Yeah, I don't know what it is with Siri. I hear her all the time but never see her!(not pictured are Yosh and Siri)
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- Thread starter Tourmeister
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- Friday
Day thirty nine (forty), things go a bit sideways...
Thursday, September 21st.
Today I was hoping to get South to Diamondville, Wyoming. The weather seemed to have other plans. My planned route had us running back over the mountains toward Jackson and running some back roads to US 26 and then running Greys River Road South through the mountains. Having never ridden Greys River Road, I was unsure of whether it was paved or dirt, or what its condition after heavy rains might be like. It was also very cold again and raining pretty good when we were loading up the bikes. We were at least able to park the bikes under cover while we loaded them. As we were cinching down our straps, a big dump truck with a snow blade on the front went past the hotel. This really got Sarah's attention! She wanted to know if we were going to be riding in snow!? I assured her we "shouldn't" be seeing any snow, but we were in the mountains... so you just never know! It was looking pretty gloomy in every direction though and it was quite cold!
After looking at the weather radar I decided to head West toward Swan Valley on ID 31 rather than heading back up over the mountains toward Jackson. Then we'd run US 26 South to Alpine and reconsider whether or not to run Greys River Road depending on the weather when we arrived and any local info I could gather. The run through the forest on 31 was very nice but very cold. It continued raining but visibility was not bad, well... not for me. Daniel was having trouble with his visor fogging. Sarah seemed to be okay. My anti-fogging Pinlock visor insert was working perfectly! At Swan Valley Daniel wanted to pull into a gas station to warm up. We parked the bikes under cover in between the pumps so we would not block the pumps and went inside. The store was very nice. It was a hardware, grocery, deli, and grill all in one. We found a spot out of the way and just hung out. Not long after we arrived, the power flickered and then went out. Seconds later a massive Caterpillar generator just outside the window came to life and the lights came back on. I asked one of the ladies working in the store if this happened often and she replied that it was the first time since she'd been there, which was several years. Not long after the power went out we heard emergency vehicles wailing past the store heading South...
After maybe another 10-15 minutes, the main power came back on. We had eaten lunch and warmed up, so it was time to decide where to go. I asked an older guy working at the store if he was familiar with Greys River Road, "Oh sure! I flipped a car on that road back in high school!" He wasn't sure what it was like now. I wasn't getting good vibes about it. I asked another worker, an older lady and she mentioned that there had been a fatality accident seven miles South of town. Someone went off the road and took out the power poles. The only road South would be closed for at least 7-8 hours! While we were debating going back to Victor and back over to Jackson, she mentioned that there was a way around. If we went West on US 26, there was a gravel road just across the Snake River that ran along the other side of the river and came out on the highway nine miles down, which would get us past the accident. I asked Sarah about it because she wasn't really feeling the dirt mood today. The lady assured her it was an easy road and that the locals drive it all the time in their cars. Faced with a LONG backtrack and detour or this road, Sarah decided to try the gravel road.
I have been hounding Daniel for weeks about riding too close to the limit. The problem being that he doesn't really know where the limit is, doesn't feel like he's at it, and doesn't believe me when I tell him he's there because he still oozes that youthful confidence. I made a point to mention to him that the people involved in the accident were likely just like us, enjoying their vacation without any worries... until they weren't. When those lights went out when we were sitting in the warm gas station, someone (or more than one) lost their life in that moment. As with the flip of a switch, their lives were over. They probably didn't see it coming and had no idea they were approaching the limit until it was too late
I tried to get Daniel to really think about this for a moment and get him to understand that I am not just trying to keep him from having fun. I am trying to keep him alive. Whether or not he absorbed this remains to be seen. Sarah seems to get it.
