Toolin Around South Park Colorado

[sfarson]

Some pics from last week's lunchtime scoot in the neighborhood...

First, I paused on the south side of nearby Kenosha Pass.  The high altitude meadows of South Park are below...


Brought the H-D closer to the Mosquito Range.  That's 13,370ft. Mt. Guyot on the right.  Leaves on the aspen trees have yet to appear at this altitude.  Big time wilderness is all around.  Heard tales at the nearby country general store of a mountain lion taking newborn horses...


The second pass to scoot over is Red Hill Pass.  Can see vehicles climbing the grade in the distance.  The massive 14,000ft.+ sentinels of Mt. Bross and Mt. Lincoln stand guard on the horizon...


My county seat town of Fairplay is in the distance.  Can see the small community is not that far below timberline.  The town name comes from founders proclaiming they would "play fair" with 19th century miners looking for goods, supplies, and equitable dealings with their mined gold.  Until about ten years ago, this county about the size of Rhode Island did not have a single stop light.  Now there are two.  Fortunately, in the 1990's my phone line was upgraded from a four party line to a single party...


Here's Mt. Silverheels.  This shapely 13,822ft. peak was named after a Fairplay dance hall lady who looked after, and took care of the miners when a smallpox epidemic swept through the mining camps.  Many miners credited her loving care with their survival.  She eventually contracted the disfiguring disease and withdrew to her home.  The grateful miners took up a collection for this special lady, but found her cabin empty when they visited.  She was never seen again, but some report seeing her ghostly apparition tending the graves of miners at the Buckskin Joe cemetery a few miles north of Fairplay.  Anyway, this care giving dance hall lady wore... silver heels...



I'm getting closer to the lunchtime destination, but pause before a spur of the Mosquito Range...


I made a u-turn for this pic when I saw bison in an unencumbered field of immense dimensions.  The Ute Indians would have seen a scene just like this 150 - 200 years ago.  Not a sight of man, or man's interventions anywhere, in any direction.  The last wild bison in Colorado was shot nearby in the year 1901.  Not a whole lot has changed here since the Utes rode their ponies here, just like I'm riding an iron horse here.  There's something appropriate about this transportation choice.  That's Pikes Peak peering over the rumpled carpet of prairie grass...


And just a few miles further, a small herd of fleet-footed pronghorn antelope resist the temptation to flee as the rumbling big twin awaits the image capture...


If you're interested in raising some cattle, or just settling into a place and area where the hands of the clock turn slowly, this historic homestead is for sale...


And pausing for lunch outside, while the other patrons are inside.  What is it about bikers enjoying the outdoors?  Rita really enjoys motorcyclists, and she makes a killer BLT.  She always greets those she knows with a hug, and she says farewell with the same kind of squeeze.  Kinda nice if you ask me.  I try to make it here 1-2x a month.  A sweet scoot today, made possible and perfectly so, by the legend from Milwaukee...

[CndUltra88]

Nice pictures, the Contrast of your bike against the background is simply "Sweet"
The bike really stands out.
But where is the beach, where are the girls??
Great scenery over there in Colorado !!!
Thanks for Sharing,
Rob

[truck]

Great pictures and narratives.

[roadglide65]

Great to see you posting with awesome Pic!!  How about some of your video's with the outstanding music you come up with. 

Ive got 6 or 8 of yours saved and my Grandson and I enjoy them when he come's to spend the night!!   

[hotroadking]

Very Nice I'll have to make it out that way and ride that area..

[surf]

Beautiful! Thanks for the tour.

[Sam45]

Awesome

[inspector]

Thanks for the pics and the history.My wife and I are leaving W.V. on June 3rd, for Colorado Springs and then the area you just visited.I'll keep my eye out for Reta"s,for lunch.We'll be on an 03 silver & black ultra. We'll be looking for your bike.

[inspector]

Would you post the route you were on?...Thanks

[ripp13]

Awesome

Yup simply AWESOME........ I wanna go there one day

[sfarson]

Great to see you posting with awesome Pic!!  How about some of your video's with the outstanding music you come up with. 

Ive got 6 or 8 of yours saved and my Grandson and I enjoy them when he come's to spend the night!!

Hey thanks all, and good memory rg65!  Yeah, didn't turn on the vid cam for this scoot, but I have a bunch of new vids up the sleeve!  Will get around to posting some.

Good riding all!

[sfarson]

Thanks for the pics and the history.My wife and I are leaving W.V. on June 3rd, for Colorado Springs and then the area you just visited.I'll keep my eye out for Reta"s,for lunch.We'll be on an 03 silver & black ultra. We'll be looking for your bike.

