Good times. Chores and unsettled weather made my days off not as satisfying as I would like. But the Tacoma has new brakes and it passed its emissions test.
Last week was spent out in Fruita. I needed to camp and it was the only place in the entire state of Colorado without rain.... for a bit.
Some cactus blooms. I find myself drawn more and more to flowering cacti. I think it has to do with the juxtaposition.
Got two real good rides in. On the second one in the evening, I saw the blackness creeping closer. Distant rumbling of thunder approached and stopped being so distant. Knowing a deluge was imminent, I started hauling ass back to my camp.
I made it back right when the skies opened; talk about fortunate timing. I was forced to hide in my truck for over half an hour as the storm pounded the area, casually tossing lightning bolts and quarter-sized hail down.
I discovered I'm still shell-shocked by lightning from nearly getting struck last summer. When the lightning and thunder were synchronized in real time, I found myself nervous. I closed my eyes, controlled my breathing and began meditating. In short, I felt the closest one could get in a war trench.
I drove into town, since cooking at camp wouldn't be possible. I was treated to views of a double rainbow with lightning continuously forking through the middle of it -- that image will stay locked in my memory for a while.
Driving back to camp, I reached the dirt road again and drove through some flowing water. Soon the night was obscured through my windshield by inky blackness. Water flowed over my roof and engulfed the truck. I laughed uncontrollably.
I met up with another truck and the driver informed me I wasn't getting back to camp this way. Over three feet of water jumped an arroyo and was pouring over the roadway.
I tried a backway to get to camp and after driving far enough down 16 Road, I turned and saw a dry stream transform into a rushing river.
So I drove back to camp and spent the night in a motel room. The next morning I was able to get back to my camp and discovered my tent performed beyond expectations. Nothing was wet inside despite the dumping and the 60-mph winds.
The Tacoma the next day. I had to clean the windows off in order to have periphery sight.
The aftermath of the road
On my way back to Denver, I checked out around Rifle. According to some reports and my map book, there are some trails in the area for mountain biking. I was deep into carnivore country and quite surprised I didn't run into a bear during my exploring; it was ideal territory for them.
Stymied by a gate. The cirque looked very cool.
Glenwood Canyon on the drive back.
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