We bundled up and headed back out to the bikes. It was still very cold, in the low 40s and still raining. We crossed the river and easily found the gravel road. It was wide and graded with loose small gravel mixed with dirt. It wasn't muddy, but it was loose and a bit wiggly. Daniel led the way and Sarah decided she wanted to bring up the rear. I ran in the middle and tried to give her guidance on what part of the road was best or what to avoid. I told her to stand up and treat it like sand, letting the bike wiggle and staying loose on the bars. We ran about 20-25 mph. We immediately started encountering traffic, and it didn't look local. It appeared that people coming up from the South got caught in the traffic jam and were using the GPSs to find this road as a bypass. The road just followed the shape of the river mostly, but it did have some spots where we had to climb some hills. Our tires, the Dunlop Trailmax Missions weren't really good for mud and wanted to spin if we were not careful with the throttle. Eventually we got up to a high section that ran straight for a bit, then came to a sharp right turn and a steep straight descent into a 10 mph switchback. I have to admit I was a little puckered... My bike was wanting to pick up speed and I didn't want to be going fast going into that corner, especially with the amount of traffic coming toward us. Daniel's GoPro battery died and he decided that halfway down the hill was a good place to stop and change it We had cars coming at us and cars behind us wanting to go faster than us. I tip toed around the extreme outside of the corner because the oncoming cars were flying around the corner and using our side of the road to do it!! 
The edge of the lane was soft and squishy. I warned Sarah and she was able to navigate it without issue. Once we got past that corner and a subsequent right hander, the road didn't have too many elevation changes and the curves were gentle. We just had to try to keep to the tire tracks of the cars because everything else was soft and squishy like the edge of the road. The car behind Sarah must have sensed our nervousness, because he hung back from her and gave her lots of room, keeping other cars off her tail. That was much appreciated! We eventually made it to the end of the road, crossed the river below the dam, and got back on US 26.
Daniel and I stopped at an overlook at the dam to take some pics. His glove fell on the ground on the left side of the bike. Being tall, he was able to just lean over and reach it. When he stood up the bike flopped over onto its right side as Daniel stepped off! I wasn't sure what had just happened!? It almost looked like he let it go on purpose for some reason. I asked if he wanted help picking up the bike, but he declined. So I did the next best thing and got my phone out to video him picking it up He didn't have the best footing because the ground was loose gravel. He did at least remember to put the kickstand in the down position so he wouldn't just toss the bike over on the left side. He eventually got it up, but it wouldn't stay up without him holding it and now his right glove had fallen a ways from the bike on the right side. He pondered his predicament for a moment and then stretched his long right leg out there and flicked the glove back over to the bike with the toe of his boot. He was quite proud of himself when he finally got it all back together! We took off after Sarah and then ran US 26 down to Alpine.
In Alpine we stopped again to warm up. The weather was not getting better and it was still raining. Greys River Road was out of the question now simply because it would mean running slower and spending even more time in the bad weather on what might be a nasty wet dirt road. I started searching for hotels. There was nothing in Alpine as everything was booked. I eventually found a place over in Soda Springs, ID. This was kind of going the wrong direction, but the ride over the mountains looked like fun and the weather radar showed a break in the heavy stuff. If we had to ride in the cold and wet, it might as well be on a scenic road. ID 34 did not disappoint. It was very pretty and fun. The last 30 miles or so were pretty rough though, not pavement wise, but weather wise. Daniel was complaining that his helmet visor was fogging so bad he could not see. So he had it open. Then he complained that his lips were so cold they would not work... Strange given that he never stopped talking
Sarah was just COLD. Her hands hurt. My hands hurt. She had her heated jacket and heated grips on high. She had on multiple layers, top and bottom. But the dampness was relentless. It was a great relief to get to town and find the hotel! Five minutes after we checked in, the clouds to the West broke, the sun came out, and it was a beautiful evening! The hotel actually had a nice bar/lounge/grill. We got busy doing laundry, ordered some burgers, and relaxed. It was nice not having to worry about finding a place to eat and figuring out how to get there and back. The burgers were decent, basically what I might make on my back porch grill. They were also only $9. After dinner, I grabbed some ice cream and headed to the room for the evening to work on routes and ride reports. We all took nice long hot showers!
I didn't get many pictures this day. Getting the cold weather gloves on/off to work my phone is a pain. Also, I didn't want to get separated from Daniel and Sarah on the gravel road with all the traffic on it.
Cold, windy, and raining in Victor when we left the hotel
Looking West from the hotel in Victor. That is what we were heading into...
Looking East from the gas station in Swan Valley back toward Victor.
