Friday, June 12....Hitting the Road
I had some things to do early in the day so I didn't hit the road until the afternoon. The plan was to ride to Baker City, set up my tent -- I was tenting at the local high school -- and then check out the street festivities. The main rides were set for Saturday & Sunday. I had checked the weather forecast and I knew I was going to get wet on this trip. Utah was forecast for possible rain nearly every day of my trip -- very unusual weather for them, of course. By the time I neared the Oregon border I was already getting wet and the horizon was filled with lightning storms. I decided to stop early in Umatilla, OR to spend the night. No point in risking riding through thunderstorms for a few hours, just to set up a tent in heavy rain.
Saturday, June 13...Ride into Hells Canyon
Next morning, since I was already off schedule, I decided to take a quick side trip. I was signed up for Dam Tour (damtour.com), essentially a self-paced photo-scanvenger hunt. They provide a list of 20 dams in the Pacific Northwest region and the object is to ride to as many as possible, and then of course there are pins, t-shirts, BBQ's and other hoopla to go along with your riding achievments. Anyway, there were a few Oregon dams from the list along my route so I decided I would hit them along the way. The first was McKay Dam, a small dam on a wildlife refuge just off the interstate.
After the dam, I headed down the interstate to Baker City. It began to rain pretty heavy close to LaGrande, OR. I needed fuel so I stopped there for gas and a quick bite. Heading back to the interstate I learned something....leaning into a curve, in heavy rain, then crossing a steel cattle-guard is not fun! Big pucker factor. Yes, I know better, I just wasn't expecting it. But hey, I lived to tell, and no one got hurt.
Got into Baker City and set up my tent under dry but stormy looking skies. Decided I would risk the weather and head for Hells Canyon. I was several hours behind the crowds, but decided I didn't care. I would just have the roads to myself. How much can you really enjoy a good road anyway, when you're in a pack of hundreds of bikes.
The Hells Canyon portion of the ride is actually a private road owned by the utility, but with public access, and it parallels the river. Sometimes at river level, somethimes high above. Hells Canyon is the deepest river gorge in the US, the road is nicknamed "The Devil's Tail" (somewhere around 120 curves), and the scenery is great. Not a bad place to start the week!
Near the entrance to the Hells Canyon road is Oxbow Dam, which was on my DamTour list, so of course I had to stop for another picture on the way back out. One of the locals came by to see what I was up to.
After getting back into Baker City I headed downtown for a bite and to walk the streets and check out the bikes and the booths.
I enjoyed the canyon ride so much I rode down again the following month, following the Western Rally in Thompson Falls, MT. I came down with Crochammer, Duffy and Canuck Rider and after riding the area we decided it would be a great location for a future rally. So, in 2010 it was the site of our Western rally. Unfortunately, we stayed in Enterprise, OR and one of the roads washed out, so the group didn't get to ride this road. Still found some other great rides and had a good time as usual.
Sunday -- June 14...Rained out, head to Utah
It rained hard all night and was still raining hard on Sunday morning when I got up. Lots of people were pulling out and I decided to do the same. Lots of good rides in the area, but I could do them another time, when it was dry. Decided I would just get on the road and make it a travel day and get to Utah. Along the way there was another dam on my list, Owyhee Dam -- quite a bit out of my way, but I decided to head that way. I started to have second thoughts, as it was raining and the road there was a 2-lane through farm country with not much to look at, but in the end I was rewarded with a surprisingly beautiful and remote little canyon. A slow road and a side trip that cost me at least a few hours, but worth it.
The rest of the day was spent on the interstate and it was all about covering miles and getting to Utah. I pulled into Ogden, north of Salt Lake City, around 11pm and grabbed a motel room for the night.
Monday, June 15...
I had spent 3 days on the road now, none of the days had gone as planned, and I had some encounters with heavy rain all three days. Today would be different. It didn't rain.
