Deb and I experienced our first haistorm going across .We had raingear and full face helmets but the hail was painful on the hands so we pulled over and hunkered down on the south side of the stelvio as the hail was coming from the north,no shelter in sight.When it stopped it was a couple inches deep.Deb took off like ashot for the next town and motel.I was too scared to keep up.When I finally caught her and complmented her hail riding skills she told me she couldn't see the road.
The scariest 45 minutes on a motorcycle we were on US85 in South Dakota in the mother of all thunderstorms. Visibility about 8 feet and no where to get off the road. Scenery identical to Daniels' pics. Not a tree, bridge or driveway. I was behind a guy pulling a boat believe or not with all kinds of flashing lights moving about 10 mph until we both stopped. An hour later we pulled in Belle Fourche looking for a room. At the motel there were a dozen cars with glass broken out and big dents from a hail storm the day before. Thankfully no hail for us but still pretty terrifying.
As for Colorado we crossed on 160 and remember thinking this would be no place to break down. Nothing out there and the few towns were like ghost towns. Most all businesses abandoned including gas stations.
Pete
