 Big cat terrain  Victor, 10000 feet, old gold town, mine now back in action |
 Gun tottin' travellers |
11/8/2011 Phantom Canyon Rd to Pueblo
D73, T3hrs, Av23.19, T4079
Rising early, having been the only living thing of any significance to utilize the camp overnight.
Knowing a downhill run was ahead, a cup of coffee was consumed for breakfast.
Two small tunnels were enroute, the scenery though not as dramatic as yesterdays portion of the road, as elevation decreased,was still that to behold, especially slopes bathed in the early morning sun.
My raincoat had to be worn as it was quite chilly. Not having a camera, Murphys Law would indicate that a Mountain Lion maybe spotted. Unfortunately, not so. Some people spoken to who have spent years in this environment have only ever sighted them on odd ocassions. Slinky buggers.
Some five miles from 50 the road became blacktop. Roadside, a guy was spotted in a parked pickup, pulling over revealed him to be a Prarie Dog hunter.
He was on road reserve >60ft from the centre line of the road so he could use his rifle, but not shoot across the road. Five hundred dogs were his tally this summer.
His rifle was a Ruger 204, with rounds leaving the barrel at 4200ft/sec with a flat trajectory, the cartridge was huge compared to the projectile, making life for Prarie Dogs dodgy within 400 yards while Rich was about.
Hitting 50 I checked out Wally mart for cameras, no luck here as expected. Moving to a fast food outlet for wifi ,I spoke to a few freinds in NZ, then headed to Bernards in Pueblo.
Tony and the girls were still enroute from Durango, they soon arrived. Ellen and Bernard provided another unreal meal which consisted of smoked corn, steak and chicken with salad and dessert. This was enjoyed by all.
A friend of theirs, Chuck entertained us with some survival stories during winter hunting trips.
We hit the road about 2130, leaving a classic balmy Colarado evening behind. All this and no humidity.
Having ridden for five days and had those stomach problems, soon as I hit the front seat, I realised how tired I was. Sleeping for many miles.
We pulled in at Lamar in Colarado for fuel after midnight and cruised on, some 2 hours later we were greeted by a sign welcoming us to Oklahoma, shit we missed a turn and had headed 78 miles south, back tracking was our only option. Over 20 odd hours of travel with stops, another couple is no problem. I hadn’t planned on visiting this state, all be it in the middle of the night and very briefly.
A sea of flashing lights ahead on both sides of the road greeted us at one stage. This had been visible for many miles. It turned out to be a huge wind farm.
This was the most prominent feature of the Kansas landscape at night so far.
D73, T3hrs, Av23.19, T4079
Rising early, having been the only living thing of any significance to utilize the camp overnight.
Knowing a downhill run was ahead, a cup of coffee was consumed for breakfast.
Two small tunnels were enroute, the scenery though not as dramatic as yesterdays portion of the road, as elevation decreased,was still that to behold, especially slopes bathed in the early morning sun.
My raincoat had to be worn as it was quite chilly. Not having a camera, Murphys Law would indicate that a Mountain Lion maybe spotted. Unfortunately, not so. Some people spoken to who have spent years in this environment have only ever sighted them on odd ocassions. Slinky buggers.
Some five miles from 50 the road became blacktop. Roadside, a guy was spotted in a parked pickup, pulling over revealed him to be a Prarie Dog hunter.
He was on road reserve >60ft from the centre line of the road so he could use his rifle, but not shoot across the road. Five hundred dogs were his tally this summer.
His rifle was a Ruger 204, with rounds leaving the barrel at 4200ft/sec with a flat trajectory, the cartridge was huge compared to the projectile, making life for Prarie Dogs dodgy within 400 yards while Rich was about.
Hitting 50 I checked out Wally mart for cameras, no luck here as expected. Moving to a fast food outlet for wifi ,I spoke to a few freinds in NZ, then headed to Bernards in Pueblo.
Tony and the girls were still enroute from Durango, they soon arrived. Ellen and Bernard provided another unreal meal which consisted of smoked corn, steak and chicken with salad and dessert. This was enjoyed by all.
A friend of theirs, Chuck entertained us with some survival stories during winter hunting trips.
We hit the road about 2130, leaving a classic balmy Colarado evening behind. All this and no humidity.
Having ridden for five days and had those stomach problems, soon as I hit the front seat, I realised how tired I was. Sleeping for many miles.
We pulled in at Lamar in Colarado for fuel after midnight and cruised on, some 2 hours later we were greeted by a sign welcoming us to Oklahoma, shit we missed a turn and had headed 78 miles south, back tracking was our only option. Over 20 odd hours of travel with stops, another couple is no problem. I hadn’t planned on visiting this state, all be it in the middle of the night and very briefly.
A sea of flashing lights ahead on both sides of the road greeted us at one stage. This had been visible for many miles. It turned out to be a huge wind farm.
This was the most prominent feature of the Kansas landscape at night so far.
