Day 9 - July 8

The goal today was to make it as far out of Utah towards Montana as I could. I have seen enough of Utah and I'm looking for something different. I made it Vernal Utah which is pretty close to the boarder. I'm staying at a KOA again tonight. The KOAs provide free wireless (so I can keep you all updated, showers, and laundry) - all which are very handy and they do it for a reasonable price (about $22/night). So far I have camped in the tent every night except when I was stayed with people for 3 nights.

To make it across the state, I was able to connect several of the roads I wanted to ride along with a little slab (freeway) riding. The roads provided a good mix of mountains and canyons along with rock formations and forests. One of the roads I was on I knew was going to turn into gravel but it looked really fun so I drove it until it turn into gravel (no more gravel for me!) and then I got it turn around and run it the other way - dead ends aren't always bad!

The only thing that I took pictures of today is that in several areas of one of the forests, it looks like the ground is pushing up all kinds of rocks and starting to form new mountains (see attached photos). I have never seen anything like this before!

The plan for tomorrow is to head into Wyoming around Flaming Gorge Recreational Area and then head towards the Tetons.

Day 8 - July 7

I’m happy to report that the today’s ride was much better than the end of yesterday’s ride. Not only did the scenery improve but so did the roads. To start out this morning, I saw all kinds of wildlife including cats, dogs, cattle (free range area so there no fences and the cattle just wander – I wonder how the owners ever find them again!), rabbits, turkeys, deer (including a set of fawns still with their spots), and 2 elk. They obviously either have smarter animals here or they train them better because they all run away when you get closer to them unlike the ones in Minnesota that like to run in front of you! It is really neat to see all antlers of the deer and elk in velvet! Most of this wildlife was seen as I went into a mountain area that was heavily wooded – there is much land like that in this part of Utah.

The first stop today was Bryce Canyon – it was simply amazing. The formations of rock that are standing are very interesting and beautiful. These formations were caused because many years ago the whole area was a lake that was then filled with the various forms of silt and sand. Later, parts around the lake began to rise due to the shifting of the earths crust. As the areas rose, the water and wind wore the softer materials away leaving the formations we see today. These formations are still changing today due mostly to the freezing and thawing affects of water and also the affects of acid rain (pretty impressive information!) After Bryce Canyon I headed to Zone National Park -again amazing! Here the formations are very large solid rocks! To enter the park, at one point you drive through a 1.1 mile tunnel through a rock - the tunnel was completed in 1930. I don't know how they could manage to create a tunnel like that way back then! Words can't describe what this looks like so I have posted a few pictures. The scenic drive part of the park requires that you take a shuttle bus that has 7 stops along the route where you can get off and on as wish. When I was done with the shuttle ride and was ready to leave the park, the temperature was 100 degrees. Tomorrow I plan to start heading north looking for cooler weather!

Day 7 - July 6

Today marks the completion of my first week of travel. I have already been on the road for 7 days – the time is flying by! During these 7 days I have logged more than 3,300 miles! I know some of you may think this is crazy, others of you will understand. To me, this is an opportunity of a life time and I want to make all I can out of it. As I travel the different regions and states, there is so much to see and admire. God has created this beautiful land so that we can enjoy it – that is one of my goals on this trip – enjoy as much of it as I can.

Today my journey brought me into the state of Utah. The first stop was Arches National Park. This park has many interesting rock formations that have been caused by the wind and/or rain eroding parts of the land while leaving other formations standing. Of course the park is famous for a number of “Arches” where a hole has been worn through part of the formation leaving the effect of either and arch or a bridge (it is called a bridge if it was caused by flowing water). I was able to take many interesting pictures of these various formations. My next stop was the Natural Bridges National Monument. There was a 9 mile driving tour with viewing points for many natural bridges. The formations here were not as outstanding as the ones in Arches National Park. From here I then continued my trek South and West across Utah (there is no good way to get across southern Utah) and I’m spending the night in Hanksville Utah (feels more like Hicksville to me!). The drive to Hanksville got a little boring. There are plenty of rock formations to see along the way but after a while, I got tied of seeing the same type of thing over and over again.

My next stops are planned to be Bryce Canyon National Park and then Zion National Park in the southwest part of Utah. Hopefully the drive there will be OK. Everyone tells me these are “must see” parks. I hope to find out tomorrow.

Day 6 - July 5

The first thing I saw today as I started my ride is many hot air ballons descending into Gunnison (the town nearest to where my camp site was). There had to be more than 20 of them.

