Vacation in CO/UT - looking for advice

[petenomad]

Hi all, hoping to get some feedback from people in the area. Ann and I are looking to take a vacation through Co and Utah. We will visit my sister in Denver and would like to see Arches National Park and Mesa Verde. I would like to ride 550 from Durango to Ouray, but my wife saw some of the video and is a little scared (no guardrails on some of those turns). We only have a couple years experience - only one year two up. I am sure we will be back this way, so I think this will wait for another time.

There are tons of sights to see between Denver and Moab area, but I'd like to hear from others which ones are worth seeing. It seems like we could make this ride in a day on I-70, but if there are other places we should see, then we could certainly split into two days.

How much time should we allow to see Arches?
Canyonland is close, but some I have talked to don't really seem overly impressed by this park. Is there a must do if you are right there?

If we include a ride to Four Corners, is it legit to color in AZ and NM on my state map? :)

Right now we are still up in the air about when to do this, so if anyone has any opinions on weather mid June vs mid July let us know that too.

[audiogooroo]

Once you're in Denver you can pretty much head west, northwest or southwest and you'll find countless must ride roads. I still maintain 550 between Ouray and Durango is a must see. Don't let the video scare you, it's not a scary as they paint it, but it is beautiful. Mid June is fine, although there still will be some snow higher up. Roads should be mostly clear though. Mid July is probably better as it's not quite as cold at night, but it still gets pretty chilly in the high country. Plan on a thundershower every afternoon. I recommend Mid June because that's when the SW Regional Rally is near Mesa Verde. :)

[MarkG]

Ignore the video, besides the guardrails are not your friend when on a bike. The Durango -- Ouray run is beautiful. If the traffic is a little heavy, pull off at the next overlook and let it go. Your wife will be tapping you on the shoulder and pointing at something she wants to see anyway. Unlike the cars, you can move over closer to the center to be comfortable.

It will be cooler in June and has a tendency to rain in the afternoons. Consider taking the Durango -- Silverton train while you are there. Gorgeous scenery in the back country. While the Arches area is nice, I always have preferred the Southwestern Colorado area.

Unless you like oven heat, be careful about going to far into the Southwest in July. Yes, if I was standing in four corners, fill in all four states. http://s2.images.proboards.com/grin.gif Even though they say officially the actual place is several miles away.

[cactusjack]

Personally I think I-70 between Denver and Grand Junction is a must-see. You cross the continental divide in the Eisenhower Tunnel and the ride through Glenwood Gorge is amazing. I've made that trip several times in a car and once on a bike, on my way to Custer last June.

There's a lot to see in Utah, some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth. Bryce Canyon, Zion Nat'l Park, Cedar Breaks, Arches, Monument Valley, the list goes on and on.

[petenomad]

Thanks all.
We'll probably have a long day on I-70 from KC to Denver that will be boring! - obviously it will be much more interesting in CO. It's been a long time since I've been west of Denver so not really sure what to expect on 70 and a lot of times we try to avoid the Interstates. Had thought about going through Leadville on the way out of Denver and then maybe picking back up on 70. Grand Junction might be another good place to get off the highway and stretch the legs a bit, too.
Someday I'd like to see Bryce Canyon. I just don't think we'll get that far west on this trip.

[petenomad]

I've been trying to decide if we should make this into one long ride to the SC rally. If we were to overlap with the SW rally, it might just be for one night. It would require going in reverse from what I had thought about.

[firemanbrent]

hit denver and go southwest to fairplay.... then up to frisco. awesome ride... leadville down to independence pass which takes you over to aspen is freaking epic! plus its fun watching the richey riches look at the bikes weird!

[petenomad]

Hey thanks Brent. We finally worked out firm dates for our trip, so I was looking at planning some routes and was checking out your suggestion. To try and fit everything in that we want to do, we can't spend as much time as we'd like on the mountain roads. My wife is still a little nervous about this (I try not to take it personally). I think we will probably use your 285 suggestion and head down to 24 and up through Leadville to 70 and then head west. The Independence pass route also looks good to me and if I was going solo, that is definitely the way I would go. I'm sure we will be making more trips back so I will make sure to put Independence pass on the list for next time.

[petenomad]

Thanks to those who helped us to plan our trip. Those of you commented about the SW rally helped as well. Here is a link to my report and some of our pics:
http://www.vulcanbagger.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=17579&start=15