I started out this morning by going into the Arches National Park which was only about 10 miles from the hotel. The sun was out and it got rather hot by noon time. There were quite a few people at the park so having a motorcycle made parking in the various scenic overlooks lots much easier.
To say that the scenery was amazing would be a bit of an understatement. There are rock formations with cliffs that go hundreds of feet straight up and others where huge boulders perched precariously atop of narrow columns that seem to defy gravity. Since this is Arches Nat’l Park, there also numerous natural arches all over the place.
I left Arches Nat;l Park around 1:00 and went back into Moab to get lunch. After having lunch, I headed out to the Canyonlands National Park. Turning off of 191 towards the park there were signs warning that there were ‘no services and limited water ahead’. I always have 4-5 bottles of water with me as I head into the desert because you really need to drink a lot when it’s 100 degrees outside.
The ride to Canyonlands was quite peaceful with very few cars on the road. As I approached the entry point of the park, I saw clouds and rain on the horizon. I paid my entry fee and proceed into the park under overcast skies. The clouds cooled things down quite a bit and for the remainder of the day, it was actually quite pleasant. I only hit a couple of sprinkles which actually cooled things down and felt good.
The best way to explain Canyonlands Nat’l Park is that its kind of like a mini Grand Canyon. I had to travel miles between view points but the view was woth it. You look straight down a thousand feet to the bottom of the canyon. There are often two or three different levels to the canyon with different landscapes at each level.
After leaving Canyonlands, I headed north towads I-70. At one point, there were signs warning that there are no services for the next 109 miles. Needles to say, i stopped and got gas before heading out onto this stretch of highway. This interstate highway goes through more incredible landscapes. I ended up staying in a hotel in Cedar City UT not too far from Zion.
- States: UT
- Miles Travelled Today: 446
- Total Miles: 3,510
When I got to Mexican Hat, UT, I went up Rt 261. There were some signs warning of “unimproved roads” but I decided to continue on despite the warnings. The road turned into a steep gravel road with ridiculously sharp hairpin turns that bring you up the side of a large mesa. Of course there are no guardrails so if you go off the road, you fall 1,000 feet straight down. I think this is the scariest road I’ve ever traversed but thankfully, it was only a couple of miles to the top.
At some point, I saw an isolated storm cloud on the horizon. It was a small storm cloud, but it was definitely producing rain and I was almost hoping to drive through it in order to get out of the hot blazing sun. Just when it looked like I was going to miss the rain, the wind started getting very strong and I saw a few raindrops on the windshield. Within a few seconds, the wind got so strong that I and to slow down and lean to the right just to keep going straight. I’m guessing that the wind was probably about 50-60 mph because the rain started hitting me from the right side and stinging my face as if I was driving directly into rain. It was really odd because only my right side was getting hit by rain and when I got through it, only my right pant leg was wet.
At around 2 pm, I got to Walsenburg CO and saw the Rocky Mountains on the horizon. It’s interesting how the landscape changes abruptly from flat to mountainous. As I climbed the mountains, the bike began struggling to maintain speed. The high altitude really affects the power of the engine. At about 7,500 feet above sea level, I found it necessary to downshift to 4th gear just to keep going 60 mph. This road takes you through Wolf Creek Pass where I observed a maximum altitude of 10,880 feet on the GPS.
Mark's Ride 