So my plan today was to travel south and spend the night near the Arizona border in Kanab, UT. That looked like the last likely spot for a motel, before heading to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on Tuesday. It wasn't a full day of riding, so I would have extra time, but I had decided to hit the Grand Canyon first, then make my way back through Utah.
The day started with the morning commute traffic through Salt Lake City. It was heavy traffic on the interstate into SLC, but I just planted myself in the car pool lane and stayed out of everyone's way. I didn't spend any time in the area or get off the interstate, but SLC was more scenic than I had expected, squeezed between the Great Salt Lake and mountains to the east. Once I was beyond SLC I cut over to Highway 89 to continue my journey south. There are some great roads and spectacular scenery out west....but sometimes there is a lot of open space and time getting there. After a mostly unspectacular ride through southern Oregon and Idaho on the interstate and then the morning commute through SLC, I was ready for the spectacular or a great road. I wasn't quite there yet.
I stopped for lunch and gas in Panguitch, a small town at the junction to Highway 12 with full services and several small motels. From Panguitch it is a close ride to both Zion to the west, and Bryce Canyon on Highway 12 to the east so I figured this would be a good destination Tuesday after returning from the Grand Canyon. With a little extra time to kill, I decided to ride down Highway 12 a bit to get a taste of what was to come. I immediately entered a nice little canyon ride.
After the wildlife exhibit I decided to get on the road to Kanab. My plan was to spend the night in Kanab before heading for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in the morning. So, no rain today, but once again things didn't go as planned.
Traveling south on Highway 89 to Kanab my rear tire went down. As it turned out, I was only going about 50 mph at the time and was able to control the bike and get off the road without any real difficulty. Getting a flat was rather frustrating, but I figured it could have been much worse. Hours earlier I had been traveling for a few hours at 75 mph in heavy SLC traffic...much rather get a flat at low speeds on an empty highway. After a few phone calls, I had a tow truck on the way (AMA Roadside service) and had determined the closest tire service was going to be back in Panguitch at the local powersports shop. So now I just had to wait for my ride back....
It was after hours when we got to Panguitch so we dropped the bike in the parking lot with a note, and I headed across the street to get a room.
Tuesday, June 16...Just fix my tire, I got riding to do
The Powersports shop didn't open until 10am so I had breakfast, packed up and checked out of my room prior to heading to the shop. Once the shop opened I had to wait a while. It was a one-man show and he needed to get someone down to the shop to look at my tire. After a few hours they were able to assure me there was no tube in the needed size anywhere in the area, but they could have one the following afternoon. So I was given two options...I could wait until the next day for a new tube, or they could take the tire off and see if the tube could be patched. Geez, can I take some time to think about it?? OK, what the heck -- let's see if the tube can be patched. The good news was, if they couldn't fix the tire, they did have a loaner bike available.
I actually spent another night here a few days later, so I should have ordered the tube and come back, but I hated being off the road and took the chance.
After a short while they had the tube patched and I was back on the road. (As a side note, the patch held up just fine through the trip and got me home, and then failed a few days later.) It was already afternoon, so I scrapped my plan to ride to the Grand Canyon that day and decided to visit Zion National Park instead since it was just a short ride away, then attempt again to spend the night in Kanab.
Zion park may have been the highlight of the trip for me, although it's a pretty tough call up against the Grand Canyon, riding Highway 12 or the other sights of the week.
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The diversity of the vegetation in this park fascinated me as well (over 800 native species according to the park guide). I got off the bike several times to walk around and it was not unusual to see everything from cactus to pine trees in the same space. In some areas it was desert-like and in other areas lush forest.
I couldn't help but yank the gear and bags off the bike for at least one beauty shot.
In the heart of the park there is an area that is closed to vehicles in order to relieve congestion. Instead there is a shuttle system, with shuttles leaving from the visitor center around every 10 minutes and stopping at about 8-10 stops along the 6 mile route (one way). There are numerous hiking opportunities along the route, ranging from easy to the strenuous.
