Delta blues...
- Thread starter MikeO
- Start date
cafemaestro
Registered user
1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS ?
cafemaestro
Registered user
1964 Chevrolet Impala?
cafemaestro
Registered user
1968 Buick Buck Gran Sport 350 (Could be 400)
1963 Lincoln Continental although the rear end in the next pic doesn't look right?
1950 Ford F-1 Pickup
1970 Cadillac DeVille I reckon
cafemaestro
Registered user
Going for a punt on this one.......
1940 Ford DeLuxe - 2dr sedan:
Enjoying this Mike.
I'd be interested to know how much weight you lose on one of these trips, as you must sweat buckets?
Why don't you come on one of my little trips and find out?
Why don't you come on one of my little trips and find out?
Mate, I'd love to. One day.
23rd June 2016
I wake early and feel well rested - I had a quiet evening and an early night. I'm not hungry, so I skip breakfast and pack the bike...
It's a glorious morning, in the low 70's F already and not a cloud in the sky. I'm on the road at about 0845 and heading vaguely east, following Doris's instructions...
After ten miles or so, Doris steers me down a dirt road marked "Pass Canyon"...
The irrigators are hard at it, rolling slowly along as they spray...
The road is well surfaced and it's easy to keep 60-70mph up...
Great views back the way I've just come...
...and as I crest the ridge...
...the hills on the horizon fading into blue...
The air is thick with the scent of these wild flowers (anyone like to identify them?) which line the road...
I take a breather and just enjoy the quiet...
...reflecting on how lucky I am to be able to do this.
Onward!
After 30 miles or so, Doris steers me back onto tarmac and we head towards Gunnison...
For some reason, I feel like a break and something to drink...
As I enter the town of Gunnison, looking for a cafe, I spot this piece of artillery sited next to a war memorial...
Further down the road, what I was actually looking for...
[Mr Burns] Excellent [/Mr Burns]
They have the sign of a good restaurant, a well filled car park and a queue at the drive-through window...
I park in the shade, and then get myself on the outside of this...
After cooling off in the pleasantly AC'd interior for a while, I get kitted back up (including a Camelback newly filled with iced water) and make my way out of town again...
Doris almost immediately turns me off to the right - onto a road which is 50% overbidding (rather poetically referred to as 'tar snakes' over here)...
I spot these two ageing girls, a long way from home.
I ride into Salina, feeling it's oddly familiar. Doris turns me right at the main street intersection and I recognise...
Mom's Cafe, where I had breakfast in October 2014...
The terrain has changed once again, and Doris steers me up into a range of hills...
...until I come across road works with a Pilot Car scheme. This is actually the worst scenario when travelling in hot weather. If I can keep moving it's bearable. If I need to stop, even for a minute, I stop in shade. But here I have to sit for seven or eight minutes in full sun...
I try to think cool thoughts.
Eventually we get going and my temperature starts to reach normal levels again...
It is starting to cloud over and I wonder if we're going to get a storm...
First barn in a few days - sorry about that...
As I enter Bicknell, I spot this one-stop-shop...
...and then my motel - huzzah!
I'm quickly booked into Room 108...
...which is a huge room...
...with the Air Conditioner rather oddly sited in the bathroom. It works, though, so I crank it up to 11 and start unpacking.
Good day
I wake early and feel well rested - I had a quiet evening and an early night. I'm not hungry, so I skip breakfast and pack the bike...
It's a glorious morning, in the low 70's F already and not a cloud in the sky. I'm on the road at about 0845 and heading vaguely east, following Doris's instructions...
After ten miles or so, Doris steers me down a dirt road marked "Pass Canyon"...
The irrigators are hard at it, rolling slowly along as they spray...
The road is well surfaced and it's easy to keep 60-70mph up...
Great views back the way I've just come...
...and as I crest the ridge...
...the hills on the horizon fading into blue...
The air is thick with the scent of these wild flowers (anyone like to identify them?) which line the road...
I take a breather and just enjoy the quiet...
...reflecting on how lucky I am to be able to do this.
