hurronnicane Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 (edited) Unsure where this belongs, if anywhere. We left Dripping Springs on July 12 in our daughter and her boyfriend’s DIY dodge sprinter van conversion. We had no real destinations and only the loosest of timeframes to visit those undetermined destinations. So far we have been quite successful. We brought our bikes, lots of books, and an aggressive slacker mentality as we try to avoid the heat in Texas. Riding destinations have included Capitan, New Mexico area including Ruidoso, Lake Abiquiu, New Mexico and nearby places, and now trails in the Pagosa Springs area. As older riders we have not been hitting as much gnar as my younger self would have liked or as many epic length rides as some, still we have had a bunch of fun. I finished my fourth book of the trip this morning and hope to complete my eleventh ride this afternoon. Edited July 30, 2021 by hurronnicane Typo 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 You, sir, are living the dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFisher Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 On 7/30/2021 at 4:46 PM, hurronnicane said: Unsure where this belongs, if anywhere. This kind of thing belongs anywhere and everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 2, 2021 Author Share Posted August 2, 2021 Yesterday was my birthday and we did a fun trail through an amazing landscape! A navigation error added some extra miles and my wife was a real trooper about it, and the extra miles were some of the best riding we’ve done together in a while. Temperature maxed out around 75 degrees. Did I mention the wildflowers and copious quantities and variety of mushrooms? Today I squeezed in one last ride before we broke camp and headed out. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 what did you read? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 1 hour ago, mack_turtle said: what did you read? Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles Of Bears and Ballots by Heather Linde An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green As we run short of books we have turned to Tiny Libraries and might eventually have to buy a new book or two. We have already apologized to our local library for overdue books. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 Yesterday we rode near Del Norte, Colorado. A point of historical interest is the Old Spanish Trail which passed through the trail area. There are ruts in the rock made by the wagon wheels. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 Our ride was cut short by rain. We’ve been near rain almost every day of our trip but this was the first time it cramped our style (though not by much). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 10, 2021 Author Share Posted August 10, 2021 At the theoretical halfway point of the trip I’ve ridden 17 times and seen lots of New Mexico and Colorado. It’s not all fun and games though. Laundry Day. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 10, 2021 Author Share Posted August 10, 2021 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuitbreaker Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Since it sounds like yall have been mostly winging it, generic question: any issues camping without reservations? what type of land have you mostly been camping on? how do you figure out where to setup camp for the night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 (edited) On 8/3/2021 at 11:37 AM, hurronnicane said: Yesterday we rode near Del Norte, Colorado. A point of historical interest is the Old Spanish Trail which passed through the trail area. There are ruts in the rock made by the wagon wheels. I can't like these posts enough. Stoked and admittedly jealous of all your travels. Spent a lot of time around del norte, south fork and creede as a young person. Freaking LOVE southern colorado. Keep the updates coming! Edited August 12, 2021 by ATXZJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share Posted August 12, 2021 59 minutes ago, circuitbreaker said: Since it sounds like yall have been mostly winging it, generic question: any issues camping without reservations? what type of land have you mostly been camping on? how do you figure out where to setup camp for the night? We have mostly been “boondocking”. So we just look for dispersed camping opportunities on BLM and Forest Service lands. There is an app that is helpful called iOverlander. The trick is to find a site early in the day so that the looking isn’t stressful. We have not always succeeded but it has generally worked out. Really only one bad campsite so far. It’s a huge step up from tent camping which is all we’ve ever done but there are some luxuries we don’t have, like a bathroom and shower. All is good though. We have eaten well, slept like babies and had a really relaxing time with a decent amount of riding (or altogether too much riding depending on who you ask), hiking, a speck of live music and seeing friends, etc. We have only had to pay for four nights of camping and three of those nights were dirt cheap with our lifetime Senior National Park Pass which seems to work at most federally managed sites. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share Posted August 12, 2021 56 minutes ago, ATXZJ said: I can't like these posts enough. Stoked and admittedly jealous of all your travels. Spent a lot of time around del norte, south fork and creede as a young person. Freaking LOVE southern colorado. Keep the updates coming! I want to hit Del Norte again on our way back south. It sounds like there are three or four good places to ride near there. And yes, southern Colorado is beautiful! I want more! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 17, 2021 Author Share Posted August 17, 2021 After finally breaking free of the gravitational pull of the Gunnison area we drifted south. We had seen a dirt road on the state highway map that went from west of Saguache to Lake City (30 or 40 miles). It took some time to find it but it was a magical drive creeping along in the van. Amazing scenery! Saw only a few people, one who was bike packing a segment of the Colorado Trail. Saw a moose and her two calves on the drive. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 17, 2021 Author Share Posted August 17, 2021 We also spent a couple of nights in a great creek side campsite ten minutes out of Creede. Finished another ride right as the rains got going. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 17, 2021 Author Share Posted August 17, 2021 Today I did a ride in Penitente Canyon near Del Norte. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 @hurronnicane you're my hero! Also, have you done a van check? Maybe in the random vehicles thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share Posted August 18, 2021 By the way, the temperature at the start of yesterday’s ride was just under 50 degrees and was right at 60 when I finished. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 18, 2021 Author Share Posted August 18, 2021 20 hours ago, AntonioGG said: @hurronnicane you're my hero! Also, have you done a van check? Maybe in the random vehicles thread? Good suggestion! I’ll start getting that together. There is much to say. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 22, 2021 Author Share Posted August 22, 2021 Spent a few days visiting friends while camping outside of Salida (saw another moose) and then camped seven miles up a forest service road near South Fork. Now we have landed near Pagosa Springs again as we meander towards Durango. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 22, 2021 Author Share Posted August 22, 2021 Morning visitors. They seem a little put out that we haven’t offered some sort of a breakfast buffet or at the very least, hot chocolate. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 Beef, it's what's for dinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurronnicane Posted August 22, 2021 Author Share Posted August 22, 2021 39 minutes ago, AustinBike said: Beef, it's what's for dinner. Edward Abbey called them Slow Elk. Two times in this area we have seen a bachelor pod of mule deer. Seven to ten of them walking right beside our camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBaron Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 On 8/22/2021 at 11:59 AM, hurronnicane said: Morning visitors. They seem a little put out that we haven’t offered some sort of a breakfast buffet or at the very least, hot chocolate. Is this the trail-end of Hermosa Creek (and subsequent TH for Jones Creek)? -CJB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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