Looking South at the Palisades Reservoir from the Dam Overlook
Hard to see here, but the ground slopes to the right... just enough...
No damage, all good.
We left quite a few large puddles. My 10 year old KLIM badlands Pro jacket is letting water in through the arm vents and soaking my sweatshirt. We used a LOT of their napkins drying stuff out, including soaking some of the water out of my sweatshirt!
Don't ask...
A look at what we were about to ride into and this was the better option weather wise!
Across the street from our hotel once it started to clear
There was a nice lake right next to the hotel
15 minutes after we arrived at the hotel
View from a nice back porch at the hotel
Thursday, September 21st.
Today I was hoping to get South to Diamondville, Wyoming. The weather seemed to have other plans. My planned route had us running back over the mountains toward Jackson and running some back roads to US 26 and then running Greys River Road South through the mountains. Having never ridden Greys River Road, I was unsure of whether it was paved or dirt, or what its condition after heavy rains might be like. It was also very cold again and raining pretty good when we were loading up the bikes. We were at least able to park the bikes under cover while we loaded them. As we were cinching down our straps, a big dump truck with a snow blade on the front went past the hotel. This really got Sarah's attention! She wanted to know if we were going to be riding in snow!?
I assured her we "shouldn't" be seeing any snow, but we were in the mountains... so you just never know! It was looking pretty gloomy in every direction though and it was quite cold!After looking at the weather radar I decided to head West toward Swan Valley on ID 31 rather than heading back up over the mountains toward Jackson. Then we'd run US 26 South to Alpine and reconsider whether or not to run Greys River Road depending on the weather when we arrived and any local info I could gather. The run through the forest on 31 was very nice but very cold. It continued raining but visibility was not bad, well... not for me. Daniel was having trouble with his visor fogging. Sarah seemed to be okay. My anti-fogging Pinlock visor insert was working perfectly! At Swan Valley Daniel wanted to pull into a gas station to warm up. We parked the bikes under cover in between the pumps so we would not block the pumps and went inside. The store was very nice. It was a hardware, grocery, deli, and grill all in one. We found a spot out of the way and just hung out. Not long after we arrived, the power flickered and then went out. Seconds later a massive Caterpillar generator just outside the window came to life and the lights came back on. I asked one of the ladies working in the store if this happened often and she replied that it was the first time since she'd been there, which was several years. Not long after the power went out we heard emergency vehicles wailing past the store heading South...
After maybe another 10-15 minutes, the main power came back on. We had eaten lunch and warmed up, so it was time to decide where to go. I asked an older guy working at the store if he was familiar with Greys River Road, "Oh sure! I flipped a car on that road back in high school!" He wasn't sure what it was like now. I wasn't getting good vibes about it. I asked another worker, an older lady and she mentioned that there had been a fatality accident seven miles South of town. Someone went off the road and took out the power poles. The only road South would be closed for at least 7-8 hours! While we were debating going back to Victor and back over to Jackson, she mentioned that there was a way around. If we went West on US 26, there was a gravel road just across the Snake River that ran along the other side of the river and came out on the highway nine miles down, which would get us past the accident. I asked Sarah about it because she wasn't really feeling the dirt mood today. The lady assured her it was an easy road and that the locals drive it all the time in their cars. Faced with a LONG backtrack and detour or this road, Sarah decided to try the gravel road.
