Day 09 - Gunnison to Steamboat Springs, CO

Another cool morning greeted us to start the day. Temps were in the low 40’s when we left around 8:30 from Gunnison. We headed west along US50 and then detoured north onto CO92 to avoid the US50 construction. We stopped about half way between US50 and Hotchkiss (the friendliest town around) for a quick break.

Continuing on CO 92 we entered North Delta. As we approached North Delta we went past the Grand Mesa.

While visiting Black Canyon NP, one of the scenic overlooks allowed us to see Grand Mesa nearly 60 miles away. 

Once we entered North Delta, we continued west on US50 into Grand Junction.

We stopped in Grand Junction for lunch before heading west along I70 for a short spell. We then turned northward on CO 139 (as known as the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway).

CO 139 took us over Douglas Pass. At 8,268, this pass is one of the lowest we’ve crossed.

Once over the pass, we saw interesting rock formations.

We also saw lots of cattle and horses.

The scenery continued to change around every turn.

At the end of CO 139, we turned west on CO64 into Dinosaur, CO.

We then proceeded east on US40 and passed by Dinosaur National Monument.

There never seemed to be a shortage of great views.

We arrived in Steamboat Springs shortly before 5pm. We’ll be in Steamboat for 3 nights. Tomorrow looks to be a wet day (heavy rains expected with flooding possible in the low areas with snow above 12,000 feet) so we will likely just explore downtown and take the day off from riding. Hopefully the nearby Yampa River doesn’t flood as it runs right behind our hotel.