Salida to Montrose

Its picture time! I don't have a whole lot of time to write up a narrative, but I do have a lot of pictures to share from the last few days.

After spending the better part of the day in Salida, I restocked on supplies and headed west on 50. It was late by the time I left town, so I opted out from a ride over a pass and dinner with Bobi and friends/family in favor of riding a few miles and a campsite by the south fork of the Arkansas.

The view from my campsite

The campsite of dreams

6 miles at 6% grade- you do the math

I passed a mining district on my way up- it was huge

As I gained elevation, the plant life changed dramatically

Moss blanketed everything about 10,000 feet

That's a thing

I got myself an ice cream cone to celebrate

My bike got another sticker

Looking East

Looking West

I don't have any pictures of the descent- for obvious reasons. It was fun though- an effortless 30-38 mph for approximately 8 miles.

The land smoothed out, though the elevation was still near 8000 feet

Thunderstorms were to the right and left of me, though luckily I managed to avoid them

Two red foxes were playing near this pen. Only one is visible in this photo

Gunnison!

A band was playing in the public park- I listened for a few songs before heading on

I camped in the bed of a partially dried out reservoir

I think it was about 25 feet below full

I wish I could do the landscape justice in photographs

I LOVE these signs

I rested for a while at the top of one climb

... and shortly arrived at another

Montrose!

I'm now sitting in the Horsefly Brewing Company. They have $1 tacos on Mondays, so I'm availing myself of that special and having a couple of beers in the process. Jeremy Kester and a friend of his are riding into town as I write this, and I'll ride back with them to the farm where Jeremy works. Once there, I'll rest up and work around the farm until I figure out what I'm doing and where I'm going next.