On May 15, 1999, Karl, Bruce, and me set out from Denver on a tour of several National Parks in Utah and Arizona. The following is a brief dialogue of our travels, with links to pictures taken along the way. If you would like to skip the story and go directly to the pictures, click here.
The machines: Bruce brought along his trusty BMW K75RT, Karl on his seasoned BMW R1100RS, and me riding my Honda VFR800FI. We took a departure shot in Bruce's driveway on May 15th, and each can be viewed next to our mounts in this photo.
We headed out of Denver on I-70 West at about 0720, destination Moab, Utah. After a quick breakfast stop in Idaho Springs, it was up and over the Rockies, including a cold ride through the Eisenhower tunnel where the air temperature was a chilly 41F! We held a quick pace and made our first gas stop at Glenwood Springs, showing 173m on the odometer. The ride down Glenwood Canyon was as beautiful as ever, and we had made it over the Rockies without getting rained on.
Unfortunately we found some incredible head winds and crosswind gusts as we entered Utah. It was time to slow the pace, and deal with the lean angle created by a pounding wind. As a result of going slower the trucks were now free to overtake us, and contending with their wind wakes was another battle. It would only last an hour or so until we could take the Cisco turnoff and head South on HWY-128 which leads through a nice canyon to Moab. A couple of pics of the canyon here and here.
We stayed at a rustic motel called the Red Rock Lodge, which was walking distance from reportedly one of only four brew pubs in Utah, Eddie McStiffs. They specialized in pizza, so Karl and me split one of Southwestern style; green chili sauce, hot peppers, cheese, etc. It was a bit on the hot side of spicey, fortunately Eddie's had 13 flavors of micro brew to wash it down with :-)
The next day we were off to Arches National park. The gate opened at 0730, and we rode through at 0739. If you go, get there early. By the time we came back out it was becoming very over-run with people and cars. We drove to the end of the main road, and took a hike into the Devil's Garden as far as the Double O Arch. There is much to see as you find your way through small crevaces and over ridges, including the Landscape Arch, which may fall down someday soon. Note how thin it has become on the right side in recent decades. We had perfect weather, and the views off to the horizon are terrific, as you can see here.
After leaving Arches, it's a mere 22 miles or so up the road to Canyon lands National Park. Apparently this is a well kept secret, since we encountered only a fraction of people here as in Arches. As you can see from this picture, it is like a small version of the Grand Canyon, definitely worth the visit. A note here on the perils of riding in the 3rd position. Bruce and me had both blown the doors off of some lingering diesel powered pickup truck on our way through Canyon lands. Unfortunately the guy driving had taken his fill by the time Karl decided to pass him too. The redneck floored it, forcing Karl to reach 90 mph before blasting around the idiot. At our next stop Karl asked that we not blow the doors off people while he was riding in 3rd position :-)
The next morning we headed out of Moab at about 0600, and enjoyed a very cold ride South on HWY-191. Shortly after breakfast in Monticello, and fuel in Blanding, we headed West on HWY-95 and took a scenic break at Natural Bridges park. You have to look closely at the photo, lower right, to see the arch. While there we met Bill and Candy West on their R1100RT. They had ridden through snow on the way down from Helena, Montana, and were on their way to the California coast and back, by way of many of the same parks we were to visit. Bill had some sort of fluids leak from the left side hub on his rear wheel. When he phoned a BMW dealer and inquired as to a possible cause, the mechanic said something like "it can't do that"! Duh! Anyway, the bike was under warranty and Bill was confident the problem would be corrected in Tucson.
HWY-95 was a very nice ride through Glen Canyon and the North end of Lake Powell, where I took these threepictures. We had burger's at Stan's in Hanksville before riding through Capital Reef park, and part of Dixie National Forest on our way to lodging in Escalante. The whole ride was scenic and diverse, which was a surprise to me, as I expected dusty desert all the way.
The next day, which was now Tuesday, May 18th, we made the short ride to Bryce Canyon. The rock formations were incredible. Along the way we had kept crossing paths with a man named Stephen from Germany. Finally I asked him to let me take a photo, and told him to look for it on the web here. He had rented the Honda Shadow in Florida (BMWs were too expensive he said) and gotten a 3 month visa to tour the country. Great idea! We saw him again at the Grand Canyon.
