We arrived at the b&b in Denver on Friday 22 September without incident. I am always surprised at how Denver has grown. With growth comes traffic and I would no longer consider moving to Denver but a smaller city within driving distance of the Front Range. My brother in law's daughter lives in Littleton so he spent the weekend doing father and grandfather duties. Mt Evans at 14000 feet is one of my favorite rides but the road is closed after Labor Day so I spent a couple days surfing the internet and watching videos on Netflix.

We left Denver at 0900 today for the 340 mile ride to Durango. I was surprised at the traffic even after we left Denver. I suppose they were people like us who wanted to see the autumn colors in the Rocky Mountains. I will say it was probably the most scenic ride I have done in a decade with the aspens showing yellow and gold, some nice colors from other trees and just a dusting of the first snow on the higher peaks. We stopped several times for photos which I will be posting in the gallery tonight or tomorrow. Colorado really is a beautiful state.

I was pleasantly surprised by the number of BMW motorcycles on the road. Normally, Harleys outnumber everything else by 10 to 1. Today, the BMW's outnumbered just about any other brand by the same ratio. The adventure touring models like the GS or GSA are incredibly popular for doing gravel roads in the Colorado Rockies.I asked my brother-in-law Dennis if seeing all the BMW's did not make him want one, just a litttle bit.  He said no and walked away.  I think he really wants one but is afraid he would have to replace all his underwear since it has the Harley logo on every pair.  And honestly he should be a bit taller for a GS! I told him he could keep wearing the Harley tee shirts which make up his wardrobe even if he buys a BMW.  I do!

Tomorrow, we ride 200 miles to Page, Arizona. Along the way, we will stop in Mesa Verde National Park and the Four Corners parking lot. We have a reservation on Wednesday for Antelope Canyon-a fairly famous slot canyon on the Navajo reservation. MB and I were in Page in Dec, 2020 during covid and everything was shut down. I hauled a fisheye lens from Alaska just for this tour.  Have not decided on events after Page but may only have four days before the US government shuts down on 1 October and all the national parks will be closed. F***ing Republicans! If that happens I wiill show my sister/brother in law Old Town Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

I was trying to remember why Durango sounded so familar when my sister and I were looking for a place to stay between Denver and Page (650 miles/1040km). I was here in 1974, almost 50 years ago. So, a little background might be in order. I quit Indiana University in the middle of the spring semester of 1973 taking a grade of "Incomplete" in all my courses and went to work as a newspaper photographer in Coshocton, Ohio, a community of 15000 or so about 80 miles northeast of Columbus, Ohio. I needed a break from college but I had every intention of returning and completing my BA the next year (which I did).

After working for 15 months I knew I needed to return to school but that I was no longer interested in pursueing a career in journalism. I was thinking more about education and working with troubled youth (which I did part time while in Coshocton). I decided to do an Outward Bound program in the Rocky Mountains.

For those not familar with Outward Bound, it was started in WW2 to teach merchant seamen the mental toughness needed to survive in a lifeboat after being torpedoed by U-boats. It was discovered that the fatalities among those who survived the attack with no physical injuries often died anyway while awaiting rescue during their time in lifeboats.  The question was why? Turns out one can easily die if you don't have the guts or courage to live and most of that was mental. So, Outward Bound attempts to instill toughness with physical challenges. It worked and worked well as Outward Bound still has schools in 37 countries.

I came here for a 21 days mountaineering and survival course which took place in the San Juan Wilderness Area just north of Durango. Outward Bound uses the mountains to instill confidence with things like rock climbing or rapelling. Now, not to brag but I had spent a couple years spelunking while at IU so rock climbing and rapelling were kind of old hat by the time I showed up at Outward Bound. On a more serious note was the next event which called for  three days spent solo without food, shelter or a fire at 11000 feet in the Rocky Mountains. We were allowed to make the three days as tough or easy as we wanted. Like an idiot, I only took the clothes on my back. I could tell the time by how cold I was at night. I was tempted to return to base camp and grab a sleeping bag but I was afraid of "losing face".

After the three day solo, Outward Bound resupplied us from the Durango/Silverton train. It is a narrow guage steam railroad which carries tourists along the Animas River and has been in numerous Hollyword westerns (seems it is always being robbed).  We were divided into six or seven groups of six or seven students and we were to navigate back to base camp using skills taught during the course but no instructors would be along.  Each group had a different route with varying levels of difficulty.

The group I was in was told we were in the second most difficult final expedition. We were to hike 45 miles and climb one 14000 foot peak. We had four days. We planned the route and started immediately. Well the next day one of our team members was so week with either food poisoning or something else he could barely walk. Now you have to remember in 1974 there was no such thing as cell phones or gps.  We divided his gear amonst ourselves and checked our maps. It appeared the best option was to hike down 20 miles to a USFS campgound near Durango and call Outward Bound basecamp. This we did and Outward Bound staff showed up about 10pm to take the sick team member back for medical treatment. We expected them to haul us to about where we should have been that evening on our original route. Boy, did they trick us and told us we had to be in basecamp on schedule and under our own power.

I don't remember all the details but the six remaining in our group ended up hiking over 80 miles in four days vise 40.  We had about 45 or 50 miles to do in a day and a half. I remember crossing the continental divide near the headwaters of the Colorado River under a full moon at 0200 before we tossed our bags out (18 hours continuous walking) and grabbed four hours of sleep and I remember limping into the rendevous point. We actually beat the Outward Bound staff to the rendevous by a couple hours. They told us they actually did not expect us until the next day!

The next day at base camp was the six mile run which is the event I had been dreading since the course started. Well it seemed pretty insignificant after our final expedition ended the night before. Did Outward Bound make a difference and did it achieve its goal of instilling confidence in one Richard Newton? I think it gave me the guts to try Marine Officer Candidate school a year later, Navy flight school following that and well we know the rest of the story.

So, that is how and why I was in Durango in 1974.

I also remember going to see the original THE EXORIST by myself in Denver waiting for my connection back to Indiana. I have never liked horror movies and it scared me more than anything I have ever done in the mountains.  Funny things we remember 50 years later.

Hope you enjoyed this enstallment.  I got an email from a fourth individual who wants to join our trip south.  He speaks Spanish, has done the trip to TDF once before, and is 77 years old.  I guess I no longer can brag about being the oldest in our group.  More on him later.