Hey inspector... Used to live in Wheeling and met my wife of almost 29 years there!  Here's a Google Map link.  The ride of this thread is from A to B (Guffey is where Rita's Place is).  A cool, turn of the century very small town.  Can find Rita's easily.  From Colorado Springs, you can make this a good, day long circling ride, including Cripple Creek on the loop.  The map goes on to show what this loop could look like.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=US-285+S&daddr=Co+Rd+102+to:Co+Rd+1%2FTeller+County+Rd+1+to:CO-67+N%2FUS-24+E+to:Co+Rd+126%2FPine+Valley+Rd+to:39.459523,-105.699463&geocode=FSg-WQIdFU2y-Q%3BFdInTwId-MG1-Q%3BFb5PTwIdHN-6-Q%3BFb7sUgIdvOK8-Q%3BFSQgWgIdZtS3-Q%3B&hl=en&mra=mi&mrcr=4&mrsp=5&sz=9&sll=38.985033,-105.336914&sspn=1.547797,3.257446&ie=UTF8&ll=39.085304,-105.270996&spn=1.545602,3.257446&z=9

Have a great trip.  Steve

[Rockymtnglide]

Well done, Really nice pics. I've always loved the South Park ride. That's a nice regular ride from our home in Conifer, CO.

[Ken R]

Good pictures and narrative as usual, Steve.  Always enjoy your posts.    You're a lucky guy. 

In just 2 weeks and 3 days, we'll be scooting up to Estes Park first, then next day on to Moab.  Then souith to Monument and back through Colorado to Denver before heading home.   This may be a yearly run for me.  I absolutely love motorcycling in Colorado.  It's worth the 10 hours of Texas plains riding to get ther.
http://big50ride.com/

Don't know if our route takes us to your neck of the woods or not. 

[roadglide65]

Great to see you posting with awesome Pic!!  How about some of your video's with the outstanding music you come up with. 

Ive got 6 or 8 of yours saved and my Grandson and I enjoy them when he come's to spend the night!!

Hey thanks all, and good memory rg65!  Yeah, didn't turn on the vid cam for this scoot, but I have a bunch of new vids up the sleeve!  Will get around to posting some.

Good riding all!

Can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve. 

For those that have not seen this guy's work look here!!!

I've Been Everywhere   

[texaskatfish]

Steve ya RASCAL ya dunnit agin!

I can smell it................feel that fast sweepin left as ya come down westbound off of Kenosha and another similar left as ya start up RedStone

Folks if you haven't been no joke put it at the TOP of your bucket list - doesn't take even 50 miles of that area to tell you if you might have been born 150 or 200 years too late.............I know I was.

[mark61]

Thanks! As always your pictures and videos make me wish I was there riding with you!   Someday I am going to somehow get some summer time  vacation to ride your home turf!

mark61

[Grumpy : (]

Great pics and story.  Ultra88 asked for beach pics.  You want to trade lives for a week or three?

G  : (

[sfarson]

Good pictures and narrative as usual, Steve.  Always enjoy your posts.    You're a lucky guy. 

In just 2 weeks and 3 days, we'll be scooting up to Estes Park first, then next day on to Moab.  Then souith to Monument and back through Colorado to Denver before heading home.   This may be a yearly run for me.  I absolutely love motorcycling in Colorado.  It's worth the 10 hours of Texas plains riding to get ther.
http://big50ride.com/

Don't know if our route takes us to your neck of the woods or not.

Yep, you will be in the neck of the woods!  A big chunk of the yellow line on the map contains the imagery of this thread.  You're gonna have a fantastic ride and trip!  So does the "big50" mean you/others have turned five decades on the age odometer? 

[sfarson]

Steve ya RASCAL ya dunnit agin!

I can smell it................feel that fast sweepin left as ya come down westbound off of Kenosha and another similar left as ya start up RedStone

Folks if you haven't been no joke put it at the TOP of your bucket list - doesn't take even 50 miles of that area to tell you if you might have been born 150 or 200 years too late.............I know I was.

Oh yeah kat... you know this area! 

My son says the same, wishing he was born 150 years ago.  Loves to camp, fish, and be outdoors in lonely places.

[Ken R]

Good pictures and narrative as usual, Steve.  Always enjoy your posts.    You're a lucky guy. 

In just 2 weeks and 3 days, we'll be scooting up to Estes Park first, then next day on to Moab.  Then souith to Monument and back through Colorado to Denver before heading home.   This may be a yearly run for me.  I absolutely love motorcycling in Colorado.  It's worth the 10 hours of Texas plains riding to get ther.
http://big50ride.com/

Don't know if our route takes us to your neck of the woods or not.

Yep, you will be in the neck of the woods!  A big chunk of the yellow line on the map contains the imagery of this thread.  You're gonna have a fantastic ride and trip!  So does the "big50" mean you/others have turned five decades on the age odometer? 

Worse than that.  All of the others on the trip will be turning or have turned 50 this year. 
ME?  Heck.  I'm the old guy.  I'll be 62 on the 2nd day.   

Ken

[hotroadking]

Hey wait that's not South Park, where's Cartman, Where's Kenny I don't see any of the familiar buildings from TeeVee what's going on here LOL

[Bigs]

Thanks for the pics. We'll be heading out that way the last of August but not by motorcycle but buy motorhome. We are taking our riding gear and hope to rent a bike for a few days. We have some more Jeep roads to explore.
   Bigs

[Tre_11 FLHX]

Sure makes me home sick.  I am in the process of trying to get a transfer to the Springs. The older I get the more I miss home!

Tre'

[skunk]

Steve,
   great shots, as always. thanks. always good to see your posts. Heading to the PNW this am for several days, might drop a line when I get back. Off on Saturdays now, maybe catch you for lunch.