From: Ronald Ray Carlson To: "'Cash, Kelly'" , "'Benson, Phil'" Subject: GTS - New Mexico & Colorado Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 00:25:28 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Kelly Cash and Phil Benson, Both my wife and I would love to join you, but don't think we can make it. I second Phil Benson's affection for some of the areas roads. Great riding and great scenery. I've only been that way once and am determined to go back. Starting at home (Portland, OR area), I rode out of Salt Lake City to Bryce, then Hwy 12 (A couple of years ago, Hwy 12 was listed among the ten best roads in the West.) to Hanksville. From there, I rode to Green River, UT, to Grand Junction, CO, then SE on Hwy 50 to Delta. At Delta I turned East on Hwy 92 (I had that beautiful road virtually to myself), then toward Gunnison, CO. About 8 miles before Gunnison, I headed South on Hwy 149 (another of the ten best roads in the West), through Lake City to Creede, CO. That road crosses the Continental Divide. I met some great people in Creede, stayed in a B&B in this old mining town, sort of turning artsy. From there I headed on East toward Wisconsin and Missouri. On my return, catching parts of Route 66, I rode another of the "ten best" from Raton, NM, through Cimarron to Taos, then on to Albuquerque, NM. Donna joined me on the final two weeks, first enjoying three nights with good friends in Albuquerque. Heading West, we bumped up at Gallup, NM, 7 miles, then West on Hwy 264 (Stop and the little trailer cafe run by some Indians), to Tuba City and on to Flagstaff. We picked up Route 66 at Seligman, visited with the Delgadillo brothers, stopped at Bob's shack for refreshments, then through Oatman (stop and get a picture of yourself among the donkeys), to Laughlin, NV for a change of pace (good food, good room and cheap too). We left Laughlin at 5:30 am, wanting to beat the heat of the Barstow desert. We enjoyed burgers and beer at 1:00 pm that day, in Paso Robles, CA. Do I love those roads? Do I love my GTS? What does it sound like? Kelly, In the e-mail, I've seen both of the following for you, are both good, and if so, which do you prefer? Kelly.Cash@corp.sun.com kelly@kondor.Corp.Sun.COM Kelly and Phil, if either of you get to the Portland, OR area, we would enjoy meeting you. We live a few miles outside of Vancouver, WA, about 20 miles from downtown Portland. Ron Carlson and Donna 11601 NE 154th St Brush Prairie, WA 98606-9501 (360) 254-3834 voice (360) 944-8323 fax