I didn't have much time because it was so late in the day, but I did get off for a few short hikes. One of the hikes was to the weeping rock. It didn't photograph well for me, but water "rains" continuously from this rock overhang. It's estimated the water was absorbed by the stone a few thousand years ago and has taken this long to pass through.
I took another mile to mile and half hike along this river. The trail eventually runs out at this point. If you wade the river farther up it eventually passed through a cave or slot canyon with walls just a foot or so apart. I decided not to do any wading in my motorcycle boots...besides it was getting dark and I had just enough time to get back and catch one of the last shuttles.
By the time I caught the shuttle and arrived back at the visitor center it was 10pm and dark. There were plenty of cars leaving, but they all went west or just down the road to the lodges in the park. I ended up being the only east-bound vehicle. I had a dark, lonely ride back through the park to the highway and then south to Kanab...well, not entirely lonely -- my brights lit up many pairs of critter eyes on my way out. I didn't mind the late-night ride though, the time spent in Zion was well worth it; if I'd had more time I would have come back and spent another day at Zion.
Wednesday, June 17...The Grand Canyon, North Rim
When I pulled into Kanab, a bit before midnight, I had found a room at a cheap motel, selected in part for it's proximity to an open mini-mart and gas, and because the vacancy sign was on. In the morning I wandered over to the office to take advantage of the free continental breakfast and some morning coffee. Wayne, the proprietor, joined me and chatted my ear off for half an hour or so. He was a self-professed biker, but admitted that running a motel he never had time to ride. He did give me a tip on an alternate route for my return to Panguitch, and told me to look up his buddy Sean for a discount on a room in Panguitch.
The ride to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was a nice ride. Starting from the red hills of Kanab, I headed out across the valley desert, then climbed through forests of sage and short brush, then pine forests and finally alpine meadows and mixed alpine forests.
The day before, Mother Nature had gone easy on me and given me a full day of riding without rain. This morning she sent out a search party and was on my heels right away. I out ran the rain for a while, but she caught up with me before I reached the Grand Canyon.
Tough to capture the grandeur of the canyon in a picture, but I kept busy for a few hours just taking it in and trying.
Back on the highway in Utah I came to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. I didn't have time to head into the park, but I did stop to play in the sand and chase lizards.
Wayne, the proprietor of my luxury accomodations the previous night, had recommended taking Highway 14 and 143 on my way back to Panguitch, and it turned out to be a nice loop. The road had some welcome curves and the scenery was a mix of forest and lava flows. And for the most part the rain let up on me on this portion of the ride.
The bike was plenty dirty from days of riding in the rain, so I figured no harm in riding down some muddy dirt roads to check out the lava flows.
Once back in Panguitch I looked up Wayne's buddy Sean. Coincidently, as we were talking outside, Wayne called and we had a bit of a 3-way conversation going for a while. Sean gave me a room for $30...not the Holiday Inn, but certainly good enough for a solo rider just looking for a bed and shower.
Thursday, June 18...Bryce Canyon and Highway 12
Thursday's plan was to visit Bryce Canyon, then travel Highway 12 towards Eastern Utah. As it turned out, I encountered a great deal of heavy rain, and the weather slowed me down considerably so I didn't get as far as I thought I might. Still, a great day of riding with lots of spectacular scenery, and one great road. The Highway 12 junction is near Panguitch and my day started with another ride through the Red Canyon, past the Wildlife Museum to the turnoff to Bryce Canyon.
Bryce Canyon was a much different experience from Zion. Zion park was very beautiful and felt intimate -- you were always right in the heart of the park, experiencing the beauty up close and personal. With Bryce you were driving from one scenic viewpoint to the next, along the rim, and looking out over the features. The ride was still nice, passing through forested areas and meadows; the deer and pronghorn were out in numbers, but with all the rain the prairie dogs chose to stay inside for the day. And of course, the scenery was stunning.
