Day 4

We went from a low of 4000 feet elevation to a high of 11,300 feet elevation. We went from about 60 degrees to about 100 degrees temperature. I went from silly-happy to stupid-pissed. In all of this, all there was was me and my bike and gear to truly interact with.- Gosh and Kewpie were in their own little universes. Somehow we were able to encounter all these things together while being completely alone.

11,300 feet was the top of Monarch Pass in CO. Yes, there was snow and yes, it was chilly. The ride up to and through was lush and green and full of wildflowers and ranches. On the other side there were high plains full of hot, dry winds. Somehow where all this met was a huge fire, a raging Arkansas River and crazy rafters doing battle with it.

Descending to La Junta, CO took us to just over 4000 feet elevation. There was still plenty of irrigation but the feel is more of a hot clay baking. We stopped for a cold drink a mere 25 miles from our final destination just to cool off.

The 60 degrees in Gunnison, CO felt fabulous at 7:30am when we crawled out of our tent. It felt chillier over the summit and then rapidly the heat increased as we descended and added newly laid black asphalt. In hindsight, we should have stopped to photograph the peak, the fire and the crazy rafters... What can I say? You get into go-mode and it's hard to realize you are 1000 mils from home and not likely to pass through again in quite this way.

Kewpie at our campsight in Gunnison, CO in the morning.

She NayNay in her spot for the day's travels to La Junta, CO from Gunnison, CO. Every day for her is an adventure!

Kewpie at our lunch spot on the Arkansas River in Canon City, CO. The river was so high, the trail was blocked off because of flooding. This is where we put on our evaporative vests because it was VERY warm!

This is Kewpie having some raspberry slurpee in Fowler, CO. She was very happy with her slurpee!

And I tell you, anyone who says they are always happy... or sad, or mad or depressed or whatever all the time  is just not paying attention! There I am on my bike COMPLETELY alone creating all kinds of reason to feel all kinds of emotions. We think other people and events affect us and how we interact but really, it is what we are thinking about that causes our emotional responses. It seems like we need to feel a variety of emotions and when we have no way of creating a situation to help us feel a certain way, we just create it in our heads. That is: I want to feel happy so I suddenly think about Gosh when I gave him his birthday present OR I suddenly find myself worrying about the financial aspect of the trip when I want to be frustrated. Either way, I am still doing 70 MPH on highway 50 with nothing but keeping myself on the road and my thoughts to occupy me. Philosophical... I guess that's what happens when you travel just over 200 miles and experience an elevation change of 900 feel, a temperature change of over 40 degrees and an emotional rollercoaster ride.