Gateway, Colorado, sits where the Dolores River squeezes out of a red-rock canyon and the land opens into a wide, flat valley, and the name describes the geography exactly. Cliffs of rust-coloured sandstone rise on every side, stained with desert varnish and carved into fins, towers and shelves, and the town fits into the gap like a pebble in a doorway. There are a few dozen residents, a post office, and a very comfortable-looking resort, and not much else for miles.
The resort has an odd story. It was created by John Hendricks, who founded a well-known documentary TV network, who bought up ranch land here and built an upmarket lodge with an auto museum, where a collection of rare and beautiful cars sits in the middle of the desert. That is a strange thing to find at the end of a long road through uranium country, and you may feel faintly underdressed in motorcycle boots, though the restaurant and cafe are open to passers-by. The surrounding country has an older history, as the home of the Ute people, and later of uranium prospectors, cattlemen and a few hardy homesteaders.
The riding in is the real draw. Highway 141 runs through the Unaweep Canyon and then down into the Dolores valley in a long series of flowing bends, with red cliffs overhead and the river meandering in the bottom. It is one of the quietest scenic roads in Colorado, with long views and very little traffic. The best time is the cool end of the day, when the setting sun turns the rock the colour of embers. Summer afternoons are hot and thundery, and in winter the road is open but icy in places. From Gateway you can ride on south along the river through narrow gorges toward Naturita, passing the old hanging flume, or turn back toward Grand Junction.
Services are limited, and this is where planning matters. Naturita, to the south, has more basic services. Fill up in Grand Junction, carry water and a spare layer, and keep an eye on the sky, because desert thunderstorms can send flash floods down the washes within minutes. The stars, on a moonless night, are astonishing.