It’s the First Day of Summer. Party On!

Two days of Colorado fishing, and not a single nibble. For those of you who think we may not know what we’re doing, here are a few photos to ponder.

Dave, a fishing magician on Lake Arrowhead, in Southern California.

Yours truly, with a king salmon, in Alaska’s Resurrection Bay. Photo by John Tracy, my fishing assistant.

There you have it. We can fish. Just not in Colorado. Not yet. We’ll keep trying.

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At 4:07 am Mountain Daylight Time (here in Colorado) today, we observed the summer solstice.

That means it’s the first day of summer. In the northern hemisphere, anyway. It’s the first day of winter in the southern hemisphere.  But since I’m not aware of any Riding With Gary blog followers in Argentina or New Zealand, today’s post will be about events happening in the northern hemisphere, where this is the longest day of the year.

In this part of Colorado, we’ll have nearly 15 hours of daylight today. Sunrise was at 5:51 this morning; sunset will be 8:35 tonight.

To celebrate the first day of summer, we had breakfast al fresco, on our patio, with a nice morning view of Mount Sopris.

Starting the summer on a positive nutritional note.

Still no taters with ribs for dinner, but there were hash browns on the plate for breakfast.

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We hope to enjoy the late sunset in Durango, today’s overnight destination. If we can get there.

The “416 fire” north of Durango. The wildfire, which began June 1, continues to burn in rough and inaccessible terrain on the west side of US-550. Public access to the entire San Juan National Forest is currently prohibited. More than 1,100 personnel have been fighting the fire for the past three weeks, and now have it about 37 percent contained.

Durango has been in the national news in the past few weeks. A wildfire 10 miles north of Durango has been raging since June 1, closing portions of US-550, one of the top motorcycle roads in America. The closure is on today’s route. We’ll encounter either choking smoke, or a blocked route — or both. Or neither. Always nice to have options.

Let’s see how it goes.

The fire has consumed more than 34,000 acres and is nowhere near contained. It’s burning in rough and inaccessible terrain, making it exceedingly difficult to control. The US Forest Service estimates the fire won’t be fully contained until July 31; that’s a two-month fire! For more on this stubborn blaze, click here.

A postscript on the 416 fire: what kind of name is “416,” anyway? The number 416 comes from the number of incidents that the Columbine Ranger District has responded to in the San Juan National Forest. The fire currently burning in Durango is the 416th incident that the Columbine Ranger District in the San Juan National Forest has responded to this year. An “incident” can range from a red flag warning to a forest fire, and even includes false alarms. So, there haven’t been 416 fires this year, just 416 incidents.

Glad you asked?

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To move in the direction of Durango, we leave Carbondale and head toward McClure Pass. We’re riding south on CO-133, part of the West Elk Loop Scenic Byway.

By now you’re as familiar with this route as we are: past Redstone, past the turnoff to Marble. Then, up the steep grade to McClure Pass, down the other side toward Hotchkiss. We turn on to CO-92, then US-550, continuing south as we roll past Olathe, through Montrose, and to Ridgway, home of the only stoplight in Ouray County.

This time in Ridgway, we’ll ride south toward Ouray, which sits at 7,792 feet, and is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful mountain towns imaginable.

Pronounced YOU-ray, the town is named after Chief Ouray of the Ute Indian Tribe. Go Utes! At the height of its mining boom, Ouray had more than 30 active gold and silver mines. Today, it has none. Ouray is considered the ice-climbing capital of the U.S, with the world’s first ice-climbing park.

Ice climbing in Ouray. Brrrr!

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Ouray is on our route south to Durango. Our plan is to roll through Ouray, and begin our 70-mile journey to Durango on the Million Dollar Highway, US-550. It’s part of the San Juan Scenic Skyway.

The Million Dollar Highway. Don’t try this at home!

The first two miles out of Ouray heading south toward Silverton … Freak. Me. Out.

