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May 23, 2023

Today's Ride

So today, I figured I'd get out for a little ride on the Africa Twin. No rain in today's forecast, so I figured I'd ride today because the forecast calls for about 7 days of rain starting tomorrow.

After we walked the goats, I went for a little ride, and it looked something like this.

I rode about 170 miles in about 4 hours. I stopped at the Sonic in Conifer and they said they no longer have the Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese sandwich. :( But they do still have the BBQ tater tots. So that's a plus.

I think that the best part of the trip was from Lake George to Jefferson. This part is just breath-taking.

Now one thing I was having a problem with on this trip was that I thought that I used to cross a mountain pass when I went west of Colorado Springs and stayed on US Highway 24. After surfing the Ouchita Street for a bit, it looks like I used to cross Wilkerson Pass. But today, I turned north at Lake George and came back that way, so I would have had to continue west another 10 miles or so on US Highway 24 to reach Wilkerson Pass.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 23, 2023 at 9:40 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 19, 2023

More Rain

Yesterday (5/19/23), we got a massive Spring gully-washer. Looks like we got 2 1/2" yesterday. So, I reset my water bin to keep track of the rain in the forecast.

Looks like more rain forecast for today and tomorrow (5/19 - 5/20).

North Turkey Creek is erasing driveways. We haven't had this much rain in years.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 19, 2023 at 8:37 AM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 16, 2023

Motorcycle Adventures

So, we made it to May, and the precipitation changed from snow to afternoon rainstorms, so I figured I'd do some riding up around Idaho Springs. And, I have done some riding up there recently, but pretty much all of it has been on hard-top.

I went up to Georgetown recently, and I went to the bottom of the trail that switchbacks down Saxon Mountain and I was like "Nope", and turned around. Like, it was steep, and covered in bowling-ball size round rocks. So, yeah, I'm not going to be riding that one any time soon. But I did used to ride that road/trail, but I can't say what I was on. Maybe it was an ATV? Maybe a Jeep?

But I don't really remember the trails up there very well. I figured I'd go back and look at my posts to see where it was that I used to ride up there.

So, I found this post that mentions some of the trails I used to ride.

Looks like I rode on a trail something like this.

This Trails and Gulches of Idaho Springs post covers the following roads:

Ute Creek, Lamartine, Cascade Creek

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 16, 2023 at 10:53 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 14, 2023

The Deluge Continues - 5/14/2023

Tonight, it started pouring again, so at 1:00 a.m., I went out and checked on the water gauge in the front yard. The clear plastic bin was completely full of water. I measured and I believe it was 5 1/4" of rainwater. But, I emptied it and sat it back down to reset the rain gauge. The forecast calls for rain every day for the next week at least.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 14, 2023 at 12:52 AM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 12, 2023

The Rains of May

May turned Colorado into a rain forest. We got about 4" of rain over the last day or so. I climbed out on the roof in the rain to clear the gutters and try to save the house. I don't recall Colorado ever getting rain like this before. I kept the cats locked in as I figure there's no point in them being out in this.

But then I realized that today is trash day, so I got the trash out in time for the first time in about a month. The 8 day forecast for Marshdale (Friday 5/12 - Friday 5/19) shows rain every day for the next 8 days.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 12, 2023 at 9:56 AM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 11, 2023

Grant to Guanella Pass (7,10,13)

Guanella Pass is open seasonally, usually from Memorial Day to Thanksgiving.

To access the south side of Guanella Pass, at Grant, Colorado, you turn North off of US Hwy 285 onto Park County Road 62 (aka Geneva Road). Follow Park County Road 62 North from US Hwy 285 for 6.9 miles.

Approximately 7 miles from US Hwy 285, at Park County Road 1038, the road forks and if you continue straight on Park County Road 62 (Geneva Road) towards Guanella Pass, you will see that the road is seasonally closed.

If you exit to the left here (at Park County Road 1038), you have access to the Duck Creek Picnic Area, the Geneva Park Campground, and Forest Service Road 119 (FSR 119).

If the pass is open (Memorial Day to Thanksgiving), you can continue North from here on Park County Road 62 (aka Geneva Road).

Approximately 10 miles north of US 285 and 200 feet south of Geneva Basin Road is the county line between Clear Creek County (to the north) and Park County (to the south).

It is approximately 3 miles from the Clear Creek County/Park County Line to the summit of Guanella Pass.


Grant to Guanella Pass: 7, 10, 13

--Grant to Seasonal Closure Geneva Park/Duck Creek
The total distance from Grant to the Seasonal Closure (Geneva Park/Duck Creek) looks like roughly 7 miles. There are signs here for Geneva Park Campground & Duck Creek Picnic Ground.

