We only did about 195 miles on the day. We left the hotel and headed down route 125 south. Shortly after leaving, Google Maps had us making a left to stay on route 125, but it was a private facility. They had a sign saying it was private property and there was no access to public lands or public roads and Google Maps has not been updated. So we continued, but Google then had us making a right which would have added an extra hour. Luckily, I was curious and kept on the road which was still in fact route 125. Most people forget that outside of major towns and cities there is little service, so I was not able let the app update. As you can see below, the top gray line was the suggested route where we would have gone through private property. The preferred blue line added an extra hour. I decided to stay on the main road and it was the fastest. I just realized these could have been suggested route if the roads were closed.
Staying on 125 led us through Arapaho National Forest which is really nice, but there was roadwork going on due to flooding and mud slides washing out parts of the road. We finally made it to Granby, CO which is the west side of the Rocky Mountain National Park. We stopped to fuel up before going into the park and there was a food truck, so we got chorizo breakfast burritos which were surprisingly very good. Then we rode passed Granby Lake and into the park. When we got to the park entrance, we were told we needed to get vehicle registration permits to enter the park, similar to Glacier National Park. Since it was a Tuesday, there were a lot of available permits to be able to enter the park.
We just rode through and stopped at the top at Alpine Visitor Center which is near Fall River pass and got coffees. Fall River Pass stands at 11,796 feet above sea level. After leaving the visitor center, we could see some Elk in the mountains. We continued on and headed into Estes Park. We stopped for some food and checked out a couple gift shops. We didn’t stay and check out the park much because we wanted to make some stops and see some folks. We left Estes Park and headed through Lyons towards Westminster to see a friend of ours, then my friend’s in Lafayette, then Eddie’s cousin in Denver where we stayed. I find it funny that the first cross country trip I did, I stayed my friend’s house, but he was in NY with his wife visiting family. This time he was home and he cooked us some homemade elk brats which were phenomenal!
More photos: Day 11 Photos
Adventures of Matty Q 