It is now Saturday, June 1st
and we have been resting comfortably in Provo, UT. We arrived here late Thursday and my last
post was on our trip into Mexican Hat, UT.
The past two days we have spent time with Dennis and his son and
daughter-in-law who live in Provo. The next leg of our trip will begin Monday
when we depart for Telluride, CO. which will be about 400 miles based on the
route I have chosen.
We departed Mexican Hat on
Wednesday, the 29th with a destination of Escalante, UT. We had intended to travel to Bryce Canyon for
the night, however, there were no rooms available so we stayed over in
Escalante…
Traveling up Hwy 261, out of Mexican Hat was beautiful, as can be seen in the photo below. Ahead of us though was the famous "Moki Dugway". I had found this road a number of years ago when planning a different ride, but that trip was canceled, so I was looking forward to this day to finally get to ride the Moki Dugway.
The Dugway is 3 miles of hard packed gravel rising 1100 feet with
numerous switchbacks. It is part of Utah 261 which connects Utah
Hwy. 163 and Hwy 95. Below are a few links you might enjoy. One on a short
history of the road, and the others video of the road.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_State_Route_261
I must admit I was a bit apprehensive when we approached the Dugway reading the signs and looking at the earth which sat in front of us.
Weather wise it was a crisp Utah morning and barely a cloud in the sky. Along with me was a video camera which I mounted to my helmet to record the event. Only problem is my computer software wont allow me to transfer it into YouTube. I will tell you, what a cool video.
Once we started the climb I knew it wasn't going to be bad. Aside from the wash boarding of the road, which made for a test of our bikes shocks, it actually was a neat experience. On the climb up my only concern was above me, I was worried about falling rocks landing on my head.
Which caused me to think about a cartoon, the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz65AOjabtM
The ride with stops took about 30 minutes and then we were on our way to Utah Hwy. 95.
Here is a shot of Dennis headed to the top.
In this photo you can see a good portion of the road as it winds its way to the top.
As we proceeded along Hwy 261 north we saw a number of "Open Range" signs. Which mean the cattle are free to roam and graze...therefore pay attention to the road, there may be cattle on it. Sure enough, there they were.
From Utah 261 we turned onto Utah 95 and began our ride through the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the scenery just kept getting better. This was my 3rd time through this area and it never gets old. everyday is different. Time of day always changes the way you see the views, sunlight, shadows, or even in the rain...it's just never the same. Not to mention we had temps in the high 50's to low 60's. Absolutely PERFECT! Just look at the sky in these photos, and the crispness in the air with low humidity and high visibility. Pretty cool how the sign below blends into the sky and the mountain to the right of it. LOVE IT!
In the second above photo you can see my view as I ride. The colors just explode upon you. In the third photo is "Cheese Box Butte" http://www.scenicusa.net/051809.html and Dennis as he approaches the Colorado River on Hwy. 95.
Above is Dennis showing his balancing abilities with the Colorado River on the left and in the back ground is the bridge we just crossed a few miles back.
Here is a photo of Dennis as I held the camera up and over to get the picture. We are coming to the end of Hwy 95 entering Hanksville, UT and will shortly pick up Utah Hwy. 24 over to Torrey. Look at that sky and those white puffy clouds. As you can see in this picture, Dennis is letting me know I am still "Number ONE" in his book!
Picking up highway 24 to Torrey we ride through the Capital Reef National Park. Just incredible that this stuff even exists. http://www.nps.gov/care/index.htm
Here we are at Navajo Dome. You can read about it in the link above. Again, check out the sky and the contrast to the rocks, and imagine a cool 60 degrees of air upon you.
From highway 24 we enter Torrey, UT and head south on highway 12 to Escalante, UT. Riding through Boulder, UT and the Dixie National Forest. http://www.fs.usda.gov/dixie
Utah highway 12 as it winds through the rocks on our way to Escalante.
Dennis above, as some low clouds move by... Although they look ominous, Dennis by the way of his fist was able to ward off any threat.View off of highway 12 out outside of Boulder, Utah.
Arrival in Escalante, UT for the night and a good night's rest at the Prospector. First thing I did was pull off the bed covering and look under the mattress. Tomorrow, May 30th, Bryce Canyon.
More to come on our Thursday ride from here to Provo, UT via Bryce Canyon and Hwy 143... what a ride that was. Snow on the ground and elevations of over 10,000 feet!
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