We did it!!!! We crossed the Continental Divide by bicycle!!!

Day 29: Gunnison to Salida (sa-LIE-da)
65 miles and the crossing of the Continental Divide
That is how they pronounce it here, sa-LIE-da. But we kept calling it sa-LEE-da like the Spanish do. Whatever.
Anyway, this was a really big day for us, monumental in fact. From the Pacific Ocean to the Continental divide by bike!!!!! Yeeeee-haaaaaaaa! Monarch pass is one of our major milestones along with the Mississippi river and the Atlantic. We took photos, bought souvenirs in the gift shop, smiled a lot and gave each other great big hugs and kisses.

From there it was a very fast descent into Salida where we had two great meals (lunch and dinner) at The Country Corner café and tasty beers at the local brew pub. It was their annual “Art Walk” in downtown Salida so the town was jumpin’ with energy. The Arkansas River roars right through the middle of town and they really took advantage of it. There is a very nice park along the river in town and also a white water park right in the river. We got some great photos of some freestyle kayakers rolling and flipping in an area where they created a little wave with rocks. (insert link…).

We had a lot of fun but somehow missed the Thompson’s. We cycled with them for a couple of hours before ascending Monarch pass but after a snack break we never saw them again. We wish them tailwinds and good luck.