Apparently renting bikes for a tour is popular; we observed two BMW R1100R rentals with CA plates at the Canyon, and two more from Phoenix, at Page, AZ, ridden by guys from New Jersey. The guys from N.J. said it was costing them about $100/day to rent. Not bad! They had the misfortune of touring the South rim of the G.C. the same day Hillary Clinton was there! (traffic snarls)
Bryce is a quick visit and we headed west for Zion in the afternoon. The steep mountain cliffs of Zion were spectacular, as can be seen in these pictures 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33. If you visit, don't miss the drive up Zion canyon. As you may be able to tell from the pictures, we made it just before Sunset. If you plan to camp, you had better get there early, and might want to look into a reservation. Bruce waited in line at the campground entrance for a long time, like 45 minutes, just to move forward 3 car lengths. Finally Karl returned to collect him when we found a vacancy at our motel in Springdale.
We left Springdale early the next morning for a coldride out of Zion back the way we had come to Mt. Caramel Junction where we stopped for fuel and breakfast. We asked the hostess to seat us near the window, and out of the Sunrise, so we could keep an eye on our machines and equipment. Apparently this so upset our waitress that she walked off the job. We felt a little bad about it until the remaining staff treated us with such glee; apparently we had killed the Wicked Witch of the West, and were the new heroes of Mt. Caramel Junction. I cannot remember the last time service was so good!
From there it was a pretty ride down HWY-89 to Jacob Lake, where we turned onto HWY-67 for the ride into the Grand Canyon's north rim. Once you enter the park, the road to the actual rim is about ten miles long ending at the Grand Canyon Lodge. However before we reached the lodge, we stopped at a little Shell station for coffee and a warm-up. (NOTE: In May it was cold. You are at or near 8000 feet ASL the whole time you are in the park, so take warm clothing.)
While at the Shell station we met a couple in their 40s from Holland who were bicycling AROUND THE WORLD! They had been on the road for over two years, and had gone more than 34,000 kilometers so far. They were only able to get a 90 day visa for the visit in the USA, and their departure point for home was to be Denver. I gave them my card and asked them to call me when they get here, so I could help them crate up the bikes and take them to the airport in my pickup. I hope they call, they were very nice and very interesting people.
Finally, at the North Rim, I took these pictures 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43. There is a nice side route to Cape Royal which we also took, although it gets a bit bumpy, with gravel on the roadway, and very tight turns for the last 4 miles or so. The view was worth it, as you can see from these pictures: 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53. After departing Cape Royal I was in the 1st position and became separated from Karl and Bruce when a car came between us at an intersection. They understood we were to meet at the Shell station, and I understood the meeting place to be the fuel station at Jacob Lake. This caused some stress as they looked for me, and I waited for them. Lesson learned: it is best to have a well understood rendezvous point if you anticipate getting separated, which is always a possibility.
Our next stop for lodging was Uncle Bill's motel in Page, AZ. The ride to it was interesting, since you go from the forests down a twisty mountain road and out onto the desert floor. The air temp went from about 55F to 84F in around an hour of riding (time to stop and take off the jacket liner!). The town of Page apparently exists because of Glen Canyon Damn which creates Lake Powell. Page apparently sprung up as a construction workers town, and then became a tourist town later, serving the visitors to the lake. We stayed at what was probably a one story concrete block apartment building, now known as Uncle Bill's. It was clean, and cheep ($30 per person) and had a full kitchen. Bill is hard to describe; about 75 years old, funny, crusty personality, and very hospitable. If you want to spend $100+ for the generic lodging at Days Inn or whatever, those are available too. But for the full cultural experience and an apartment for $30 ea, give Uncle Bill a call :-)
While in Page I suggest getting a steak prepared just the way you like it at "Ken's Old West". They also have a live band there, who play both kinds of music: Country & Western :-) Bruce had them play "On the road again", and that was good for some long miles smiles.
The next day, now Thursday, May 20th, would be a long ride from Page to Chama, NM, via the Monument Valley in Utah. We rolled up 420 miles of slow going through Navajo Nation territory. The speed limit was mostly 55 or 60 mph, and we did little more than 5 over most of the way. Apparently the N.N. is not the place you want to be pulled over for speeding. The penalty could include being hauled in and some jail time, rumors had it. Monument Valley has most definitely been used as a backdrop for many western movies, I think it will look familiar as you look at the last of my pictures here: 56, 57.
Chama was a cool place. They have an old steam engine train that takes you up into the mountains. We didn't have time, but I plan to take my family back there someday soon. We were to continue on to Jemez Springs by way of Los Alamos and Taos the next day, but I had trouble sleeping with a tingling and apparent circulation problem in my left arm. I decided this was a good jump off point for Denver since I was close to HWY-285, and probably only 320 miles from home. I reached the house by 1300, after departing Chama at 0630.
Karl and Bruce continued on to J.S. for a BMW rally, which had a good turnout of about 100 bikes. That would have been fun, maybe next time. That's all for now. If you have any questions or comments about the trip, send me mail and I'll try to answer them.
Thanks for reading!
