounding the city doesn’t look good so, before even going into the office, I check the weather. Severe storms are expected tonight. I don’t mind a rainy evening but severe weather could mean bad news as a tent doesn’t provide a whole lot of protection. I’ve still got a free night at a hotel so I opt for that instead of paying $100 for a 10ft by 10ft cabin.
I skipped lunch today. I want to at least make it to Amarillo and I’m losing an hour due to the time zone change. For dinner I decide to head to The Handle Bar and Grill, because why wouldn’t I? It’s about as hole in the wall as you can get. Very small but has a decent burger. It’d be better as a lunch spot for me but I’m hungry.
Tomorrow I’ll head out as early as I can. Still have over 400 miles to go.
The Motorcycle Diaries of an Easy Rider 