Missing Mount Evans

It was cold (49 F) and overcast when we got up this morning. We took some time to admire the wild river running past the back of our motel before leaving. Typical of the wild rivers of the west the likes of which we had not seen since we had left the north west corner. Fishing would be dangerous and difficult. It was time to put the warm liners back in our motorcyle suits and wear warmer gloves.

We followed the river most of the way. This is one of the few without a railway line following it..

Our ride today was scheduled to take us up to the summit of Mt Evans, Colorado, the highest paved road in the US topping out at over 14,000 ft at the summit.


This involved backtracking from Grant to Bailey before turning north where we had a pleasant stop for brunch and fuel at 'The Deli in Evergreen South'. Hot coffee and plenty of it is suddenly essential.


Unfortunately, when researching this trip, Chris did not read the fine print closely enough; - The Mt Evans road is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and Labor Day was four weeks ago.


However, we were still able to ride the scenic road 103 to Echo Lake which was S bend after S bend through the groves of pines, and aspens which are still holding onto there golden leaves at the lower altitudes.

Descending from Echo Lake we soon reached Idaho Springs after an exhilarating descent. Here we picked up I-70 (the only road available) and turned west to Georgetown, our destination for the night.

Our ride today was not a long one and we arrived in Georgetown in the early afternoon. It is situated in a steep valley surrounded by mountains. Everywhere you looked you faced a steep rock wall with a few pines, some of which are dead, affected by a beetle. We found the Georgetown Mountain Inn quickly thanks to the help of the Visitors Centre. The alpine design of the motel made you feel that this was a skiing area. It has the feel of Queenstown in New Zealand. All it needs is the gondala that takes you up to a restaurant on top of the mountain.
The Visitors Centre also suggested a ride on the Georgetown Loop Railway (discounted for the off season). This was a very short run covering about one mile as the crow flies, but taking three miles of track as the railway winds its way back and forth up a steep gorge. A pleasant way to relax.

Our tickets were for a round trip by train, so we went both ways along the track. The railway is famous for the Georgetown loop, where the line gains altitude by making a complete loop and passing over itself on a narrow and high curved steel viaduct. Today the four carriages were pulled by a diesel locomotive rather than the steam locomotive they show in all the promotional material. It did the job, but without the atmospheric chuffing and smoke of a steam train. The electric horns don't have the romance of a steam whistle but the ride was very pleasant in the open air carriages.

On the way down it started raining, but that cleared up soon after we returned to Devil's Gate Station.
We got on our bike and rode back to the motel through the historic old town with its lovely old Victorian buildings.
We stopped at the local market, purchased the makings of a simple dinner and retired to our very warm room for the evening.