Day #3 - The Million Dollar Highway (Saturday, September 1st)

A late start

I spent time writing yesterday's Blog article and left the hotel 2 hours later than normal. I met two other bikers as I was loading up the bike to leave. They were heading to the Bike Rally in Durango, Colorado. Shortly after leaving, I realized that I needed to put the sweatshirt on since it was a little colder (65 degrees) than I thought. Yesterday, it was all fighting the heat, today it was the opposite.

It started to rain as I entered Durango and I was starting to get damp. I pulled into the Harley dealer to put in my rain gear. This is a 15 minute endevour and usually means that it will stop or minimize the rain. This was true again, however, the road ahead was going to be heading to higher elevations meant that I was glad I had it on. Temperatures dropped into the upper 40's. On a motorcycle, that is freezing.

Today was a 600 mile journey and at the end of the day I wished I had left on time. More about that later in this article.

Million Dollar Highway

One of the purposes of the Three Flags Run is to not just go from the Starting point to the Finish. It primary purpose is to cover challenging roads for the Motorcyclist. This was true today. Because of the difficulty of the road, I didn't stop and take pictures. I am including the description of this highway from Wikipedia:This is also one of the Nation's Most Dangerous Highways. If you run off the road, you might be found 500-1000 feet below.

The Million Dollar Highway stretches for about 25 miles (40 km) in western Colorado and follows the route of U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado. It is part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway. Between Durango and Silverton the Skyway loosely parallels the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

Though the entire stretch has been called the Million Dollar Highway, it is really the twelve miles (19 km) south of Ouray through the Uncompahgre Gorge to the summit of Red Mountain Pass which gains the highway its name. This stretch through the gorge is challenging and potentially hazardous to drive; it is characterized by steep cliffs, narrow lanes, and a lack of guardrails; the ascent of Red Mountain Pass is marked with a number of hairpin curves used to gain elevation, and again, narrow lanes for traffic—many cut directly into the sides of mountains. During this ascent, the remains of the Idarado Mine are visible. Travel north from Silverton to Ouray allows drivers to hug the inside of curves; travel south from Ouray to Silverton perches drivers on the vertiginous outside edge of the highway. Large RVs travel in both directions, which adds a degree of excitement (or danger) to people in cars.[6] The road is kept open year-round. Summer temperatures can range from 70–90 °F highs at the ends of the highway to 50–70 °F in the mountain passes. The snow season starts in October, and snow will often close the road in winter. Chains may be required to drive. 

North of Durango, the highway passes by Trimble Springs, hot springs that have been open for visitors since the late 19th century. The highway runs north along the Animas River, under the Hermosa Cliffs. It enters the San Juan National Forest and goes past Haviland Lake and Electra Lake. Drivers pass by Engineer Mountain and Twilight Peak before crossing Coal Bank Pass. Next is Molas Pass, which offers a panoramic view of Molas Lake, the Animas River Gorge, and Snowdon Peak. Northbound travelers then pass through the town of Silverton, elevation 9,320 feet (2841 m), surrounded by 13,000 foot (4000 m) peaks Sultan Mountain, Kendall Mountain, and Storm Peak.
The highway leaves Silverton and proceeds up Mineral Creek Valley before ascending to Red Mountain Pass. The ruins of the Longfellow Mine are visible along the way. The highway then goes through a series of steep grades and hairpin turns before reaching Lookout Point, which offers a view of the town of Ouray. 

Red Mountain Pass, Colorado

This section of the route passes over three mountain passes:

• Coal Bank Pass, elevation 10,640 ft (3,240 m).
• Molas Pass, elevation 10,970 ft (3,340 m).
• Red Mountain Pass, elevation 11,018 ft (3,358 m) 

The origin of the name Million Dollar Highway is disputed. There are several legends, though, including that it cost a million dollars a mile to build in the 1920s, and that its fill dirt contains a million dollars in gold ore.[3]
There are seventy named avalanche paths that intersect Highway 550 in the 23 miles between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado.

The warmest part of the day

After reaching the valley floor the temperatures returned to normal. I removed the rain gear while it was still in the upper 70's. It climbed to 90 degrees by the time I arrived in Grand Junction. It was a pleasant ride on I-70 from there to Rifle, CO. We turned north from there. There were some small showers that I just rode through.

I continued north passing by a small forest fire that must have just started. As I continued on to Rawlins, Wyoming. The Best Western Hotel was the check in point for today. During the last 50 miles, I saw large number of deer and antelope along the sides of the highway but outside the fence line.

I took a thirty minute break at the checkpoint to grab some snacks before heading out to Riverton, WY for today. Before I left town, I had to stop several times to allow deer to cross the road. For those of you that have been following my adventures, you will remember that last year's trip ended with a collision with a deer. I did not want that to happen again.

Watching for Deer!!!

The last several hours were spent heading into the sunset. My paranoia about hitting another deer was in full swing. Eventually, I had to stop because I was driving directly into the sunset and my visibility was miserable. I finally stopped when I couldn't block the sun with my hand. I pulled over to an abandoned gas station and waited for the sun to set. I put on the sweatshirt since the temperatures were dropping and switched my eye gear driving in the dark. I also made the decision to follow another vehicle so the if there was a deer in the road their reaction would be my indication of trouble ahead.

I grabbed a bite to eat before checking into the hotel at 9:00 PM that evening. I covered 600 miles in 13 hours. It was a long day but well worth it.