Day 36: Ophir, CO

Day 36

June 21, 2015

Miles: 52

Dolores to Ophir

Due to popular demand - we are back!  This is the post for last night.  At the end of the day yesterday we ended up in a campground without WIFI and since we were 10000+ elevation we didn't have reliable cell service either so could not post via hotspot. Tonight we are in Montrose and again tomorrow night. Tomorrow is a rest day so we plan to post Day 37 and 38 tomorrow.

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We had a hell of a climb yesterday.  It took us all day to climb a consecutive 40 mile stretch (about 3500ft).  We were hoping to make it to Telluride that night, but we thought that we may not as the day went on.  We passed through the town of Rico where we stopped for lunch;  we were told by the locals that Telluride was like a zoo because of the annual bluegrass festival.  So we had two other options; two campgrounds located 9 and 5 miles before Telluride.  We decided to stop at Matterhorn campground, the 1^st on the way, because we thought the closer we got to Telluride, the chances of securing a campsite site would be slim.  We were right.  As it turned out, both campgrounds were full, but the Matterhorn campground ranger found us an overflow tent location so we could stay the night.  We were thankful because all lodging and campgrounds in Telluride were full as well.  Unfortunately, we missed out on visiting Telluride and the bluegrass festival; Ry Cooder was playing at the festival last night, a musician both Steve and I really like.  Stinkers or Rats as Steve would put it!

So here is how the rest of the day went …

It took us a while to get moving in the morning; we start off with a great breakfast; our usual pancakes and eggs.  

It wasn’t until 9:30am before we got on the road. This delay and the crazy climb to Lizard Head Pass – elevation 10,222 put us arriving later than expected.  We had gorgeous views along the way.  Colorado is such a beautiful state. Utah too, but in a very different way; Steve and I both think Colorado feels more alive; Colorado is known for its rivers and the Rocky’s; it offers green pastures, high elevations and white top mountains.  Since it rained and snowed late into the Spring, which is unusual we were told, the rivers are roaring and the farms and forests are greener than ever.

Green pastures 

Roaring river

White tops

Looking back

Looking forward

Rico was a pleasant surprise.  A deserted town making a comeback.  A great little town that offers a great lunch.  I ordered grilled chicken breast sandwich and Steve buffalo burger.  We had homemade sun iced tea that was amazing. 

Getting Cozy

Steve on phone with Andy

We made it to the top of Lizard Head well after 7:30pm.  We still had to ride to the campground; we luckily made it before dark.  The campground had heated bathrooms and hot showers, but no WIFI or electrical plugs so my iPhone and Garmin lost power by early morning.

A few more miles to go

Almost at the top

Steve's lizard face

My 'we made it' face

Sun down

Matterhorn Campground

Today we made it to Montrose, a 72 mile ride.  Tomorrow more on today’s ride (Day 37) and of course our rest day tomorrow (Day 38).  

Three more days untill we see Jen and Ben. Woo Hooo!