Thanks! I don't know jack about real photography, unfortunately. I'd like to learn, though. I'd like to get a fancy camera and maybe learn how to use it someday. For now, though, my trusty little point-and-shoot with dust spots inside the lens will have to do Yeah, Utah is like no other place I've ever seen, that's for sure. You really get a sense of time in the geological sense out there. Thanks, krieg! Glad you think so, since there are tons more coming
I don't know the first thing about writing a book, Palmer. All I know how to do is ride and record, baby Oh, yeah! Wildflowers everywhere, water in the washes, everything was green...it was great! Perfect timing all the way around. Not too hot during the day and never too cold, although it was 34 degrees one morning when we got up. Hey, Lonnie! Thanks for the kind words
Woodsie you are the best reporter, photographer we have. Once again a classic trip. Thank you the effort. Sitting at my desk right now I have these truely wonderful shots to look at. Good luck to Eric, I hope good things shake loose for him
come on down ! The economy seems to be improving... but Idaho seems to be Last in/Last out with everything...
Thanks, ghte I really enjoy doing the whole ride report thing. It makes me happy Eric is back at work, although he had today off. He spent the entire day in the garage putting his plated WR426 back together. Thanks, Kelly! You know a thing or two about taking awesome photos Hey, thank you for wading through them! Riiiight... You find me a job going on epic rides and taking tons of photos and then writing about it and I'll move to Idaho immediately
What? A job that entails riding and taking photos? Sure! There's probably a ton of those jobs available in the single track capital of the US "Just a pipe" he says... A pipe would be so freakin' awesome!! I'll keep an eye out for the mailman! Thanks, Muddy
So after getting out of the canyon we figured we better start looking for a place to bed down for the night. No way were we going to make Hole In The Rock on this day. The canyon opened up into a wide sandy wash and we had a total blast flat-tracking through the esses side by side. I was getting monster drive out of the turns with my big ol' rear supermoto knobby and it was fun having the edge over Eric for once in my life It's really fun being on the same bike, too. Both 610's have the same pipe and they sound exactly the same...the staccato notes echoing off the canyon walls in stereo. We found ourselves a nice place to camp up against a beautiful Entrada sandstone bluff... We set up camp... And then headed up onto the sandstone to enjoy the sunset with our bota bag... I know Eric was tired of hearing me say it, but I just couldn't get over how green the desert was... A very rare photo of the two of us. The pink you see behind us is actually natural color on the walls of the bluff... We were out of the tent long before daybreak, as we wanted to scramble up to the top of the sandstone bluffs and greet the dawn face to face. We waited patiently... And waited... Patience has its rewards... So worth it...I felt like I was swimming in a pool of gold! We walked around for an hour or so up there... My hand isn't very big, but still... Dinosaur tracks! I learned after I got home that the tracks weren't officially discovered until 1998... There were quite a few tracks, some with a discernible track from the dragging tail right between the footprints! This trackway shows the actual steps... home sweet home from on high... More on the way...
We reluctantly packed up and got ready to go... I switched out my bite valve and made a mental note to not forget to put the bladder in the tent with me like I always do... I made the final rounds to make sure I didn't forget anything, and managed to snap a few shots of some of the flowers in our camp... Heading south towards Hole In The Rock... But first we must ride 50 Mile Bench... This road was an absolute bear of a climb, rocky and steep. My fan kept coming on so I didn't stop to take any photos, but it basically just went straight up from the valley floor. Most roads like this employ switchbacks to climb up the canyon walls. Not 50 Mile Bench. We climbed quite a bit in a very short distance, the road where we started visible behind me... Interesting stuff on the way back down to the valley floor... These flowers were so incredibly brilliant against the backdrop of the desert... It was quite surreal getting buzzed by this guy out here... We made it! I simply cannot imagine... For the first time on this trip it was really hot and the water looked sooo inviting, but there was no real way to get down to it. In light of what the Mormons pulled off with their wagons, I feel kinda silly saying that, but... We hiked back down to the bikes... And prepared for the bomb run back to Capitol Reef... More later...
We headed north towards base camp, back across the crazy sandstone and slick rock badlands... This little guy was enjoying watching the world go by... I'm looking forward to doing this road again! I think we're going the wrong way... Nothin' fancy...just your average run-of-the-mill view along the highway... The road out to Hole In The Rock is extremely sandy with the biggest gnarliest washboard we'd ever seen. If you keep it about 55 or so it's pretty smooth. Anything less than that and your teeth will rattle out of your head and the sand will have its way with you. We made good time on our way to the plateau... We were greeted with some nice views up on the plateau... Peek-a-Boo! Back down the switchbacks... We bombed back to camp, maintaining a steady 65mph on the sandy dirt road, and made it back after sunset. We reveled in the luxurious splendor of our camper van as we showered, cooked dinner and looked at photos and maps all night. The next day would be somewhat of a work/rest day. We basically just goofed around and took care of business. We did manage to do some sight-seeing and some scouting, though... One of my favorite things...water in the desert... We scouted out this fording of the river (same river in photos above,) as it was on the next day's menu. We walked it and both of us thought it could be done even though the water was moving really fast and there were big rolley rocks on the bottom. It was right at the beginning of a long day's ride, though, and the potential for an early DNF was too great for us to take a chance on it. We plotted another course around it, I'm sorry to say... We'd have our chance at an equally-challenging river crossing a few days later, though, so all was not lost Next up: Cathedral Valley, broken parts, and bike maintenance in the desert
