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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 12:25 am
by mr west
DAY 6

I have noticed that my wake up time after a night in a tent is closer to two hours than the usual 20 mins... we had a sturdy breakfast at our campingsite/gas station. I think in my cheese and bellpepper-omelette there must have been 8 eggs. Then potato and toast on top of that and youre set for the whole day.

First part of todays ride was the usual auto pilot at 60 mph and stare into the horizon going straight... but soon enough we rode through a beautiful flock of deers roaming around the fields.

Coming into Utah slowly landscape is changing and road gets more windy and up and down. I think some of the summits were closer to 8000 feet. Closer to Bryce Canyon we once again went through all the spectacular rock formations of different sizes, shapes and colours.

In Escalantes we for once got of the bike for a hike through the petrified forrest.

Turns out theres good food i Escalantes too.

And camping.

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 12:28 am
by mr west
anim-cheers1

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 12:56 am
by mrs west
Ya today was great. We’ve begun the Road to Mexican Hat via Hwy 12. We missed this stretch on our last trip and it really is something to behold! It took us through Red Canyon, the outskirts of Bryce, and Grand Staircase. We found another great, secluded camp site with a view.

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 10:17 pm
by Brant
So jealous...but taking notes...

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 11:10 am
by desertrefugee
Very jealous. Great trip!

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 8:56 pm
by mr west
DAY 7

Right after waking up, eating some trail mix, and breaking camp we were right in the Utah you see in tourist broscheurs..

Really nice road through the red rock formations and soon enough a reached a cruising altitude of 9600 feet!

As the day moved along road straightened out and temperature increased. When we took a break at a roadside place where some artist had made all these sculputures of old car parts in 60's and 70's, the schwan's guy gave us much needed free ice cream samples.

After that it was a bit struggle against the sun, the heat and the back pain after a full week in the saddle. Maybe a taste of how cowboys felt in the old days riding all day, staring at the same rocks.... scenery is incredible however!

After a long day we had great native american food near the "cadillac ranch" were i had my first shower in a long time and we put up the tent.

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 9:02 pm
by mr west
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:02 am
by mrs west
Utah!

What an incredible place. I highly recommend the road between Bryce and Mexican Hat. I had originally planned to take a shortcut so we unfortunately missed Valley of the Gods and Mexican Hat but the rest of what we did see was truly spectacular. We woke up on the outskirts of Escalante/Grand Staircase and driving away we really got to see the layers and levels of various colored rock. After lengthy consideration, we decided to skip Arches and continue on the path through Capital Reef and Glen Canyon.

Capital Reef is really a sight to behold. I honestly believe it to be my favorite national park. I had never heard if it before this trip. The road and the views were as, if not more magnificent than those found at Mount Zion. Inside the park, there is a really nice scenic loop that we went through to find a few sections of UPICK orchards. We ended up with fresh, off the tree peaches and pears. From there we snaked our way through Glen Canyon which was also mind blowing.

We came across the beautiful town of Hite, at which point I was too tired and hot to appreciate but I would endure the heat, length and exhaustion it took to get there countless times over. The landscape of that town is unmatched by anywhere I’ve ever been. This whole stretch was really something special.

At one point KG turned to me and asked if we were on another planet as everything around us was white and grey. It really did look like we were on the moon! We finally ended up putting our tent up on a pond somewhere near Twin Rocks in Bluff, UT.

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 7:34 am
by Whiskerfish
Awesome! I was about 100 miles south of that area a couple months ago. Some really spectacular scenery.

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 3:21 pm
by mrs west
100 miles south must have been Grand Canyon or New Mexico Whiskerfish? Really beautiful country down there! Hopefully we’ll make it next time.

Here are some pictures from Utah:

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 3:25 pm
by mrs west
More pics

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 5:11 pm
by Rat
Wow ....

Gord action1

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 11:13 pm
by mr west
DAY 8

We made it into Colorado and some amazing highways through the mountains... as usual we had lunch at a chinese buffet and dressed in up in a white shirt for the "million dollar highway" toke it to the road again.

As I was refecting on the fact that most american bikers really look american, driving harleys, with american flags, handlebar moustaches etc, two riders just like that stopped next to us just after the 11000 feet mountain pass. Then I realized they spoke swedish, and of course they were from Stockholm! Apperently the jacket with all the US flags etc was a gift in Sweden...

Otherwise interactions in the US are a bit different from Sweden -the gas station attendant back home would never ask "how are you guys doing today" or the waiter at the restaurant would never tell you their name or start to tell you personal details about their family.... on the other hand americans have a peculiar way of just talking to you while passing by, or sitting to a table next to you without a hello or even eye contact. "I havent seen a GL1000 in years" or "you are getting ready for the road". Then no good bye or waiting for a reply, theyre just gone after one line.

Anyway we rode until dinner at a really great brewery in Montrose. Really really good value. Then onto a free campsite just as sun went down and dark clouds and winds started rolling in.... we tried to set the tent up as quickly as possible before dark and it was quite stressful in the strong winds... the whole tent acting as a sail... but we made it! After setting up camp I relaxed with an excellent IPA can from the brewery. Good stuff!

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2019 8:02 am
by Whiskerfish
Awesome.. On my way back from Oregon i spent a night in Grand Junction about 60 mile NW of Montrose. If you can make sure to ride 82 from Aspen down to Beuna Vista. That takes you over Independence Pass and that was a spectacular ride.

Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2019 9:15 pm
by mrs west
Alas, even with both Whiskerfish and my mom’s recommendation, we missed Independence pass. I only realized that we could have covered it the evening after we were just too far passed it :IDTS:

Colorado was spectacular as well. Going through Utah and Colorado really makes everything else seem so boring.

We woke up in Twin Rocks and made our way east. I found on motorcycleroads.com a nice road through Montezuma Creek to Cortes. Once we got to Cortez we unfortunately decided that the detour to Mesa Verde would be too long but it came highly recommend and looks like a great sight and ride to get to. We instead went through Durango and up the east side of the mountain pass, up 550 to Ouray. It was really cool for me cause I had spent time in Ouray as a kid when my dad worked on a dude ranch up there but I definitely did not remember the majesty of the landscape of the “Switzerland of America.” Those passes were something else!

I highly recommend Horsefly brewery if you find yourself in the Montrose area! They had house-made beers for a penny! Great food too.