As I left the first viewpoint and headed deeper into the park, it started raining hard and I was suddenly surrounded by lightning strikes. I decided it would be a good time to head back to the village area, have a bite and kill some time, and let the lightning storm pass. I knew I wasn't going to avoid all the rain, but I'd rather avoid the lightning when possible.
Of course, once I got riding she was quickly tracking me again. Since the drive into Bryce is a dead-end, I decided to drive to the end and hit the viewpoints on the way out. When I reached the furthest viewpoint, the rains hit again. I ended up taking shelter with about 20 other bikers. Funny thing, when lots of leather-clad bikers took shelter, everyone else left and took shelter in their cars. Because of the delays already with the rain, and the ride ahead of me I didn't take time to do any hiking around the park. Basically, stopped for some pictures and decided to keep riding.
Once out of Bryce Canyon National Park, it was time to get back to Highway 12. I had seen it listed as a Scenic Byway but wasn't entirely sure what to expect. The road did not disappoint! It's not a "challenging" motorcycle road, but the scenery was varied and impressively unique, with plenty of curves to keep the ride fun.
After Bryce Canyon, the road passes through a portion of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. A stretch of flatlands, sometimes wide-open and at times walled in by the cliffs of the surrounding monuments.
From there it continued on through a variety of terrain -- from barren sandstone to red canyons, high desert plateau, alpine meadows & forest and ending in the Mars-like terrain near Torrey.
I started to understand flash floods a bit while riding this stretch of road. While I didn't experience one, or have a problem with water on the road, the terrain was all rock and with the heavy rain within minutes I witnessed sheets of water flowing down the stone hillsides
As I started down Highway 24 to slice through Capital Reef National Park, I was surrounded by a stunning red landscape, which gave way to a small canyon with some pretty fun curves and no shoulders (so no pictures) and then suddenly the world turned grey.
Not much traffic out here...just me and the pronghorn. I did see something interesting on this lonely stretch of highway. I had read that pronghorn have a high vertical leap, but will not leap over a fence. Seems odd, but sure enough I had two sprint across the road in front of me, then stop and crawl under a fence. I made my way to the interstate and spent the night in Green River, UT.
Friday started off in a highly unusual manner -- I awoke to blue skies. One of only two days on this trip that it wasn't raining. I needed to be home Saturday evening, but with weather this nice and sights on my list I hadn't seen, I headed south to Arches National Park. I had hoped to hit some other parks and sights in the area as well, but since I also needed to head for home that afternoon, eventually I just decided to just take my time in Arches.
I had two mishaps early in the day. First I broke my sunglasses while removing them at a stop with my helmet on. Not a crisis, since I carry a spare pair (usually). As it turned out though, for some reason I didn't have my second set -- I had brought clear pairs instead. I did have a pair of regular sunglasses which I went ahead and wore in the park. I prefer to ride with my motorcycle sunglasses since they are sealed with foam, and with Utah being a rather sandy environment, that keeps a lot of grit out of your eyes.
For my second bonehead move of the day, I decided to ride without my helmet in the park. I was getting very tired of the helmet routine, since I was stopping constantly to view the sites or take a stroll in the parks. So, since it was hot & sunny this day, I took my helmet and jacket off when I got into Arches. But, apparently I didn't secure it well enough. A short time later I was startled by a sudden clunking noise and when I looked back, my helmet had come loose then hooked onto a bungee strap and was bouncing alongside the motorcycle. D'oh!! I typically only wear a half-helmet, but I bought a new HJC IS-33, 3/4 open-face helmet for this trip. I primarily bought it because of all the rain forecast for the week and wanted something with a face shield and a little more protection from the weather and wind noise. Scuffed it up a bit, destroyed the faceshield and broke the retractable sun visor. Oh well, it was warm and sunny, and I had sights to see.
Arches NP is, of course, famous for its arches. The terrain is predominantly the orange and red sandstone, but it's the variety of the rock formations and terrain that surprised me. It is also quite different from Zion and Bryce. Zion was quite beautiful and intimate, Bryce was more forest and meadow with scenic views of the famous ampitheater and hoodoos. Arches has a vast feel to it; wide open desert with a varied assortment of rock formations. I didn't make it to all corners of the park, but I made a loop through most of it and stopped for a few short hikes.
