We had finally made it to Colorado - and we were really ready to start seeing the state by motorcycle! Unfortunately, nature had different plans. As we stepped outside and started packing the motorcycle up, a heavy fog rolled in and brought some light drizzle with it. Rain again!

Apparently, rain was going to be a large part of this motorcycle trip.

Even with the fog and the cold temperatures of the morning, we decided to get going and start the day heading down US 350 to see the Comanche Grasslands. With the fog, we could only see about 10 yards in front of the motorcycle, so it was pretty slow going most of the way. But by about mid- morning the fog and rain cleared and we were absolutely dumbfounded by the beauty of the Grasslands!

The ride on 350 through the Comanche Grasslands is an absolute delight, and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area (whether on a motorcycle or not). Traffic was almost non-existent: we passed three cars the whole time we were on the road.

Highway US 350 is about 80 miles long and follows the segment of the Mountain Branch of the Historic Santa Fe Trail. The highway starts in La Junta, Colorado and ends in Trinidad, Colorado.

From the Grasslands we took the motorcycle down US 350 and picked up Interstate 25 North in Trinidad, Colorado. After traveling on I25 for a while, we hung a left on US 160 and headed east towards the Great Dune National Park. (See the official site here: http://www.nps.gov/grsa/)

Off of US 160 you hang a right on CO 150 to actually get to the dunes. CO 150 is an incredible motorcycle road that affords some really breathtaking views (see pictures below.)

The Great Dune National Park is another one of those things that you have to see if you're in Colorado. Imagine sand dunes the size of mountains in the middle of mountains! The whole area surrounding the dunes was beautiful in a stark, open range type of way.

The dunes are completely out of place at the edge of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. Consisting of pure golden sand, the dunes cover an area of approximately 35 square miles and reach heights of 700 feet above the San Luis Valley.

Beside the dunes, the San Luis Valley is notable for having some of the longest stretches of straight road in the US, including a 35 mile section of CO 285 between Monte Vista and Saguache. Unfortunately, we did not have time to see this road for reasons that will become clear shortly.

After we parked the motorcycle, we decided to have a quick lunch and then hike up one of the dunes. (It typically takes 1-2 hours to hike a dune and then 30 minutes to get back down. The view is well worth it!)

Remember how I said rain was going to be a large part of this motorcycle trip?

After we got back to the motorcycle, I noticed a very black cloud formation quickly moving in over the mountains from the northwest. My stomach dropped. I was not looking forward to being stuck on a motorcycle in the rain. So, we decided to try and outrun the storm.

Quickly packing the Harley up, we raced out of the park and onto 160 heading east. Unfortunately, the storm really had some steam behind it and was catching up to us quickly.

We kept in front of the storm for a while but, it finally caught up with us on 160. When it did catch us, that storm let us know it was there with rain drops the size of golf balls and high winds. Those rain pellets hurt so much that I thought my face was going to get ripped off! I was really wishing for a full face helmet at this point. Thank God I had bought a windshield for the Road King a few months back. Needless to say, it was quite slow going for the next 50 miles.

Luckily, the storm let up right before South Fork, Colorado, but we noticed another one blowing in from the South East. So, rather than take a chance of getting pelted with rain again on the motorcycle, we headed north on CO 149 higher into the mountains.

Apparently the motorcycle gods were smiling down on us because after about an hour of riding on CO 149 I happened to notice a small camping sign, smaller than a license plate, on the side of the road. After turning the motorcycle around, and convincing my wife that I actually did see a sign, we rode back to explore some.

Now, most people know that Harleys are not meant for off-road riding or really even gravel road riding. Apparently, I am not one of those people. /p>

To get to the campsite that this little sign was tempting us with, we were going to have to do a little gravel/off-road riding. I was too tired to have a debate with myself on whether this was a smart choice, so off we went down the gravel road (if you could call it that - it was really more of a gully)!

Exploration is always rewarded, right? In this case it was true. At the bottom of the road we found a completely secluded campsite with only three sites. The sites were spread so far apart that you could not even see the other two campsites from your site. On top of that, we were right on the Rio Grande river! Talk about luck.

We were the only ones there, so we parked the motorcycle at the best site, unpacked the gear, and got a campfire going pronto to warm up.

By this time, all of the clouds had cleared and we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset over the mountains. This is what motorcycle camping is all about. We remained alone with the Rio Grande bubbling right behind us the whole night.