Onward!
After 30 miles or so, Doris steers me back onto tarmac and we head towards Gunnison...
For some reason, I feel like a break and something to drink...
As I enter the town of Gunnison, looking for a cafe, I spot this piece of artillery sited next to a war memorial...
Further down the road, what I was actually looking for...
[Mr Burns] Excellent [/Mr Burns]
They have the sign of a good restaurant, a well filled car park and a queue at the drive-through window...
I park in the shade, and then get myself on the outside of this...
After cooling off in the pleasantly AC'd interior for a while, I get kitted back up (including a Camelback newly filled with iced water) and make my way out of town again...
Doris almost immediately turns me off to the right - onto a road which is 50% overbidding (rather poetically referred to as 'tar snakes' over here)...
I spot these two ageing girls, a long way from home.
I ride into Salina, feeling it's oddly familiar. Doris turns me right at the main street intersection and I recognise...
Mom's Cafe, where I had breakfast in October 2014...
The terrain has changed once again, and Doris steers me up into a range of hills...
...until I come across road works with a Pilot Car scheme. This is actually the worst scenario when travelling in hot weather. If I can keep moving it's bearable. If I need to stop, even for a minute, I stop in shade. But here I have to sit for seven or eight minutes in full sun...
I try to think cool thoughts.
Eventually we get going and my temperature starts to reach normal levels again...
It is starting to cloud over and I wonder if we're going to get a storm...
First barn in a few days - sorry about that...
As I enter Bicknell, I spot this one-stop-shop...
...and then my motel - huzzah!
I'm quickly booked into Room 108...
...which is a huge room...
...with the Air Conditioner rather oddly sited in the bathroom. It works, though, so I crank it up to 11 and start unpacking.
Good day
Enjoying this
Keep it coming Mike
Thanks
Thanks
Great rr Mike O. Have a crackin ride over there.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
yamonda1
Registered user
Great read Mike, I'll be riding around that way myself in a few weeks 
cafemaestro
Registered user
24th June 2106
I sleep quite well until I get a cold call from someone in London at 0250 asking if I'm looking for a second income. I'm in the Telephone Preference Service and these calls are just not supposed to get through. I explain my reasons for not wanting to talk to the operator and then block the number. Since I'm now awake, I check the news headlines and see that the UK Referendum has called for an exit from the EU.
And that the new iPhone 7 will not have a headphone jack.
What's happening to the world?
I manage to get back to sleep and wake at about 0650 to a beautiful clear day. It's 74 deg F already, but I quickly have the bike packed...
...finding this chap on my tank. I take care not to disturb him while takings pic - only to find he was dead (or at least - tired and shagged out enough to act dead). Any ideas on identification? I wondered if it was a Colorado Beetle - I can remember posters being up everywhere when I was a small child, as it attacked potatoes (I think)...
Anyway - I am on the road, forgoing the complimentary breakfast, at about 0750.
Now today is going to be a tale of navigational stupidity - so bear with me.
I asked Doris to plan me a winding route to Kanab, where I have a room booked tonight. I was confident she would find me a way to Capitol Reef National Park (25ish miles away) and we'd then spend the day riding through Grand Escalante National Monument, ending up at Bryce Canyon, before making a dirty dive towards Kanab for the night - all within about 160 miles or so. I was slightly surprised when she got me to retrace my steps to the town of Loa - but spotted a cafe so immediately forgot my surprise...
If the Sate Troopers eat here, that's an endorsement not to be ignored...
But before I go into the cafe, I take a walk around the garage premises next door...
Although I have heard the term 'side-valve' to describe an engine, I didn't realise what the layout looked like until today...
I really like to think that these are all donors (there are clearly several examples of each model) and that he owns a pristine example of each - but alas, if that is the case, they weren't on show...
Right - breakfast.
Although having the appearance of having arrived on the plate at high velocity, this was actually delicious. It is the Rio Grande - comprising scrambled eggs, hash browns, peppers & chillies and gravy. Not Bisto - this is American gravy, a sort of vaguely spicy grey sauce with bits of sausage meat in it...
And two slices of toast (sourdough) - and coffee (natch). Excellent
Right back on the road. I follow Doris's directions without too much thought, to be honest. How's the iPhone 7 going to work without a headphone jack?
It's a lovely morning, there's no traffic and all's well with the world (unless you're David Cameron, I suppose)...
I spot a group of about 20 of these all terrain vehicles about to set off into the bondu...
Like a trained dog, I keep following Doris's directions, although I am beginning to feel a faint unease that we might not be going to where I thought were...
So what? I'm on holiday - I decide to find out where she's taking me...
It's a beautiful ride - the temperature is like a warm summer's day in the UK and there's next to no traffic...
The terrain gets hillier, and I start climbing a little...
Quite suddenly, I pop out opposite Bryce Canyon National Park, where the lovely Ranger Stacie checks the National Parks Pass I bought last year (and is still valid until the end of June) and wishes me a pleasant visit...
I make my way up the 18 mile road. It's really quite busy and I stop for the minimum time at each of the view points. I'll let the pictures do the talking for a while - OK?
Eventually I get to the end of the road - Rainbow point...
Which is stunning...
[video]https://videos.smugmug.com/2016/June-2016/24th-June-2016-Bicknell-to/i-CRZQJDk/0/SMIL/CRZQJDk.smil/master.m3u8[/video]
Not sure if this will work, but here's a short video panorama...
I get back aboard the Adv and start thinking about where to go next. Kanab is about 60 miles away, but Escalante is somewhere I'm determined to see, as I've not been there in over 10 years. So I come out of Bryce and, much to Doris's urgent reminders not to, turn right...
It's quite warm now - I filled up at Bryce and the thermometer read 87 deg F...
This...
...is Kampgrounds (sic) of America's logo - Game of Thrones fans may find it oddly familiar...
The landscape starts getting rockier...
Someone has mounted a flagpole and a stars & stripes right up at the top of this butte...
Onward!
The route has some really odd speed limits scattered about it - going down as low as 30 for no apparent reason (other than some bends - but these are mandatory limits, not advisory)...
I see plenty of motorcyclists - this is a great place to be on two wheels...
This was one of the last areas of North America to be explored...
This is Powell Point, named for John Wesley Powell who mapped the area in 1871...
It's always nice to take a breather. My plan is to stop and take pictures going this way, and then ride back, enjoying the road a little more...
This is what I have come for - the road coils its way through some beautiful country...
OK - let's get going...
It's every bit as much fun as I remember it being...
Spectacular views...
Twisty roads with great road surfaces...
Trust me - I'm smiling behind the visor...
I pull into the Burr Trail Grill in Boulder...
Years ago I stopped here and had a superb cheeseburger. Alas they seem to have gone a bit upmarket - the food was delicious, but expensive - and you had to pay for lemonade refills - and the "suggested gratuity of 20%" was pointed out on the bill.
My last visit there.
So - do I want to ride another 75 or so miles round trip to visit Capitol Reef? No - not really. Doris tells me we can be at the hotel in Kanab by 1800 and that's late enough. I turn the bike around and start heading back into Escalante...
It's now getting pretty warm - the thermometer in the town of Escalante said 98 deg F...
This car had the licence plate "Indebted"...
I'm quite tired now, and regretting leaving my navigational decisions to Doris...
Mind you, I'm taking far less notice of those speed limits than I was on the way up...
In fact, it's all I can do to remember to snap some pictures...
Soon we're approaching the junction for Bryce Canyon again...
I ride past it and on through the imaginatively named Red Canyon...
Must've been late on a Friday afternoon when they named that, I reckon...
Eventually I join the 89 South...
...and make tracks towards Kanab.
But wait - what's this?
Lurking behind a fence in the town of Glendale...
Poor quality pics, as I couldn't get any closer...
And then, at 1758 - and not a moment too soon...
I'm greeted very warmly by the staff and they quickly get me a key to room 53...
...and five cans of iced Sanpelligrino, which will help me rehydrate...
I set the controls on the elderly AC unit to 'Neptune' and get unpacked.
Great day
I sleep quite well until I get a cold call from someone in London at 0250 asking if I'm looking for a second income. I'm in the Telephone Preference Service and these calls are just not supposed to get through. I explain my reasons for not wanting to talk to the operator and then block the number. Since I'm now awake, I check the news headlines and see that the UK Referendum has called for an exit from the EU.
And that the new iPhone 7 will not have a headphone jack.
What's happening to the world?
I manage to get back to sleep and wake at about 0650 to a beautiful clear day. It's 74 deg F already, but I quickly have the bike packed...
...finding this chap on my tank. I take care not to disturb him while takings pic - only to find he was dead (or at least - tired and shagged out enough to act dead). Any ideas on identification? I wondered if it was a Colorado Beetle - I can remember posters being up everywhere when I was a small child, as it attacked potatoes (I think)...
Anyway - I am on the road, forgoing the complimentary breakfast, at about 0750.
Now today is going to be a tale of navigational stupidity - so bear with me.
I asked Doris to plan me a winding route to Kanab, where I have a room booked tonight. I was confident she would find me a way to Capitol Reef National Park (25ish miles away) and we'd then spend the day riding through Grand Escalante National Monument, ending up at Bryce Canyon, before making a dirty dive towards Kanab for the night - all within about 160 miles or so. I was slightly surprised when she got me to retrace my steps to the town of Loa - but spotted a cafe so immediately forgot my surprise...
If the Sate Troopers eat here, that's an endorsement not to be ignored...
But before I go into the cafe, I take a walk around the garage premises next door...
Although I have heard the term 'side-valve' to describe an engine, I didn't realise what the layout looked like until today...
I really like to think that these are all donors (there are clearly several examples of each model) and that he owns a pristine example of each - but alas, if that is the case, they weren't on show...
Right - breakfast.
Although having the appearance of having arrived on the plate at high velocity, this was actually delicious. It is the Rio Grande - comprising scrambled eggs, hash browns, peppers & chillies and gravy. Not Bisto - this is American gravy, a sort of vaguely spicy grey sauce with bits of sausage meat in it...
And two slices of toast (sourdough) - and coffee (natch). Excellent
Right back on the road. I follow Doris's directions without too much thought, to be honest. How's the iPhone 7 going to work without a headphone jack?
It's a lovely morning, there's no traffic and all's well with the world (unless you're David Cameron, I suppose)...
I spot a group of about 20 of these all terrain vehicles about to set off into the bondu...
Like a trained dog, I keep following Doris's directions, although I am beginning to feel a faint unease that we might not be going to where I thought were...
So what? I'm on holiday - I decide to find out where she's taking me...
It's a beautiful ride - the temperature is like a warm summer's day in the UK and there's next to no traffic...
The terrain gets hillier, and I start climbing a little...
Quite suddenly, I pop out opposite Bryce Canyon National Park, where the lovely Ranger Stacie checks the National Parks Pass I bought last year (and is still valid until the end of June) and wishes me a pleasant visit...
I make my way up the 18 mile road. It's really quite busy and I stop for the minimum time at each of the view points. I'll let the pictures do the talking for a while - OK?
Eventually I get to the end of the road - Rainbow point...
Which is stunning...
[video]https://videos.smugmug.com/2016/June-2016/24th-June-2016-Bicknell-to/i-CRZQJDk/0/SMIL/CRZQJDk.smil/master.m3u8[/video]
Not sure if this will work, but here's a short video panorama...
I get back aboard the Adv and start thinking about where to go next. Kanab is about 60 miles away, but Escalante is somewhere I'm determined to see, as I've not been there in over 10 years. So I come out of Bryce and, much to Doris's urgent reminders not to, turn right...
It's quite warm now - I filled up at Bryce and the thermometer read 87 deg F...
This...
...is Kampgrounds (sic) of America's logo - Game of Thrones fans may find it oddly familiar...
The landscape starts getting rockier...
Someone has mounted a flagpole and a stars & stripes right up at the top of this butte...
Onward!
The route has some really odd speed limits scattered about it - going down as low as 30 for no apparent reason (other than some bends - but these are mandatory limits, not advisory)...
I see plenty of motorcyclists - this is a great place to be on two wheels...
This was one of the last areas of North America to be explored...
This is Powell Point, named for John Wesley Powell who mapped the area in 1871...
It's always nice to take a breather. My plan is to stop and take pictures going this way, and then ride back, enjoying the road a little more...
This is what I have come for - the road coils its way through some beautiful country...
OK - let's get going...
It's every bit as much fun as I remember it being...
Spectacular views...
Twisty roads with great road surfaces...
Trust me - I'm smiling behind the visor...
I pull into the Burr Trail Grill in Boulder...
Years ago I stopped here and had a superb cheeseburger. Alas they seem to have gone a bit upmarket - the food was delicious, but expensive - and you had to pay for lemonade refills - and the "suggested gratuity of 20%" was pointed out on the bill.
My last visit there.
So - do I want to ride another 75 or so miles round trip to visit Capitol Reef? No - not really. Doris tells me we can be at the hotel in Kanab by 1800 and that's late enough. I turn the bike around and start heading back into Escalante...
It's now getting pretty warm - the thermometer in the town of Escalante said 98 deg F...
This car had the licence plate "Indebted"...
I'm quite tired now, and regretting leaving my navigational decisions to Doris...
Mind you, I'm taking far less notice of those speed limits than I was on the way up...
In fact, it's all I can do to remember to snap some pictures...
Soon we're approaching the junction for Bryce Canyon again...
I ride past it and on through the imaginatively named Red Canyon...
Must've been late on a Friday afternoon when they named that, I reckon...
Eventually I join the 89 South...
...and make tracks towards Kanab.
But wait - what's this?
Lurking behind a fence in the town of Glendale...
Poor quality pics, as I couldn't get any closer...
And then, at 1758 - and not a moment too soon...
I'm greeted very warmly by the staff and they quickly get me a key to room 53...
...and five cans of iced Sanpelligrino, which will help me rehydrate...
I set the controls on the elderly AC unit to 'Neptune' and get unpacked.
Great day
Awesome stuff, a day I am sure you will never forget Mike
More please 
Gonzo
Registered user
A truly excellent read. 
The area around Bryce and Escalante is absolutely breathtaking.
Brilliant as usual Mike.
Brilliant as usual Mike.
25th June 2016
I sleep really well - hardly surprising, yesterday was a long day...
I wake early to a clear, bright and (relatively) cool morning. I quickly ablute and get kitted up, load the bike and am on the road at just after 0700. I stop briefly to refuel and then to use a drive through ATM...
These are great - I wish banks/supermarkets in the UK would adopt the idea. I get a couple of hundred dollars out and then set off towards Kayenta...
Hang on a tick - what's this?
After days of seeing only rusting hulks, it's nice to see a car that has been restored...
Very nicely done...
It's early on a Saturday and I want to break the back of the mileage I have planned both in the cool of the day, and before too many weekenders start clogging the roads...
It's a pleasant, if slightly uninvolving ride, and I make good time towards Page, Arizona...
I keep up a steady 70 or so - and don't see any members of Arizona's or Utah's law enforcement agencies...
Now - all you bridge fans out there - I know you've been very patient - but it's the desert and there aren't too many. Here's a treat - a bridge and a dam...
The city of page was established in 1957. So was I...
Aha! - America's version of the Little Chef (actually, that's very unkind to Denny's). Breakfast beckons...
I was so tempted to try the Maple Bacon Sundae, but settled for...
...the Lumberjack Slam, instead...
Onward!
It's starting to warm up a bit, and there's a little traffic about (Lake Powell, which the dam at Page heads, is a huge recreation area).
As I reach Kayenta...
I ignore Doris's instructions and turn left towards Monument Valley...
Large rock at roadside...
I arrive at the visitors' centre, having paid my $10 entrance fee (this is a park run by the Navajo Nation, so my National Parks Pass doesn't work)...
...and then make my way down to the loop road...
...which, it has to be said, is in much better condition than last time I came here...
There are almost no areas of sand, and parts of it are now actually concreted...
John Ford Point - still one of the most beautiful views I have seen...
It's busy, though. Truckloads of tourists are being shuttled around the loop and the noise is continuous - there is no quiet to be had anywhere...
Concrete roads - madness...
I make my way back out of the loop and leave the park. I go across the road to fuel up at Gouldings, who seem to have cornered the market a little here...
They even have their own airstrip and plane...
I head towards Blanding, where I'm staying tonight. I can almost hear Doris breathe a sigh of relief - only 60ish miles to go...
I have other plans...
I love this part of the world - even with the temperature now approaching 100 deg F, there's nothing I'd rather be doing right now...
I pause briefly at Mexican Hat, to take a snap of the rock formation from which it got its name...
...and then press north to...
I ride down into the beginning of the 25ish mile gravel road...
It's warm - I can feel the heat radiating off the rock around me...
This is like a mini Monument Valley - but without the tourists (I meet about half a dozen vehicles coming in the opposite direction)...
I am on a mission today...
In October 2104, whilst riding Jorge's bike down this road (in the opposite direction), I got late sight of a dry stream bed and just had time to stand on the pegs before the bike hit it. The bike survived OK, but there was a 'clang' sound. I stopped and checked the bike over and assumed it was the suspension bottoming. It was only a few days later that I discovered the headlamp guard missing...
So today, I stop, get a bottle of lemonade out of the tank bag, and search for it.
You will not be surprised to hear the search was fruitless...
Still - it was good to take a breather...
I'm soon at the T junction at the end of Valley of the Gods - Doris says turn left...
I turn right and start climbing the Moki Dugway...
In contrast to Monument Valley, this road surface is much worse than last time I was here - very bad washboard corrugations on all the uphill sides of the road. Thankfully there was next to no traffic, so I was able to use the left lane (just like being at home...
)
I eventually get to the pull-off, about three quarters of the way to the top...
It's a view I never tire of...
A team of riders on Harleys and a Gold Wing - all with trailers - pull in and we have a chat...
They talked about staying near the Grand Canyon tonight and haven't booked a motel...
It's about 1400 and the Grand Canyon is 200 miles (to the North Rim). Doable, but it's over 100 deg - and I think I'd book ahead, but that's just me...
We say our farewells and I ride the remainder of the Dugway and rejoin paved roads for the first time in a while...
The speed limit is 55 - I decide not to even use it as a guideline...
I make good time to the T junction, where Doris rejoices and agrees with my route...
65 limit here - still not fast enough...
Gathering clouds are trying to rain, but it's evaporating long before it reaches the ground...
Quite suddenly, I arrive at the Super 8 at Blanding. I am checked in very efficiently and use the luggage trolley to cart the dusty pile of belongings to Room 109. I change some notes for quarters - it's going to be wash day this evening and tomorrow. I'm knackered and I'm going to have a day off.
I book the Adv in for first thing Tuesday morning at Salt Lake BMW - it needs a new front tyre. I open an ice-cold lemonade and start writing the journal.a
Fantastic day...
I sleep really well - hardly surprising, yesterday was a long day...
I wake early to a clear, bright and (relatively) cool morning. I quickly ablute and get kitted up, load the bike and am on the road at just after 0700. I stop briefly to refuel and then to use a drive through ATM...
These are great - I wish banks/supermarkets in the UK would adopt the idea. I get a couple of hundred dollars out and then set off towards Kayenta...
Hang on a tick - what's this?
After days of seeing only rusting hulks, it's nice to see a car that has been restored...
Very nicely done...
It's early on a Saturday and I want to break the back of the mileage I have planned both in the cool of the day, and before too many weekenders start clogging the roads...
It's a pleasant, if slightly uninvolving ride, and I make good time towards Page, Arizona...
I keep up a steady 70 or so - and don't see any members of Arizona's or Utah's law enforcement agencies...
Now - all you bridge fans out there - I know you've been very patient - but it's the desert and there aren't too many. Here's a treat - a bridge and a dam...
The city of page was established in 1957. So was I...
Aha! - America's version of the Little Chef (actually, that's very unkind to Denny's). Breakfast beckons...
I was so tempted to try the Maple Bacon Sundae, but settled for...
...the Lumberjack Slam, instead...
Onward!
It's starting to warm up a bit, and there's a little traffic about (Lake Powell, which the dam at Page heads, is a huge recreation area).
As I reach Kayenta...
I ignore Doris's instructions and turn left towards Monument Valley...
Large rock at roadside...
I arrive at the visitors' centre, having paid my $10 entrance fee (this is a park run by the Navajo Nation, so my National Parks Pass doesn't work)...
...and then make my way down to the loop road...
...which, it has to be said, is in much better condition than last time I came here...
There are almost no areas of sand, and parts of it are now actually concreted...
John Ford Point - still one of the most beautiful views I have seen...
It's busy, though. Truckloads of tourists are being shuttled around the loop and the noise is continuous - there is no quiet to be had anywhere...
Concrete roads - madness...
I make my way back out of the loop and leave the park. I go across the road to fuel up at Gouldings, who seem to have cornered the market a little here...
They even have their own airstrip and plane...
I head towards Blanding, where I'm staying tonight. I can almost hear Doris breathe a sigh of relief - only 60ish miles to go...
I have other plans...
I love this part of the world - even with the temperature now approaching 100 deg F, there's nothing I'd rather be doing right now...
I pause briefly at Mexican Hat, to take a snap of the rock formation from which it got its name...
...and then press north to...
I ride down into the beginning of the 25ish mile gravel road...
It's warm - I can feel the heat radiating off the rock around me...
This is like a mini Monument Valley - but without the tourists (I meet about half a dozen vehicles coming in the opposite direction)...
I am on a mission today...
In October 2104, whilst riding Jorge's bike down this road (in the opposite direction), I got late sight of a dry stream bed and just had time to stand on the pegs before the bike hit it. The bike survived OK, but there was a 'clang' sound. I stopped and checked the bike over and assumed it was the suspension bottoming. It was only a few days later that I discovered the headlamp guard missing...
So today, I stop, get a bottle of lemonade out of the tank bag, and search for it.
You will not be surprised to hear the search was fruitless...
Still - it was good to take a breather...
I'm soon at the T junction at the end of Valley of the Gods - Doris says turn left...
I turn right and start climbing the Moki Dugway...
In contrast to Monument Valley, this road surface is much worse than last time I was here - very bad washboard corrugations on all the uphill sides of the road. Thankfully there was next to no traffic, so I was able to use the left lane (just like being at home...
I eventually get to the pull-off, about three quarters of the way to the top...
It's a view I never tire of...
A team of riders on Harleys and a Gold Wing - all with trailers - pull in and we have a chat...
They talked about staying near the Grand Canyon tonight and haven't booked a motel...
It's about 1400 and the Grand Canyon is 200 miles (to the North Rim). Doable, but it's over 100 deg - and I think I'd book ahead, but that's just me...
We say our farewells and I ride the remainder of the Dugway and rejoin paved roads for the first time in a while...
The speed limit is 55 - I decide not to even use it as a guideline...
I make good time to the T junction, where Doris rejoices and agrees with my route...
65 limit here - still not fast enough...
Gathering clouds are trying to rain, but it's evaporating long before it reaches the ground...
Quite suddenly, I arrive at the Super 8 at Blanding. I am checked in very efficiently and use the luggage trolley to cart the dusty pile of belongings to Room 109. I change some notes for quarters - it's going to be wash day this evening and tomorrow. I'm knackered and I'm going to have a day off.
I book the Adv in for first thing Tuesday morning at Salt Lake BMW - it needs a new front tyre. I open an ice-cold lemonade and start writing the journal.a
Fantastic day...
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