Ok, so after a quick trip around Arches, with a few strolls through the brush, I decided it was time to start thinking about heading home. First though, I headed to Moab to fill up the tank and have some lunch. After lunch I decided to look for a motorcycle shop and pick up a pair of sunglasses. I stumbled across the Lone Rider shop. I had a pretty cool encounter there and came away with some sunglasses and a new pin. That's a story for another page though....
The Ride Home....
After my lunch in Moab and my visit to the Lone Rider shop, it was time to hit the road. It was just after 4 PM, I was 950 miles from home, and wanted to be home for dinner the next evening. As I reflected on my trip, I felt pretty contented. I had had great rode trip, crammed in a lot of cool places and scenic wonderlands, a few good roads and somehow my final encounter with an old biker seemed to cap it off perfectly. The switch flipped at that point -- it was now time to take my pin and my memories and get home. The trip was over, now it was all about getting home. The route was simple. Make my way to I-15 near Salt Lake, stay on it until Butte, MT and then make a left on I-90 and ride that home to Spokane. I rode straight through to Idaho Falls that night -- about the mid-point -- pulling in around 11 PM.
Saturday morning I woke to rain, of course. Frankly, it rained like hell and the ride that day was miserable. On the ride to Butte, the C50 showed some of its weakness. Turned out there was a long gradual grade and pass on the way to Butte. The grade just seemed to go on forever and the C50 didn't have the power to maintain speed after a while. I had to continually shift and with the weather and the grade I think I was pretty much stuck at 60 mph top speed. The other problem was for the first time that week it was cold. I would guess temps were probably low 40's at best, the rain was hard and steady, and my rain gear just gave up the fight that day. When I pulled into a truck stop in Butte all my clothes and gear were soaked, despite my rain gear. I went in and took a seat against the wall and ordered a hot meal to warm up. My clothes were all so wet that a puddle quickly formed around me and the waitress had to mop up around me a couple times while I ate, and again when I left. I killed two hours drinking coffee and trying to warm up, hoping the rain would break. Eventually I decided that wasn't going to happen and headed back out. Thought about changing to dry clothes, but it seemed pointless. When I left a Harley pulled out ahead of me and got on the freeway as well. We joined up in formation, and somehow the ride didn't seem as bad with a partner. The ironic part, in that weather, we seemed to be doing most of the passing. I couldn't help but look at the dry people, tucked warmly in their cars, behind their windshield wipers and wonder "why the hell are you going so slow" as we passed car after car. The rain finally stopped as we hit Missoula and my riding parnter exited. The last 180 miles home from Missoula were fairly pleasant. The temperature got warmer with every mile and it was in the mid 70's and sunny as I neared home. I rolled into town, right around 6 o'clock. Just in time for dinner.
So for the trip I rode 3300 miles and tasted the rain in 6 states. In case you're wondering, it all tastes about the same, but its warmer down south. I broke a new pair of sunglasses and bounced a brand new helmet down the highway -- I wore it home, sans the faceshield (yes, I know the impact protection was compromised) but tossed it when I got home. I had a brand new pair of top quality chaps for this trip, that probably never dried out the entire week. They came home permanently weathered and deformed, or shall we say "broken in." I had a flat tire, and rode half the trip on a patched tube. It got me home and then failed again a few days later. My bike had no visible signs of shiny chrome left -- simply a coating of mud and rain splatter, top to bottom.
So friends asked me if I would do the trip again. "In a heartbeat!" Nothing like the freedom of the open road...nine days on the motorcycle with no worries, no commitments and the sheer pleasure of riding. Throw in Hells Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Arches and Highway 12 -- thats some awesome scenery and it makes for one hell of a road trip, even if it was a little wet. Can't wait to do it again.
