TENMA - Sept 2, 2012

The Route

The fact that I can get an Internet connection and make this update while in the middle of what I blithely describe as an "adventure" is an irony that I cannot escape. I suppose I take some comfort in the sure knowledge that 5 seconds of inattention or a failure to throttle back for a too sharp corner could end the entire enterprise in a heartbeat. The availability of creature comforts (I have not even had to pee in the woods yet) does not entirely castrate the adventurousness of this project. I suppose if anyone wants to know why I am on a motorcycle to Seattle rather than in a car or a jetliner, that is the root answer...because it is not the safe way to get to Seattle. There are a limited number of not safe ways to get to Seattle...and the list gets even shorter if the trip needs to take a few days rather than a few weeks (which leaves out going by horseback, stealing rides in freight trains, hitchhiking...or simply hiking).

So, what makes the threat of serious injury or death a necessary component? It makes it real. I live in a world where everything is safe. I can travel to China which, but for the lack of sleep, is no different from a trip to Dallas. It is all regulated... mundane...safe. I have news for you. Real life is not safe...and today real life is all too rare.

The moon still looked pretty full this morning. Does that make it a purple moon?

Yes, I really am in the mountains.

This is the Rio Grande Gorge between Las Vegas and Chama, NM. Pretty darn deep...and completely fenced off from visitors! :-(

Pretty huh?

Climbing out of Pagosa Springs

Wolf Creek Pass. My second visit to >10K foot above Sea Level today.

STella enjoyed it up there too.

Summer vacations 40 years ago we spent here. It's still there.

We had Unit 9... Still there. Amazing.

On the road from Creede to Lake City with a threat of rain.

This is a great way to get high. Creede to Lake City on the old stage route.

It was thunderstorming in Lake City. Camping could wait another day.