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Southern Utah

Joined
Oct 21, 2010
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Location
Waco TX
Back from southern Utah and surrounding on a ride organized on the FZ1OA site.

Started on Saturday morning in Raton, NM. I'm pretty sure they were holding tryouts for the WWE in the Quality Inn room above me. But I left the truck and trailer there all week and they were undisturbed so it's all good.

First stop was for breakfast in La Veta CO. Highly recomend the biscuits and gravy.
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From there I did about 20 miles of gravel on 520 to 69 and pavement. Going west, I hit 50 and went over Monarch, through Gunnison to 550 and my destination for the night Ouray.
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I was supposed to meet the other four riders, but only one showed up. The other three couldn't get there because of the fire and they stayed in Durango for the night.

We finally all met in Dolores about 10am on Sunday.
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That's John from Austin on the FJR, Jim from somewhere around Vail or Aspen, Ron from Tennessee, and Ron from Denver.. An FJR, three first gen FZ1's and a Tenere. We headed to Utah from here, through Cortez and taking (county road?)G to 162 to 191 in Bluff Utah. It was here that Jim decided that we weren't the group for him and returned home. Apparently the pace was higher than he expected and he didn't want to hold us up. Wish he had talked to all of us before deciding, but...


next stop was
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then Monument Valley
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Down 163 to 160, then taking 564 for a side trip
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This was where we had our only mishap. Ron's (from Denver) pristine Bee decided to auger into the hot pavement and take a nap while parked. Broken mirror mount, badly scratched fairing, etc. No pics, because i just couldn't.
From there, Page AZ for the night.
 
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Monday morning found us at Lake Powell.
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and then to Horeshoe Bend
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It was here I knew we were in for crowds. The hike to the bend looked like an ant hill, hundreds of people all wanting the same pictures.

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That's John, the trip organizer, with Ron from Tennessee in the background. Along with several of our new friends. Picture doesn't really accurately convey how many people were there.

On the way to the Grand Canyon
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w/o bikes
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:popcorn:

I need to hit that pic before the monument picture.... I've always wanted to shoot that shot. :photo:
 
I recognize a couple of those places. They haven’t changed a bit in 3 weeks :rofl:
 

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Tuesday, we're at Zion. Along with approximately 7 million of our newest friends. Every place we went was absolutely gorgeous and worth the trip. They were also extremely crowded, like Six Flags crowded. Maybe when schools are in session would be a better time.
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It was here that I caught some flack from home. Seems I went on a tour of Zion and didn't take my inReach tracker. Or inform her that it wouldn't be moving for awhile. Had a couple of worried texts waiting for me when we got back to cell service. Lesson learned.

Very short mileage day. This was the day we got caught in road construction. 104 degrees, we were there for 20-30 minutes. At the end of the day. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds....it's a dry heat, I kept telling myself. Stayed in Cedar Breaks/ Brian head area at a ski resort. 70 degrees when we rode in, low 40's the next morning. Elevation makes all the difference.
 
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On Wednesday morning, Ron (from Denver) leaves us, so now there are three. This was a planned departure, he had to get home for Comic Con. No, really.

Byrce Canyon
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Then off to the Devil's Backbone.

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Just a few miles away, it changes pretty dramatically. Not sure if this area has a name.
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Then to Torrey UT for the night. And probably the worst Mexican food I've ever had. Pretty sure the kitchen had never even seen a person of Mexican descent, or a spice.
 
:tab I hit Southern Utah, Bryce, Zion, Cedar Breaks, and more in late September a few years back. There were still tourists, but no serious crowds or bad traffic. Most of the tourists were from other countries on group tours. My daughter (11 at the time) was usually the only kid around in many places (we home school, so not worried about school being in/out). The weather was also really good that time of year and the leaves were changing up in the mountains.

:tab It is funny to see ride reports like this where so many of us have almost the exact same picture. Still, I really enjoy see everyone else's pics and unique take on things they see along the way.

I think she might be standing on the same rock shown in your last pic, but looking a slightly different direction. I think this was on UT 12 or 24, I can't remember for sure. It was a big turnout overlook.
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Thursday morning in Torrey, Ron (from Tennessee) departs for home, leaving just the two Texas riders headed to Capital Reef. This was my favorite park, probably because there were very few people sharing it with us.

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Next up, the northern end of Lake Powell.
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Lake level is down a bit, as evidenced by the boat ramp.

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The Moki Dugway and a lot of smoke.
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From the Dugway, we go to Mexican Hat for gas, only to discover that the station we had stopped at just a few days ago is replacing their pumps and has no gas. Luckily, we both still had half a tank so the 20 something miles to Bluff wasn't an issue.
 
We finish Thursday with a ride to Durango. Friday morning we leave headed home. We saw 59 degrees this morning for the coldest temps while riding. We turn south at Pagosa Springs.

Somehere north of Taos
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At Taos we part ways. I head to Raton via the lower half of the Enchanted Circle. No pictures, but the fire around Cimmaron was sad. The worst part was all the blockades and signs saying closed on all the campgrounds along the river.
I get to Raton mid afternoon, load up and start back to central Texas. I learned my lesson about all day/night driving sessions last year, so I stopped for the night in Plainview. Next morning I left before 6 and was home right at noon.


1988 miles (on the bike)
I'd definitely go again, but at a different time of year. There were just too many people at all the parks.
 
Very nice. Question: Was the side trip to the Navaho National Monument on 564 worth the ride. I've bypassed it twice because of time constraints, but I'm retired now with little constraints at all.
 
Very nice. Question: Was the side trip to the Navaho National Monument on 564 worth the ride. I've bypassed it twice because of time constraints, but I'm retired now with little constraints at all.

Hard to say. We only stopped at the pullout before the center, not the center itself. The views were nice and we were practically the only ones on the road. We had intended to follow 221 through Shonto, but I guess Ron's drop threw us off as we just backtracked the way we came in.
 
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