It’s the scariest road I’ve ever ridden. The road follows the Uncompahgre River gorge, with no guard rails and a thousand foot dropoff. I’ve done this road five times, and it doesn’t get any easier or less scary. It’s a truly sphincter-tightening adventure.

Beautiful, but frightening.

Until a few days ago, I was looking forward to US-550 being closed. Anything to avoid my least favorite two-mile stretch of highway.

Then, earlier this week, US-550 reopened north Durango. There will be no detours.

We’re now heading south to Durango, the old-fashioned way: past the ghost town of Ironton, past Silverton, home of the world’s highest Harley Davidson store: 9,308 feet high in the San Juan Mountains.

Biggest Harley rider in Silverton. Highest Harley store in the world.

Silverton is a good place to stop, grab a drink, and walk the town’s main Street, Greene Street – before riding the remaining 48 miles to Durango.

On Greene Street in Silverton. Shortest Harley rider in town.

In Silverton, it was hot, and we had time, so we stopped for a cold one at Avalanche Brewing Company, one of the world’s highest microbreweries.

Relaxing, before heading down the mountain to Durango.

Cooling off at Avalanche Brewing Company in Silverton.

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On the ride to Durango, we cruise along the Animas River on US-550, through the San Juan National Forest. The Animas is a tributary of the San Juan River, named by Spanish explorer Juan Maria de Rivera in 1765, “Rio de las Animas.” Translated, it’s the River of Souls.

Durango was founded in 1879 by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway. Two years later, the railroad arrived, constructing a narrow gauge line to haul passengers and freight to Silverton, and to transport silver and gold ore from the San Juan Mountains.

The historic train has been in continuous operation since 1882. For $85, you can board in Durango for the 3 ½-hour ride to Silverton; top speed is 18 miles an hour. The train, one of the area’s top tourist attractions, has been closed since early June because of the wildfire, and will remain closed through at least the end of the month.

Yes, the train is closed, but the highway is open. Be careful what you wish for.

On the way to Durango, we stop at Coal Bank Pass: 10,640 feet. Coal Bank is the third-highest of the three major passes on the Million Dollar Highway; Red Mountain Pass, at 11,018 feet, is the highest. The third pass on the $$$$$$ Highway is Molas Pass, 10,910 feet.

At Coal Bank Pass.

Posing for a portrait at Coal Bank Pass.

We arrive in Durango in the late afternoon, with at least four hours of daylight left. It’s the longest day of the year, after all. Plenty of time to hunt for ribs.

The hunt is a short one. About a half-mile from our motel, we stumble onto Serious Texas BBQ. It’s good, it’s walking distance, and we’re ready for our fourth day in a row of ribs.

The ribs at Serious Texas BBQ are seriously good.

Well smoked, not too salty. And the sides, especially the slaw, were quite tasty.

Turns out the ribs at Serious Texas BBQ are seriously good. After four consecutive nights of ribs, the standings (rankings) look like this: #1, Slow Groovin (Marble); #2, SeriousTexas BBQ (Durango); #3, Smoke Modern BBQ (Basalt); #4, Rib City Grill (Grand Junction).

No self-respecting BBQ place will want to finish 13th among the 13 rib meals, but someplace will. Stay tuned.

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Day Four Summary: A truly sphincter-tightening excitement on the Million Dollar Highway.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Carbondale to Durango.

Glad you’re along for the ride.

Vroom, vroom.

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Today’s Colorado Fun Fact: The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has appeared in more than a dozen movies including How the West Was Wonand Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The line from Durango to Silverton runs 45 miles, and is a federally designated National Historic Landmark, and is also a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Today’s Rocky Mountain Rib Rally Fun Fact: Ouray is considered the winter ice-climbing capital of the US. It has the world’s first ice climbing park – with dozens of frozen waterfalls from 80 to 200 feet high, along more than a mile of the Uncompahgre River Gorge.

Today’s Colorado Food Fun Fact: There are more than 300 craft breweries (beer!) in Colorado, including Carbondale Beer Works on Main Street in downtown Carbondale. These small breweries account for a $1.15 billion industry in Colorado.