My route for the day.
The morning’s weather was perfect; clear skies and 54 degrees. I dawned my mesh gear and electric jacket liner for the trip to Arches National Park. I was into my “spare” day of riding. The only goal was to meet up with some cousins in Salt Lake City for breakfast on Friday. En route to Arches I saw the sign for Canyonlands National Park. It was on my list of maybe dos and was only 30 miles off the highway, so I hung a left. Wow, I was glad I did! The landscape reminded me of something from the Lord of the Rings movies, sans trees. I stopped numerous times on my way into the park for photos and spent a couple hours on every paved road in The Needles are of the park taking more pictures. I met a couple guys from northern Utah getting ready for the day from their camping spot. They had a couple dirt bikes and were preparing to explore some of the canyons. Just the thought was enough to make me want that KLR!!! I could have spent well over a week just exploring and taking pictures. The weather report had said something about possible thunder storms for the day and the clouds were indeed rolling in. I wasn’t a bit worried about moisture- coming from the rainforest in the northwest I consider what those folks call rain a joke – but I could hear the lightening over the CB radio. The clouds did make for some spectacular lighting on the hoodoos and panicles. I would have liked to have spent many more hours waiting for the light to dance into place, but I had a date.
An early morning clear sky.
Road arker for Canyon Lands?
Very rarely did I stop right on the road.
The Road to Canyon Lands - Needles.
This scene was even neater later in the day.
A taste of things to come.
Beautiful Sandstone Cliffs.
The "Needles" seemed to go on forever.
This scene, converted to black & white, will have to grace a wall.
The same 'castles' from a different vantage point.
Very colorful Hoodoo.
Lot's of interesting shapes to be found here.
Very strange landscape,
unless you play there a lot.
It would take a while to hike through it all.
It certainly would be an adventure!
Unusual shapes...
go on and on.
Even Yellow Spot took a brake to enjoy the landscape.
Pretty rugid to hike in, but really neat.
The sky was still clear,
But the clouds were beginning to roll in and the light was dancing.
as the light played with the scenery.
I would have like to have stayed much longer, but
waiting for the clouds to move into
the right place could take quite some time.
Other bikers liked this Mohab establishment.
The scenery leaving the park called me to stop and take more pictures but, I really wanted to see Arches and I wanted to make it to Salt Lake at a decent hour in case I could catch my cousin between college classes. I did stop in Moab at a micro brewery for lunch. The waitress was very friendly, the salad was outstanding, and the root-beer was yummy! I was there just slightly before noon, so I got a nice table and watched as the place filled up. It must have been a popular place for the locals; there were a half dozen other motorcyclist there for lunch too. Arches NP isn’t very far north of Moab, but the road up into the park is a few miles long and slow, especially at tourist time. It was a beautiful day and there were lots of people in the park. I pulled into the first turnout for pictures and met up with another lone traveler from Idaho. We talked for awhile, took each other’s pictures and agreed to meet at Balancing Rock. I understand there is another balancing rock outside of Twin Falls; that I’ll have to go see one day. My new friend wanted to go hiking and I wanted to get to Salt Lake, so we said, “See ya” and I went off for more photos. I didn’t ride all the way into the park to Delicate Arch like I wanted because time was getting short and I'd only done 180 miles this morning, but leaving something for a later time, and I really don’t need one, gives a good excuse to go back!
First stop in Arches National Park.
Fantastic wind carvings.
Look like solders, eh?
Arches, Balancing Rock
And distant rocks.
A wonderful place to explore.
What did I do to piss off this rock?
Natural arches abound.
Another wonderful place to explore.
Is it saying, "Okay"?
One of the more popular arches.
People climbed all over it.
Sometimes the light wasn't right when i was there.
Is this a monster size phalic symbol?
One last shot on the way out of the park.
I left the park, still on Hwy 191 and turned left on I-70 and right on Utah 6 at Green River. All the way up Hwy 6, trough Price Canyon, I kept expecting to get wet. The wind was blowing and the sky was threatening, but I only felt 2-3 drops on my face. The closer I got to Salt Lake the more I could see of what looked like rain clouds, only not the kind of rain clouds I’m used to. Closer and closer, and still no rain, hum? The warnings from locals and signs about the number of deer strikes on Hwy 6 kept me on my toes while I waited to ride into rain. By the time I was downhill to I-15 I realized I wasn’t going to get wet at all – it was DUST!! A big old nasty dust storm, not as blinding as some I’ve seen, coved the entire sky.
The thing I noticed about the speed limits in Utah: they mean 20 over. Most folks fly; suites me fine. Even on the very busy Interstate between Provo and Salt Lake City. It had been a long day for me when I got to the congestion, so I just stayed in my lane and kept up with the car in front. I found my cousin’s house, but no one was home, so I backtracked a few miles and found a room for the night. I didn’t feel like riding after a shower, and I really didn’t want to eat fast food, so I had a small pizza delivered to the room. After two pieces I was stuffed and donated the rest to the nice clerks who made a fresh pot of coffee for me to drink the next day. My cousin called and confirmed that I had been at the right place, so we set a time for morning and, after finishing my chores for the evening, went to bed at a decent hour. Total miles for the day: 400. Total photographs: probably 150!