Fort Collins, Colorado. We stopped at a Honda Powersports shop to get my bike looked at, post-Deer incident, and to get some advice on where to stay in town. Scott talked to a guy at the counter who recommended a place called the Mishawaka Inn on the Cache La Poudre river. We’re game, so we start up the bikes and head out.

This was our first real taste of Colorado and it didn’t disappoint. The road we took to get there followed the river, and was amazing for motorcycling. There were pull offs everywhere and people were fishing, camping, and just hanging out by the water. And the scenery took our breath away. Rising up out of the river were these beautiful stony hills. A real refreshing change from the miles and miles of flat land we had been dealing with for the past few days.

Turned out the Mishawaka Inn was just our speed. Check out the pictures above. As far as we could tell, everybody working at this place was either stoned or a little (or a lot) drunk. Totally nuts but cool for us because it meant they were always ready to chat and hang out. They had good food. They had a stage, though sadly no music the night we were there. But best of all, they had camping, right on an island in the middle of the river.

Also, since they were all hippies, they didn’t care that we bathed in the river. We got food and drinks, chatted with the people who worked there, and generally got a good dose of relaxation. Scott ordered chocolate cake and got a piece bigger than his head. The sounds of the river churning soothed our frayed nerves. All in all it was an amazing recharge after what Scott and I both felt was a bad-mojo week full of Sturgis, Black Hills Chiggers and Deer Encounters. At the end of the night we stumbled over to the Island, curled up in our already set up tents, and went to sleep.

The next day Scott finished his leftover cake and I got some Freedom Toast and Huevos Rancheros. Tell your friends- Mishawaka Inn rocks.