birthday 3-1 trip
Another year has passed in the life of r-dub. Guess it's time to celebrate with another road trip. I've got a hankerin' for some pass hopping. Let's see where these roads will take me this time, shall we?
Sunny day, great scenery, mmmmmm...
Coming down the western side of Cottonwood Pass now. I'm loving the scenery through here, and I'm enjoying the fact that my camera decided to be nice to me today. Hope you all are, too.
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Looking up at where we've been. It's amazing how green it is up here. Colorado has had a really wet year this year, and it's showing.
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Coming up to one of the many curves on the way down.
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I dunno. Something about the composition of this picture makes it one of my favorites on this trip. Hmmm.... maybe I should publish a book...
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For the most part, this dirt road has been in really good shape. There's pockets here and there that aren't, though.
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Just about out of the massive curviness we saw on the last page.
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This is a really fun road to drive. Unfortunately, there's a lot of oncoming traffic so I can't go too fast.
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Another switchback looms.
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GCR 209 has mile markers, too. What's interesting here is that every other mile marker doesn't have the "Mile" legend. I guess the sign shop had a large overstock of "Mile 8" signs?
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Almost every sign back had some numbers on it, but I have no idea why.
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No oncoming traffic means r-dub can make up some time!
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Don't know how good that fence is going to be for keeping things out... or in.
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Cottonwood Pass is an old stagecoach route. Here's where they got their engine's tune-up before hitting the pass.
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Awww, this is going to make kissing a little more difficult.
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Okay, here's an example of what I was talking about when I said I don't think this makes the best emergency detour for the interstate. This is one of many trailers I passed on the trip. Each time, the truck and trailer took up over 3/4 of the road. It sucked having to pull over each time one passed. I can't imagine what this would be like if semis, trailers, and bonehead drivers had to use this road for any reason.
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This mountain will dominate the landscape for a bit.
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Sobriety checkpoint?
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Quick mileage marker.
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Hmmm. Looks like we have construction ahead, after all.
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Yes, ma'am.
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That nice lady let me go by--right into the nose of a truck! No, not really.
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Workers working hard. That's rare in this state.
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Big bertha was called into service.
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At the western closure point. From here on out, we're still in the mountains (duh!), but the snow is manageable.
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Heading towards Taylor Reservoir.
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Dang. Better keep the Black Cats locked in the trunk.
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The END! of GCR 209 comes into view, as does Taylor Reservoir.
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Which way to go? Well, since I have a long standing rule never to take instructions from a paper plate, I guess we'll go left.
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Back on blacktop now, we'll take FR 742 around the reservoir.
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I guess using one more screw to keep the advisory speed sign seperate was just out of the question.
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Taylor Reservoir, looking towards the dam.
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Random cattle guard.
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And on the left, we have an encampment doing a pretty admirable impersonation of Colorado Springs and its close houses. Sheesh. All this room out here, and the cabins have to be crammed in on top of each other like that?
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I was tempted to try Cumberland Pass out on this trip, but I'm glad I didn't. When I got home, I looked it up: it's a 4WD trail. That's not my car.
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Curving around a finger of the reservoir.
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Looking to the north.
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Creative use of an old bot motor.
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I stopped at an overlook to, well, overlook the reservoir. I had the chance to talk to an elderly couple from the midwest (I forget where) who said this is the best scenery they have seen on their trip.
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I'd have to agree. This is my favorite scenic picture of this entire trip. I liked it so much, I thought it best to include a larger version for those of you with 1280+ monitors.
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So I didn't have to remember all the mountains we see in the background, I thought it best to take this snap.
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Back on the road now, we approach the dam.
- Where to next?
- Page 4
- This trip's Index
- Page 5
Section Links
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any of the orginizations listed within this site. I'm just a bored roadgeek with way too much time on his hands. All of the picts in this page are mine and mine alone unless otherwise noted. Remember, kids: stealing is bad, mmmm-k? I get quite pissy if things are taken without telling me. I don't like to be pissy. You won't like it either. If you want to link to this page, that's fine. Please shoot me an email beforehand so I can link to your page as well. K? Thanks. --Ryan
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