Sipping my morning coffee in Palisade, I wish Eldon a happy birthday. Today, he’s a very young 69.
Other notable May 29 birthdays include John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the U.S., who would be 97 years old today; comedian Bob Hope, long-time host of the PGA Tour event in the Palm Springs area bearing his name; singer LaToya Jackson, Michael’s older sister, who is 58 today; and basketball player Carmelo Anthony, who led the NBA in scoring last year, and turns 29 today.
Happy Birthday to all, but especially Eldon.
Kathryn presented Eldon with several gifts from REI, which he unwrapped like a child at Christmas. One gift was a hit, the other a miss. Both were presents that went well with an outdoor, active lifestyle — which describes much of the Grand Junction area demographics.
We leave Palisade, so Eldon and Kathryn can celebrate quietly … or as loudly as they want. They’ll just have to party without us, because we’re riding the Rockies today.
Our bikes take us south from Palisade, through Whitewater, on our way to Nucla. We skirt the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, which has canyons along the Uncompahgre Plateau, along the Gunnison River.
We are on CO-141 for about 90 miles of mountain roads before passing by Nucla. The town’s name comes from its founders’ intent that it serve as a “nucleus” for the surrounding farms and mines. In the early 20th century, uranium mining was big here in Montrose County.
Colorado is considered to have the third largest uranium reserves of any US state, behind Wyoming and New Mexico. There are apparently no Colorado mines currently producing uranium, a testament to fluctuating mineral prices. That’s a radical departure from the uranium boom that began in the late 1940s.
Nucla became a key supplier of nuclear fuel during the Cold War era. While many places shudder at such a prospect, Nucla would like to see uranium mining and milling come back.
But Nucla may be best known as Colorado’s first and only town mandating gun ownership. I am not kidding.
A Nucla municipal ordinance requiring heads of households to own guns and ammunition was enacted in May 2013. The rationale, according to the Nucla Town Board: to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the town and its inhabitants.
When Ray rides, he’s packing heat for his and my safety – so I’m pretty sure we’re in compliance with the Nucla way of life.
The most notable resident of Nucla seems to be Bill Symons, a Canadian Football Hall of Famer, who was born here. He was a running back with the Toronto Argonauts, a long way from Nucla.
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From Nucla, we ride east on CO-145 and then on CO-62, around the Uncompahgre National Forest. At Ridgway, we turn north on US-550.
Ridgway was featured in the John Wayne movie, True Grit, and other western movies including How the West Was Won, and Tribute to a Bad Man. Ridgway has the only stoplight in Ouray County – at the intersection of US-550 and CO-62.
A little-known fun fact about Ridgway: the Grammy Award trophy is manufactured here exclusively by Billings Artworks. The trophies are all hand-made, assembled and plated on site.
The Gramophone trophy – Grammy for short – has been awarded nearly 8,000 times since the first Grammy Awards ceremony in 1959. Hungarian-British conductor Sir Georg Solti has won the most Grammys: 31. Most Grammys won by a female: 27, by Allison Krauss, bluegrass and country singer/songwriter.
There have been as many as 109 categories, some of them quite specialized. One Grammy category, Best Disco Recording, was awarded only once, in 1980. The winner was Gloria Gaynor, for “I Will Survive.”
Other nominees for the disco Grammy that year included “Boogie Wonderland,” “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough,” Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” and “Bad Girls.” Because of a subsequent disco backlash, the category was discontinued after only one year. How can you not love disco? Click here to remind yourself why polyester leisure suits were the bomb.
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Notable residents of the Ridgway area include:
- Charles Ergen, co-founder and CEO of EchoStar Communications, the parent company of Dish Network. His net worth is estimated at more than $12 billion.
- Ralph Lauren, fashion designer, who has a 17,000-acre ranch near here. He was born Ralph Lifshitz, but who would wear clothes with that label?
- Dennis Weaver, Emmy Award-winning actor, best known for his work as Chester Goode on the TV show Gunsmoke.
- Danny Thompson, race car driver, businessman and son of the legendary racer Mickey Thompson. Danny owns a fabrication company and race shop in the area. Click here to watch him drive a 1,300-horsepower Mustang 265 miles an hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
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From Ridgway, we continue north on US-550 to Montrose. The city was incorporated in 1882, and named after Sir Walter Scott’s novel, A Legend of Montrose.
Montrose sits at 5,806 feet above sea level, and is considered a gateway to many spectacular areas in the Rockies. If you have time in Montrose, you can visit the Museum of the Mountain West, the Ute Indian Museum, or the Russell Stover Candy Factory.
You can also head east out of town and visit a nearby National Park, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. That’s our plan.
The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is only about 11 miles northeast of Montrose. East on US-50 for 6 miles, North on CO-347 for 5 miles, and we arrive at the Park’s visitor center.
The Gunnison River drops an average of 34 feet per mile through the entire canyon, making it the fifth-steepest mountain descent in North America. By comparison, the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile.
The Black Canyon is so named due to its steepness, which makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate the canyon. As a result, it’s often shrouded in shadow, causing the rocky walls to appear black. At its narrowest point, the canyon is only 40 feet wide at the river. The canyon is known for crumblng rock and dizzying heights. It’s a haven for rock climbers. Experts only.
For more on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, click here.
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After staring at the canyon walls, we press on, riding south on CO-347, then east on US-50 toward Gunnison.
The ride along the Gunnison River is a keeper, or at least it would have been if it hadn’t rained on us for most of the 65 miles to Gunnison. The skies were black, the roads slick, and the temperatures plunging.
Fortunately, we saw the rain coming, and put on our rain gear before leaving the park. We may have been cold, but we weren’t wet!
We pass the Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest body of water entirely in Colorado. With 96 miles of shoreline, it’s the largest lake trout and kokanee salmon fishery in the U.S. It was the first large dam built along the Gunnison River.
We follow the Gunnison River, at first on the south side of the River, then crossing to the north side at Lake Fork Arm. We continue along the river’s edge to Gunnison, which sits at 7,700 feet.
Gunnison was named in honor of John Gunnison, a U.S. Army officer who surveyed for the transcontinental railroad in 1853. The city is home to Western State Colorado University, originally founded as the Colorado State Normal School for Children in 1901. A normal school is one created to train high school graduates to be teachers; its purpose is to establish teaching standards, or norms – thus the word “normal.”
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Day Eight Summary: Happy Birthday Eldon, a one-stoplight county, disco fever in Grammy-town, a school for (somewhat) normal children.
Click here to view today’s route from Palisade to Gunnison.
What will tomorrow bring?
Riding With Gary 