I have been hounding Daniel for weeks about riding too close to the limit. The problem being that he doesn't really know where the limit is, doesn't feel like he's at it, and doesn't believe me when I tell him he's there because he still oozes that youthful confidence. I made a point to mention to him that the people involved in the accident were likely just like us, enjoying their vacation without any worries... until they weren't. When those lights went out when we were sitting in the warm gas station, someone (or more than one) lost their life in that moment. As with the flip of a switch, their lives were over. They probably didn't see it coming and had no idea they were approaching the limit until it was too late
I tried to get Daniel to really think about this for a moment and get him to understand that I am not just trying to keep him from having fun. I am trying to keep him alive. Whether or not he absorbed this remains to be seen. Sarah seems to get it.We bundled up and headed back out to the bikes. It was still very cold, in the low 40s and still raining. We crossed the river and easily found the gravel road. It was wide and graded with loose small gravel mixed with dirt. It wasn't muddy, but it was loose and a bit wiggly. Daniel led the way and Sarah decided she wanted to bring up the rear. I ran in the middle and tried to give her guidance on what part of the road was best or what to avoid. I told her to stand up and treat it like sand, letting the bike wiggle and staying loose on the bars. We ran about 20-25 mph. We immediately started encountering traffic, and it didn't look local. It appeared that people coming up from the South got caught in the traffic jam and were using the GPSs to find this road as a bypass. The road just followed the shape of the river mostly, but it did have some spots where we had to climb some hills. Our tires, the Dunlop Trailmax Missions weren't really good for mud and wanted to spin if we were not careful with the throttle. Eventually we got up to a high section that ran straight for a bit, then came to a sharp right turn and a steep straight descent into a 10 mph switchback. I have to admit I was a little puckered... My bike was wanting to pick up speed and I didn't want to be going fast going into that corner, especially with the amount of traffic coming toward us. Daniel's GoPro battery died and he decided that halfway down the hill was a good place to stop and change it
We had cars coming at us and cars behind us wanting to go faster than us. I tip toed around the extreme outside of the corner because the oncoming cars were flying around the corner and using our side of the road to do it!! The edge of the lane was soft and squishy. I warned Sarah and she was able to navigate it without issue. Once we got past that corner and a subsequent right hander, the road didn't have too many elevation changes and the curves were gentle. We just had to try to keep to the tire tracks of the cars because everything else was soft and squishy like the edge of the road. The car behind Sarah must have sensed our nervousness, because he hung back from her and gave her lots of room, keeping other cars off her tail. That was much appreciated! We eventually made it to the end of the road, crossed the river below the dam, and got back on US 26.Daniel and I stopped at an overlook at the dam to take some pics. His glove fell on the ground on the left side of the bike. Being tall, he was able to just lean over and reach it. When he stood up the bike flopped over onto its right side as Daniel stepped off! I wasn't sure what had just happened!? It almost looked like he let it go on purpose for some reason. I asked if he wanted help picking up the bike, but he declined. So I did the next best thing and got my phone out to video him picking it up
He didn't have the best footing because the ground was loose gravel. He did at least remember to put the kickstand in the down position so he wouldn't just toss the bike over on the left side. He eventually got it up, but it wouldn't stay up without him holding it and now his right glove had fallen a ways from the bike on the right side. He pondered his predicament for a moment and then stretched his long right leg out there and flicked the glove back over to the bike with the toe of his boot. He was quite proud of himself when he finally got it all back together! We took off after Sarah and then ran US 26 down to Alpine.In Alpine we stopped again to warm up. The weather was not getting better and it was still raining. Greys River Road was out of the question now simply because it would mean running slower and spending even more time in the bad weather on what might be a nasty wet dirt road. I started searching for hotels. There was nothing in Alpine as everything was booked. I eventually found a place over in Soda Springs, ID. This was kind of going the wrong direction, but the ride over the mountains looked like fun and the weather radar showed a break in the heavy stuff. If we had to ride in the cold and wet, it might as well be on a scenic road. ID 34 did not disappoint. It was very pretty and fun. The last 30 miles or so were pretty rough though, not pavement wise, but weather wise. Daniel was complaining that his helmet visor was fogging so bad he could not see. So he had it open. Then he complained that his lips were so cold they would not work... Strange given that he never stopped talking
Sarah was just COLD. Her hands hurt. My hands hurt. She had her heated jacket and heated grips on high. She had on multiple layers, top and bottom. But the dampness was relentless. It was a great relief to get to town and find the hotel! Five minutes after we checked in, the clouds to the West broke, the sun came out, and it was a beautiful evening! The hotel actually had a nice bar/lounge/grill. We got busy doing laundry, ordered some burgers, and relaxed. It was nice not having to worry about finding a place to eat and figuring out how to get there and back. The burgers were decent, basically what I might make on my back porch grill. They were also only $9. After dinner, I grabbed some ice cream and headed to the room for the evening to work on routes and ride reports. We all took nice long hot showers!I didn't get many pictures this day. Getting the cold weather gloves on/off to work my phone is a pain. Also, I didn't want to get separated from Daniel and Sarah on the gravel road with all the traffic on it.
