Grand Canyon, Arizona
Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Hwy 12, and National Arches, Utah
Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Los Alamos and Santa Fe, New Mexico
So, we're looking back over a few days trying to write this. Pictures could never do this landscape and the awe we felt while riding through any justice at all. While struggling to try and think of as many synonyms as we can for the word 'beauty', we decided to just write our track.
The Grand Canyon was, well, grand. Most of you have seen at least pictures of the canyon, so we'll spare you the details. But our day was highlighted by a rare visitation of 5 California Condors. Their 11 to 13 foot wingspans looked like bombers flying toward us. One landed right below us and showed off for a bit. Ben lassoed it and we ate it in the campfire that evening. Condor is incredible with a little ranch sauce... :)
We didn't know what to expect at Zion National Park, but the multi-coloured flowing lines that have carved their way up thousands of feet high made the 14 mile ride through it... dangerous as hell. Zion ROCKS!
From Zion we rode through Bryce Canyon. The ruby red stalagmites towered from the valley floor thousands of feet and with the backdrop of snow at that elevation the panoramic views were bitchin' (Ben's bringing 'bitchin' back...!).
We left Bryce, heading for Moab and the National Arches on Highway 12. The only thing we can say about this stretch of road is that it was hands-down the most beautiful on this trip. One of the highlights of this stretch was a serpentine ridge line road only large enough for two cars to pass making each turn interesting as on each side we're hanging over thousand foot drops to the valley floor below with only the bike's inertia to keep us from being little spots on the bottom. Again, not a place to get distracted.
After this 11 hour mind-blowing ride, we finally ended up in BLANDing, where the name says it all. Maybe it was beautiful, but in contrast it looked like a pitiful dusthole of depression. But hey, that's just our opinion. BTW, trying to find something to eat in this Mormon-dominated town on a Sunday is a story in itself... we'll spare you.
So Monday morning in a cloud of dust we sped off to the very touristy Moab, Utah. Visited the National Arches Park, hiked a couple hours, ate, and sucked it up, leaned into it, and traversed a 5 hour stretch to southern Colorado. Our lovely friends Ed and Donna called us and offered their ranch to crash at for the night. They have a gorgeous house at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Their back land points straight to the snow line. Ironically, Ed and Donna are in California and we missed them. So after the huge party we threw for some of the folks down at the local tavern, Ben was able to repair most of the damage to the house. But hey, we travel at about 85 miles per hour and Ed'll never catch us! Just kidding, Ed. Thanks again, man.
This morning we had to use a crow bar to get ourselves out of the comfortable bed, leather up, and open the door only to find frost all over the bike. For you non-riders, this represents the equivalent of sawing a hole in a frozen pond and jumping into it. A fresh, crisp morning indeed. The frost pretty much solidified our decision to head south. We thawed out in Los Alamos, New Mexico the world's second largest non-active volcano where there is a government-sponsored laboratory hanging off the side. Our orientation to this next stretch of road was presented to us by Super Shell station clerk, Mel. Mel proceeded to enlighten us on the mysterious happenings and political frustrations of all us tax-payers. The ride was beautiful, the crater was big, and after another couple of hours we landed in our hotel room in Santa Fe where the road-hazed couple collapsed.
Tomorrow we're off in search of Brenda-B in Kansas City, Missouri, a mere 852 miles away by way of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
No comments:
Post a Comment