Part VI: Monument Valley, Moab, Home

Save yourselves! It's another post about my trip out west!


Near the Arizona border along 89 I stopped at a scenic overlook of Lake Powell.


It's a huge reservoir that stretches well into southern Utah and a bit into Arizona where a dam on the Colorado River holds it all in.


A bridge across the Colorado River. On the other side is Page, Arizona.


Decided since I was ground floor it'd be nice to have the boxes accessible. The bike looked really skinny with them off! I crashed here for the night having left Bryce and dropped by Zion earlier in the day.


The next morning I came up through the Navajo Nation along SR 163 heading north again into Utah. I didn't realize this route would take me through Monument Valley, what a lucky coincidence...




I made a new friend while pumping gas at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Not a lot for a dog to do out here.


Swung by the Navajo National Monument.


Saw a lot of these shacks along the roadside. Native American jewelry shops selling to passing tourists.


Utah really does look inviting! What an entrance!


Then I find myself in Monument Valley. Here and Yellowstone were my two favorite parts of the trip.


A British lady kindly offered to take my photo in front of the monuments. I told her I usually charge $5 for that. We had been playing hop scotch all down the road, the three of them stopping to take a pic, I'd pass, I'd stop to take a pic, they'd pass, and so on. So we "knew" each other. The guy talked for a minute as we looked out over the road into the valley. I told I was thinking about going down there. "On a bike like that, no problem, mate."


THE trip pic. How The West Was Won.


Two F650GSs passed on the dirt road, going the other way.


Up ahead is the sand that I nearly ate as I came down the hill. Fortunately I was 5% in control as the rear wheel did whatever it wanted all the way to the bottom... but that was enough. Going back up it was as much fun...


But I made it. I'm from Georgia, we don't have sand like that here.


Leaving Monument Valley, looking back.


Another jeweler's shed in view of the monuments. The "open" sign might be misleading.


I stopped at a pizza place in my favorite town name, Mexican Hat. Outside were 4 bikes, one BMW, one with Georgia tags, and whatever the other two were. I had a burrito and talked to the 4 guys briefly. They were headed towards Page. I was headed away from Page. Didn't get much info out of them, not that I needed it, but they were very friendly and obviously having a good time on their trip. The town is called Mexican Hat because there's a rock nearby that looks like a sombrero. Sorry, didn't think to get a pic of that.


Next up, Moab and Arches.


My first road-side arch called Wilson Arch. It's really big, as you can see by the size of the people standing in it.


I went up to get a better look at it. Here it is from the inside.


Then onward to Moab.


I caught the wild life checking out my ride while I was hiking around looking for a place to stay. The whole place was booked up. I think I landed here on the brink of the tourist season.


I think I've found what I need to buy next... I've always wanted a classic Bronco. But then, so does everybody in Moab. They made some space for me at a nearby Days Inn so I hung out in Moab for the night, with Arches just 3 miles up the road.


Arches is really cool and way bigger than it looks on the map.






The former site of a ranch, right among the arches... well you can't see any from here but a good one is just a 1.5 mile hike away.


The trail to Delicate Arch, that's the one you see on Utah license plates.


A bit further along the trail...


And there it is! It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be.


On my way back I stopped by some petroglyphs.

Unfortunately by now I was running out of tire and time. I needed to be back in Denver to get new tires for the long trip home through the Midwest.


Leaving Moab.

I hopped back on I-70 and went east towards Denver. The weather up til now had been fantastic but I ran into some heavy rain and lighting on 70 so I stopped at a Subway for dinner.


Is it any wonder they can't park straight? This is why I think canines should have to take the driving test each year for license renewal.


When I talked to the guys at BMW of Denver, one of the service department people warned me that it might rain on Vail Pass and that it could snow a little bit. I was ahead of schedule, trying to get to Denver the night before my service appointment instead of the morning of, so I made the mistake of riding Vail Pass in bad weather, in the dark. The road had been torn up by the winter snow, there were no visible lanes in most places, and there were long gashes parallel to the road. Then it started sleeting. Of course that's also the time when there are no nearby exits. I held out as long as possible until I found an exit with a lot of hotels. I stopped in Frisco, about an hour from Denver after what seemed like hours of the most hellish riding I've done Don't ride over Vail Pass at night in the sleet after winter. Lesson learned.


After Denver I was only concerned with keeping the speed up and keeping the stops short. Here's a dirt road in Kansas. That's about all there is to see in Kansas. So I didn't take that many pictures on the way back. I wanted to get back the Sunday before Memorial Day so I could relax for a day and get things at home in order before returning to work on Tuesday. I made it back on schedule despite a lot of rain the last two days.

In the next post I'll detail the route, costs, mileages, etc from the trip for those that have asked about that. It was somewhere close to 6,000 miles total but well worth it. I feel like I have a good sense now of all the places I'd like to revisit with more focus in the future.