July 7

Well, we finally rode through the rain that has been threatening us since we embarked on this trip. We were following the Big Thompson River on highway 34 to our KOA in Estes Park, CO when we hit the deluge we managed to avoid on motorcycles but hit on our walk yesterday. We were soaked! I mean, it pooled in my seat and in my boots- SOAKED! We pulled into the KOA and it had pretty much stopped ( it all happened in not more than 15 minutes) and the KOA staffer said we must hate riding right now. Had he been outside a minute earlier, he'd have heard me exclaim, "That was AWESOME!!" to Gosh.

Today was REALLY mellow. I don't think we rode 100 miles. We stopped at Thunder Mountain Harley Davidson in Loveland, CO for Gosh to have the oil changed on Thor. That was about 50 miles from Ft. Morgan. They got everything squared away while we had lunch. Perfect!

We were riding through the high plains and could see the mountains and thunderhead in front of us. Well, we could hit or miss it, really. The roads got twistier, the river was gushing, and we saw plenty of riders coming through unscathed. Then a few drops- big, fat ones. Then a few more... and then the onslaught! We pulled over to add raincoats to our gear before being completely drenched but it was weird- the calf part of my legs got soaked, but my thighs stayed dry. My face actually got a bit wet, which doesn't really happen, either.

Like I said, we pulled in to KOA and the rain had about stopped and in the time it took to finalize our registration, the sun was burning off the streets- literally, we were watching steam come off the road surfaces! The view was spectacular! Before the deluge, we passed the Devil's Backbone- awesome! Sorry there's no picture of that. What can I say- it is really beautiful in the Rocky Mountains- you should consider a visit!

We got settled in, Gosh went to the store for dinner- (mmmm steak! I think going through all those stockyards (there were more today) made me hungry for some steak- is that wrong?) and we headed to the Estes Lake to walk the Kew... We felt like the beauty couldn't be captured in photographs, so I took a quick video that may do a better job but probably not as great as what we were seeing.

OH! And we picked up a copy of the local Thunder Roads and read a great article about protesting the Westboro Baptist Church who protests veteran funerals and when veteran remains are returned. We are bringing it home to share with Don and Laurie.

AND there is an outdoor supply store across the street from the KOA so while Gosh fixed dinner, I looked for new shoes- those Keens were shot! They didn't have Keens but I did find a sweet pair of Merrills.

Dinner is finished, Gosh is doing dishes as I type this and it has started the evening steady rain... Happy trails, everyone!

Pictures are not working... could be the storm? Stay tuned... they will be on their way.