As I continued my ride, I saw 2 very different sides to the mountains in Colorado. First I took Hwy 50 and the Hwy 550 which took my through such areas as Ouray, Silverton, and Durango. This side of the mountains is what I believe most people think about when they think Colorado and Rocky Mountains. The mountains are of a more "Rocky" type. The roads though this area were amazing. Unfortunately for you (the readers), I wasn't able to get very many pictures because the roads were running right along the edge of the mountains are there just were not many safe turn-offs for me to use to capture pictures.

As I continued on from Durango to Cortez, Gateway, and eventually to Grand Junction, the mountains are very different. They are very red in color. This side of the mountain is much more dessert like. The area around Gateway was particularly beautiful. The two sides of the mountains I rode are not that far apart (as you can see on the Trip Log photo), but due to the elevation of the mountains the weather and conditions are very different.

Today will be my last day in Colorado. Tomorrow morning I will depart from my KOA camp ground tent site in Grand Junction and head to Utah and the Moab area.

Day 5 - July 4

What a way to spend the birthday of our country by riding through some of the most beautiful parts of the land. Today I got to see both the highs and the lows of this great land (literally). First I went through Independence Pass – also very appropriate for Independence Day! The pass reaches over 12,000 feet high. At the summit you can look down and see the roads as cars are climbing to the top. Taking 10 MPH corners with no outside railing at 12,000 feet takes some concentration and confidence in one’s ability. The lows came when I drove to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison Nation Park (west of Gunnison CO). Here you can look down into the canyon which is more than 2,000 feet deep in places and see the river as it continues to erode the canyon deeper and deeper. Through the canyon, the Gunnison River (which is the river my campsite for the evening was also on) drops about 95 feet every mile. This is what gives the river it great ability to eat away at the rock walls of the canyon. After viewing the canyon from the top, there is a road you can drive to get to the bottom of the canyon. This was amazing and challenging. The road dropped about 2,000 feet from top to bottom. It required 3 miles of road at 16% grade. Keeping the bike at the right speed (both going down and then going back up) are critical to keeping the shiny side up!

The downside of the day way a bad navigational decision I made. At one point I decided to take what appeared to be a very well maintained gravel road (packed and oiled so you could easily travel at 40 MPH) towards Crested Butte. Unfortunately, the well maintained road turned in to a regular gravel road part way through. Still it was not bad. However, it continued to get rougher and rougher. Do you turn back or do you hope it gets better again from the other direction? I choose to continue on. The bike and I survived, but a little dusty. I won’t be falling for that trick about a nice dirt road again any time soon!

Due to the fact that it is the 4^th of July weekend, I figured lodging may be a little more difficult to come by. Both the KOA campgrounds in the area on my route were full but I found a U.S. Forest Service campground that was open and convenient just north of Gunnison. I stopped here early today to make sure I could at least have some place to sleep tonight. I am also discovering that it gets much colder at night here than I thought it would. I’m going to have to pick up some extra gear to keep me warm at night!

Note: The trip log capture is not complete. I must have hit the wrong button and wiped out the data for the first part of today's trip.

p.s.

Dick – the sausage was great and thanks for the advice on the route for today. Also, you were right about the road being gravel – I should have followed your recommendation and gone the other way to Gunnison! Live and learn!

Day 4 - July 3

First I need to say "Thank You" to a couple of families. Thank you to Bonnie and Bill for letting me stay at their house on Tuesday and Wednesday. I was nice to see you again and thanks for all you did for me while I was there. Tonight, I'm staying with Dick and Judy. Thanks to them for a great supper and letting me spend the night. Since I don't get to see either family very often, this worked out great. Thanks again to everyone for welcoming into your homes and taking such good care of me.

Today's ride took me north out of Denver towards Fort Collins through some great canyons. From there I headed up to Laramie Wyoming then west to the Snowy Range. They had a lot of snow up there this year and there was still plenty left! This area is not as high as Rocky Mountain National Park but is very beautiful and also has much less traffic to deal with. From there I headed back south and back to some more great canyons before returning to the Denver area. Today's trip was 474 miles. Tomorrow I will begin heading south towards Durango in southern Colorado.

Day 3 - July 2

Finally the mountains, I drove 1,000 miles through "not much" to get here and every mile is worth it! Today I spent time driving the mountain and carving the canyon roads west of Denver. The water is rushing in all the canyons as the snow is still melting and feeding the streams. Stops today included areas such as Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. I purchased a national pass as I plan to visit several other parks along the way. Pictures can't describe the scenery but I have posted a few here from today's trip. I was able to see a few herds of elk along the road that coperated with the camera (some of them are so shy).

The trip log is also posted. Today's mileage was 320 mountain miles.