Cold, windy, and raining in Victor when we left the hotel
Looking West from the hotel in Victor. That is what we were heading into...
Looking East from the gas station in Swan Valley back toward Victor.
Looking South at the Palisades Reservoir from the Dam Overlook
Hard to see here, but the ground slopes to the right... just enough...
No damage, all good.
We left quite a few large puddles. My 10 year old KLIM badlands Pro jacket is letting water in through the arm vents and soaking my sweatshirt. We used a LOT of their napkins drying stuff out, including soaking some of the water out of my sweatshirt!
Don't ask...
A look at what we were about to ride into and this was the better option weather wise!
Across the street from our hotel once it started to clear
There was a nice lake right next to the hotel
15 minutes after we arrived at the hotel
View from a nice back porch at the hotel
Last edited:
- Joined
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- Sun Lakes & Show Low, Arizona
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- Brian
Regarding the pooping sign... we have them here in AZ as well. I believe they are directed primarily at the Asian tourists as it's customary to just have a trough running through the stall that you squat over to do your business. It's been almost 60 years since my trips to Japan and Taiwan, but some things never change and I would guess this would be one of those things. Yet Toto out of Japan makes some of the premiere toilets in the world.
- Joined
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- Friday
I updated the Day 30 post to include this video shot and edited by Daniel showing Sarah following me into the bad stuff before we finally had to turn around and ride back through all this. She didn't like it going out, but she enjoyed it going back. This was the day we rolled into Butte, MT.
- Joined
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- Friday
Day forty (forty one), Soda Springs, ID., to Rocksprings, WY.
Friday, September 22nd.
The weather for the day wasn't looking good when I checked it. We got up at a decent time and got breakfast. When we went out to load the bikes, it was drizzling and COLD! We moved the bikes up under the drive cover at the hotel front doors so we could load them in the dry. While loading, we could see very nasty weather moving in from the West, led by a nice rainbow! We finished loading and moved to pull out of the parking lot when Daniel commented that something was bouncing all over the place... SLEET! We pulled out and headed East out of town, hoping to get ahead of the bad weather. US 30 turned Southeast and ran between the Cache and Caribou National Forests, mountains on each side of the road, and rain storms all over the place! We were bundled up and zipped up, ready for rain, but really hoping to avoid it. We got a few sprinkles here and there, but for the most part the rain stayed "over there". We were all running our heated jackets and hand grips on high, but it was still cold! Southeast of Montpelier near the Idaho and Wyoming border the highway came over a rise and the view opened up to mountains in the Bridger National Forest that had a fresh cover of snow on them! Brrrr....
Daniel was wanting to pull over for some reason so we stopped in Cokeville. We met a couple from Colorado on a pair of the F650GSs (with the 800 motor in them). They were geared for the cold weather with heated jackets and heated gloves. Sarah was wishing she had heated gloves! They were heading North, into the cold! We wished them well and continued our run South trying to get out of the cold. Amazingly, we had been seeing heavy rain all over the place but had not had any of it fall on us yet! At WY 89 US 30 makes a hard turn to the East and runs toward Diamondville, where I had hoped to end up on yesterday's ride. As we got closer to town the wind really started to pick up and shove us around. Then came the rain... We got into town and started looking for a place to eat. We eventually found a nice Mavericks and the kids were thrilled! We stopped to eat, get gas, and warm up. While we were standing outside the weather cleared and got quite nice. Then we noticed people parking along the street and police blocking side streets. I asked some locals what was going on. Apparently, the town was about to have some kind of parade, so we decided to get moving to avoid getting caught up in everything. We ended up driving down the parade route to get out of town. People were lining the streets, many waving at us as we rode past, especially kids. That was kind of strange, especially for Sarah who hates any kind of attention on her
It was still early in the day and I suggested that we keep moving, maybe head to Green River on I-80 to stop for the night, hopefully to get us closer to warmer weather. We don't like running interstates if we can avoid them, so we headed North out of town on US 189. It hit WY 372 and we cut East to run along the Green River, roughly. It was all open desert with views that went amazingly far despite the weather. The road didn't get close to the river though and was actually VERY straight! I just set the cruise control on 75mph and focused on keeping my bike between the yellow and white lines because of the wind. We eventually crossed I-80 and got on WY 374, running that into Green River. The rock formations along the North side of I-80 were very cool. There were a few hotels, but nothing that looked appealing. We rode around a bit and eventually stopped at a gas station so we could be under cover as it was starting to rain pretty good again. While stopped I found a Best Western in Rocksprings, just a few more miles East on I-80. I called, they had a room, and it was a good price, so I reserved it and we hit the road.
Rocksprings is bigger than Green River and there were lots of places to stay and eat. As we pulled into the hotel parking lot I spotted a V-Strom 650. We got checked in, unloaded the bikes, and then set about getting dinner at a place we saw across the road. We were walking around to the front of the hotel on the way to dinner and I knocked on the door where the V-Strom was parked, much to Daniel's surprise. It opened almost immediately and we were enthusiastically greeted by Chris. We visited for about ten minutes or so and invited him to join us for dinner. He was into a few beers and making lots of phone calls to let folks back home know he was doing okay, but offered to hang out and visit some more after we got back from dinner. Dinner was MEH... We walked back to the hotel and I stopped by Chris's room, then we walked next door to a big Exxon where I grabbed a Fosters. Once again, the bad weather of the day cleared out and it turned into another beautiful but cold evening. We headed back to the hotel and sat inside a huge atrium area. All of the interior rooms opened into this atrium. It was heated and had tables where we could hangout.
Chris was new to "adventure" riding. But he had the right attitude for it. He had been through some rough times the last few years and finally decided to sell his home, quit his job, and do a trip to see places his late wife always wanted to see. He'd been on the road several weeks but was now heading back home to Ohio. We talked bikes, adventures, riding gear, accessories, life, work, and the future. We eventually moved outside for a while and Daniel joined us, showing off his bike. It finally got a bit cold and was getting late, so we exchanged info and then headed our separate ways. Back in the room I set to making plans for tomorrow and then hit the sack.
Bad weather moving in from the West in Soda Springs, ID.
Heading South on US 30, storm clouds drifting our way across the Cache NF.
Looking East from US 30 into the Caribou NF. We're trying to thread the stormy needle!
Beautiful blue skies behind and above it all
Fresh snow up high in the mountains in the Caribou NF around Georgetown and Montpelier
Massive windmill blades at a stop in Montpelier
The view as we were crossing into SW Wyoming
Cool rig in front of the Best Western
Another beautiful evening after a miserable day
The atrium inside the hotel, we were on the first floor just at the bottom left of the picture
Yours truly and Chris Forsythe
My groovy and WARM hat, compliments of @ulybrad here on TWT. Handmade from Llama and Alpaca wool he spun himself.
Yet another great day of riding despite the cold and wet weather. Always fun to meet great people along the way. It is probably my favorite part of doing trips.
Friday, September 22nd.
The weather for the day wasn't looking good when I checked it. We got up at a decent time and got breakfast. When we went out to load the bikes, it was drizzling and COLD! We moved the bikes up under the drive cover at the hotel front doors so we could load them in the dry. While loading, we could see very nasty weather moving in from the West, led by a nice rainbow! We finished loading and moved to pull out of the parking lot when Daniel commented that something was bouncing all over the place... SLEET!