--Grant to Jefferson County Line (Geneva Basin Road)
The total distance from Grant to the Jefferson County Line (Geneva Basin Road) looks like 10.5 miles.

--Grant to Guanella Pass Summit
The total distance from Grant to Guanella Pass Summit looks like 13 miles.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 11, 2023 at 11:36 AM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 6, 2023

Saturday Ride

So, today is Saturday 5/6/2023. Decided to go for a little ride. Cody and i fueled up at King Soopers gas station in Conifer. Then south on US Hwy 285 to Grant. Then North, up towards Guanella Pass on Park County Road 62 (aka Geneva Road). 7 miles North of Grant, the road is closed 4 miles from the summit at the exit for Geneva Park Camp Ground and Duck Creek Picnic Ground.

So, we turned around here, and headed back to south 7 miles to Grant. Then, from Grant, southeast back 11 miles to Bailey. At Bailey, south 11 miles to Wellington Lake along Park County Road 68 (Wellington Lake Road).

Just before the Windy Peak Outdoor Lab, we cross from Park County into Jefferson County. The road changes from Park County Rd 68 (Wellington Lake Road) to Jefferson County Road 105.

From Wellington Lake, we took Jefferson County Road 543 to Jefferson County Road 550.

Then, Jefferson County Road 550 T's off at Jefferson County Road 126. Here, we turn north and go through Pine, then continue north on Pine Valley Road (Jefferson County Road 126) to Pine Junction on US Highway 285.

Then, up US Highway 285 to Sonic for lunch. (I like Sonic and it's very close to Conifer High School, so lots of people in this area grow up eating there.)

So, here's a map I created of today's ride. It says 110 miles in 3 hours and 10 minutes.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 6, 2023 at 5:05 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 5, 2023

Guanella Pass

So today, my neighbors (JJ & Raquel) were having a party and I figured that, before the party, I'd go for a little ride.

My neighbor (Mark) and I had been discussing Guanella Pass because he does search and rescue operations for Park County, and Guanella Pass is arguably on the border between Park County and Clear Creek County.

So, I took I-70 west to Georgetown, and then exited, and headed up towards Guanella Pass. My thought was "like today is nice, let's go check it out" and I passed many more lakes than I was expecting and eventually, I got to the place where there's a steel arm across the road at Naylor Lake Road. And, as I got close to Naylor Lake Road, it started to snow. even though it's Friday May 5th. But, some part of me wants/likes this. To go out and ride...to push the envelope a bit. I mean, I had thought about doing Loveland Pass or Berthoud Pass, but then I thought I'd check out Guanella Pass just to see how it's looking for the season. Mark has search and rescue missions in Park County which is just on the south side of Guanella Pass.

It's about 8.8 miles from Georgetown to Naylor Lake Road, where the road is closed for the season. (The road is closed, but when it's open, it's about 2 more miles to the summit of Guanella Pass, and then about 2.5 miles south of Guanella Pass summit is Geneva Basin Road which is roughly where the Park County Line is. and it switches from Clear Creek County to Park County. At the county line, the road changes from Guanella Pass Road (Clear Creek County Road 381) to Geneva Road (Park County Road 62).

So, I made it to where the road is blocked off for the season, at Naylor Lake Road. And then, I turned back. It snowed on me on the way up there, and on the way back, even though it's May 5th. I mean, it wasn't snowing hard, but it was snowing, and it's kind of dicey to be riding down the a mountain pass in May. Even though it's not snowing hard, it is snowing, and that's scary to anyone with half a brain.

Note: On the South side of Guanella Pass, it's approximately 13 miles from US Highway 285 to the summit of Guanella Pass. On the south side, it's reportedly closed at approximately 5 miles from the summit. So, in theory, you should be able to go approximately 8 miles north of Grant on Geneva Road (Park County Road 62) before the Guanella Pass is closed/blocked for the season.

So, I made it back to Carl's Jr. at Idaho Springs. I hate their menu/employees because they ask you if you want a Medium or a Large when you order your drink. I don't want a Medium or a Large, so STFU. Frustrating. But this time, I set them straight. I don't want a Medium or a Large, go STFU.

So, after I eat at Carl's Jr., I head back home and somehow, I outrun the storm that has been encroaching on Georgetown.

I make it back to my place in time to head over to the party at JJ & Raquel's place.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 5, 2023 at 9:01 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 2, 2023

Modern Motorcycle Diaries

This is not my video. This is not me riding. Just a cool video of a guy on a world-wide adventure on a KLR-650.

https://youtu.be/85VErvTqgWc

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 2, 2023 at 8:05 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink