Monument Valley

[MikeO]

7th April

I sleep very well and pack the bike in bright sunshine. Today I’m going to ride to Monument Valley, one of the few sights on my ‘Must Do’ list. I decide to skip breakfast and grab an early lunch – until, that is, I find 2 GSes parked outside the splendidly named Bear Wallow Café, where I ate the night before…

They belong to Jerry (the Adv) and Jeff (the GS Lite) who are having spot of breakfast before riding down the 191 to Clifton. I’m able to tell them it’s clear of snow (they’d wanted to ride it last Saturday and had been dissuaded by Jolynn, one of the waitresses at the café. From the conditions she describes last weekend, it was good advice). After a while they set off South and I finish the breakfast I was going to skip, ably served by Jolynn and the owner, Talic (if I can read my notes correctly )…

The Bear Wallow is an excellent café and I can thoroughly recommend it as either a starting point or a destination for those riding the 191 .

I ride North along largely straight and fairly uninteresting roads, across the desert plains of the Navajo Reservation. The weather has cooled somewhat and some very big and threatening looking storms are on the horizon – unfortunately, the horizon I’m headed for… …

I put the shower cap (now repaired with duct tape after the seams started to split) on the tank bag and put my wet weather gloves on. Soon I enter the edge of one of the storms – luckily the road avoids the worst of the rain, but the sudden gusts of wind create fairly hairy conditions on the wet mud which has been tracked onto the road from the dirt roads. I’m soon through the worst and the scenery starts to get more spectacular as I ride through Chinle…

I soon turn left towards Kayenta, my destination for today. Betty tells me it’s 14 miles away. Unfortunately – so is this…

…I arrive at the Best Western in the middle of a violent hailstorm. I unload the panniers, noting that the left one has let in about a cupful of water – great . As panniers, these things make good water carriers. Despite my best efforts – and those of Jeff Smith, I’ve been unable to waterproof them, despite using more sealant than last time I sealed my bath. I guess I’ll just have to make sure I waterproof everything I put inside them, as best I can – something I never had to do with my Jesse’s and Touratech Zega bags…

Time for something to eat (nothing to drink – Indian Reservations are ‘dry’). Tomorrow I plan to ride the dirt road round Monument Valley – assuming it’s still passable after today’s rain...

 

[MikeO]

8th April

Well, it was a fine morning – but, as I left the hotel for Monument Valley, I had a feeling that the damage had already been done by the rain last night. The road up towards the Utah border is very scenic…

…but even a short trial ride over the gravel and dirt ‘shoulder’ had the Adv sinking drastically, and I was glad to regain tarmac…

The spectacular Mesas that dot the valley are huge and impressive. Completely in contrast are the little shanty towns housing Native Americans built in clumps in their shadow…

I’m soon approaching the entrance to the Navajo Park at Monument Valley.

I talk to the girl at the gate. She confirms that the dirt road leading round the valley is probably impassable to anything except a 4x4. I’m very disappointed, and ride off thinking about what to do next… The weather forecast for this week is for scattered storms for the next 4 days. It’s not worth hanging around to wait for the track to dry out, so I decide to ride on, following the route North that Arch & I planned, towards Bryce Canyon National Park. If I can possibly get back here later in the trip then I will…

I ride up the straight and undemanding 98 and 89, through pleasant, but hardly spectacular (relatively speaking ) countryside. At least it’s dry…

I cross the impressive and elegant bridge at Glen Canyon Dam…

…which holds back Lake Powell, an enormous water-sports area.

From a scenic pull off (up a veryrough track), the whole area I’ve just travelled through is on display. As usual, the camera struggles to do it justice…

The hills in the background, centre, are about 60 miles away…

As I get back on the bike, I notice I’ve been hit by a sniper…

The rock has left a small hole in the front of the screen, but the ‘exit wound’ is the size of a 50p piece.

I press on North towards Bryce Canyon. After a brief stop in Kanab, where I refuel and get a (much needed) haircut, I ride North through much more interesting roads…

…before encountering my old friend, the hailstorm, again. I decide to stop at Bryce Canyon for the day, so that I can spend tomorrow (hopefully in better weather) exploring it. I check into the Best Western in Panguitch and unload the bike.

I do a check of the bike for damage, insecure bits etc every couple of days. I noticed that the rear tyre was squaring off a bit when I was in Alamogordo and made a mental note to arrange for the tyres to be replaced when I got to Montana. As I check the rear tyre now, I’m astonished to see it’s almost down to the canvas in the centre I can’t believe it! 3 days (& 900ish miles ago) it was fine (I re-check the ‘arty’ photo of it in White Sands…).

I check everywhere in town – no joy – they only do car tyres. Eventually I find a BMW dealer, BMW of Salt Lake, who has a pair of Tourances in stock and will fit them for me tomorrow lunchtime, for $295 (£163ish). Time for a very sedate 250 mile ride early tomorrow morning – Bryce Canyon will have to wait.

 

[MikeO]

9th April

I'm up at 0600 to give myself plenty of time to ride the 250 miles to BMW of Salt Lake - with the rear tyre in its present state, I don't want to have to push my luck...

I come out to the bike to find that the roads are dry (hurrah!), but that there is a thick layer of frost all over the bike and the hotel parking lot...

I ride off into the cold (thank goodness for heated clothing ) - keeping my speed down and peering through the mist... I soon come across the carcase of a deer lying at the road side - another thing to look out for .

I get on the Interstate and life gets easier - it's now light and the road surface is completely dry. I set a steady cruise and arrive at BMW of Salt Lake at just before midday.

I ask the Service Manager, Chad, to do an oil & filter change, as it's nearly 6k since the last one, and to give the bike a good look over. I also get a new oil filler cap, as the O ring I'd fitted back in Jasper has been weeping oil and the filler cap itself seems loose in the housing... The inspection reveals that the rear pads need replacing, which results in a bill of about $450 - £250ish - which seems quite reasonable, given the circumstances.

I pay my bill and retire to the comfort of the Motel 6 in Salt Lake City - and take advantage of an internet connection for the first time in several days...

No pictures to speak of, today, so here's a sign I noticed in Roswell the other day...