We pulled out and headed East out of town, hoping to get ahead of the bad weather. US 30 turned Southeast and ran between the Cache and Caribou National Forests, mountains on each side of the road, and rain storms all over the place! We were bundled up and zipped up, ready for rain, but really hoping to avoid it. We got a few sprinkles here and there, but for the most part the rain stayed "over there". We were all running our heated jackets and hand grips on high, but it was still cold! Southeast of Montpelier near the Idaho and Wyoming border the highway came over a rise and the view opened up to mountains in the Bridger National Forest that had a fresh cover of snow on them! Brrrr....Daniel was wanting to pull over for some reason so we stopped in Cokeville. We met a couple from Colorado on a pair of the F650GSs (with the 800 motor in them). They were geared for the cold weather with heated jackets and heated gloves. Sarah was wishing she had heated gloves! They were heading North, into the cold! We wished them well and continued our run South trying to get out of the cold. Amazingly, we had been seeing heavy rain all over the place but had not had any of it fall on us yet! At WY 89 US 30 makes a hard turn to the East and runs toward Diamondville, where I had hoped to end up on yesterday's ride. As we got closer to town the wind really started to pick up and shove us around. Then came the rain... We got into town and started looking for a place to eat. We eventually found a nice Mavericks and the kids were thrilled! We stopped to eat, get gas, and warm up. While we were standing outside the weather cleared and got quite nice. Then we noticed people parking along the street and police blocking side streets. I asked some locals what was going on. Apparently, the town was about to have some kind of parade, so we decided to get moving to avoid getting caught up in everything. We ended up driving down the parade route to get out of town. People were lining the streets, many waving at us as we rode past, especially kids. That was kind of strange, especially for Sarah who hates any kind of attention on her
It was still early in the day and I suggested that we keep moving, maybe head to Green River on I-80 to stop for the night, hopefully to get us closer to warmer weather. We don't like running interstates if we can avoid them, so we headed North out of town on US 189. It hit WY 372 and we cut East to run along the Green River, roughly. It was all open desert with views that went amazingly far despite the weather. The road didn't get close to the river though and was actually VERY straight! I just set the cruise control on 75mph and focused on keeping my bike between the yellow and white lines because of the wind. We eventually crossed I-80 and got on WY 374, running that into Green River. The rock formations along the North side of I-80 were very cool. There were a few hotels, but nothing that looked appealing. We rode around a bit and eventually stopped at a gas station so we could be under cover as it was starting to rain pretty good again. While stopped I found a Best Western in Rocksprings, just a few more miles East on I-80. I called, they had a room, and it was a good price, so I reserved it and we hit the road.
Rocksprings is bigger than Green River and there were lots of places to stay and eat. As we pulled into the hotel parking lot I spotted a V-Strom 650. We got checked in, unloaded the bikes, and then set about getting dinner at a place we saw across the road. We were walking around to the front of the hotel on the way to dinner and I knocked on the door where the V-Strom was parked, much to Daniel's surprise. It opened almost immediately and we were enthusiastically greeted by Chris. We visited for about ten minutes or so and invited him to join us for dinner. He was into a few beers and making lots of phone calls to let folks back home know he was doing okay, but offered to hang out and visit some more after we got back from dinner. Dinner was MEH... We walked back to the hotel and I stopped by Chris's room, then we walked next door to a big Exxon where I grabbed a Fosters. Once again, the bad weather of the day cleared out and it turned into another beautiful but cold evening. We headed back to the hotel and sat inside a huge atrium area. All of the interior rooms opened into this atrium. It was heated and had tables where we could hangout.
Chris was new to "adventure" riding. But he had the right attitude for it. He had been through some rough times the last few years and finally decided to sell his home, quit his job, and do a trip to see places his late wife always wanted to see. He'd been on the road several weeks but was now heading back home to Ohio. We talked bikes, adventures, riding gear, accessories, life, work, and the future. We eventually moved outside for a while and Daniel joined us, showing off his bike. It finally got a bit cold and was getting late, so we exchanged info and then headed our separate ways. Back in the room I set to making plans for tomorrow and then hit the sack.
Bad weather moving in from the West in Soda Springs, ID.
Heading South on US 30, storm clouds drifting our way across the Cache NF.
Looking East from US 30 into the Caribou NF. We're trying to thread the stormy needle!
Beautiful blue skies behind and above it all
Fresh snow up high in the mountains in the Caribou NF around Georgetown and Montpelier
Massive windmill blades at a stop in Montpelier
The view as we were crossing into SW Wyoming
Cool rig in front of the Best Western
Another beautiful evening after a miserable day
The atrium inside the hotel, we were on the first floor just at the bottom left of the picture
Yours truly and Chris Forsythe
My groovy and WARM hat, compliments of @ulybrad here on TWT. Handmade from Llama and Alpaca wool he spun himself.
Yet another great day of riding despite the cold and wet weather. Always fun to meet great people along the way. It is probably my favorite part of doing trips.
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Day Forty One (forty two), Flaming Gorge, a performance prize, and we finally hit warmer weather! Rocksprings, WY., to Rangely, CO.
Saturday, September 23rd.
We got up at a decent time and started getting the bikes loaded. It was COLD again! I think it got down in the mid 30s during the night. Fortunately, if you stand directly in the sun, it warms you up really quick despite the cold air temperature. We hopped back on I-80 and ran West a few miles to get to US 191 South. This ran down the East side of the Flaming Gorge National Recreation area. I had originally thought about getting down into the Gorge and riding some of the dirt roads, but with it being cold, I just kept us on the highway. It was a very pretty ride though. After crossing the border into Utah the road gets a bit twistier and more fun. It also got considerably warmer! We stopped at Dutch John and there is a big store and fishing outfitter place. Daniel got lunch. The fires were awesome. I got a Snickers. We shed some layers. Then we got back on the road. The kids pulled out before me and a car got between us, going really slow. The car turned off finally and I zoomed around the corner to catch the kids... Right past a cop I literally just rolled on and right back off, covering maybe 1/8 mile, if that, but I hit 70mph at the top of the roll on and THAT is where he popped me for 70 in a 40. I was already going 30mph behind the kids when he rolled up behind me. I pulled over and told the kids to just keep going. I got a lecture about reckless driving, impounding, etc,... However, he was nice and only wrote me up for 8 over because he didn't feel like doing all the paperwork and leaving me trying to find a way home 
That settled, I slowly went off to catch up to the kids 
Of course I barely made it around the next corner before I had to stop and take some pictures of the lake and the dam. Then I went off after the kids... until I reached a cool bridge. Then I went off after the kids... I finally found Daniel coming back to look for me and Sarah waiting at the Flaming Gorge Visitor Center. We reached UT 44 and headed West around the Gorge toward Manila, UT. I had been seeing this road on the maps for many years, always thinking it would be a fun ride, but had never managed to work it into a trip. It was time. It is a pretty ride, but the really cool part starts when the road Turns Northish for the run up to Manila. There are some amazing views! We stopped for gas and a restroom break in Manila. While there we visited with a local Ranger than drove around with a KTM 500 EXC patrol bike in the back of his work truck. It was setup quite nicely. We also met a really nice couple that talked with us for a while, asking about the trip, and like the Ranger, I totally forgot to get pics or ask for names We made the run back down UT 44 to US 191 to continue heading South toward Vernal, UT. It was getting quite warm!
The run from the Flaming Gorge down to Vernal on US 191 was a really nice ride and quite fun. The trees were changing and finally showing some color. As we were dropping in elevation we had picked up some traffic and got behind a VERY slow moving truck, the same truck we were behind when the LEO lit me up earlier. We came around a corner and as everyone was starting to brake, I spotted a gravel road that went up to what looked like a cool vantage point to view the entire landscape below. I just smoothly pulled off the road and stopped at the top. Daniel and Sarah followed me up and parked nearby. It was one of those places where we could see forever. I snapped some pics and then we got everyone turned around. The road was kind of steep and there wasn't a ton of room at the bottom to get stopped before having to worry about oncoming traffic. So I walked it first to get an idea for the best line and then Sarah came down. Daniel followed and then I went back up to get my bike. Once back on the road we rode through a series of switchbacks and eventually the road ran out to Vernal. From there we just droned down US 40 to CO 64 and ran that into Rangely. We stayed at the same hotel where we stayed when I brought Sarah up here back in 2015. This time the hot tub was not working On the upside though, they had a new bar/grill next door and it was actually quite good. We met another group of riders that were heading North. These were all retired guys on various touring bikes that like to get up at the crack of dawn and ride 500 miles a day. One of the beemers looked to be dripping oil, and it wasn't mine! After dinner, Daniel headed back to the hotel and Sarah and I went in search of Advil and ice cream, necessities of life. She made a new friend along the way. Then it was time to head to the room and call it a day.
The officer that popped me pointed out that I had 14 days to get in touch with the court, but the first 5 days were pointless because I wouldn't even be in their system and they'd have no clue who I was. So really, I had 9 days, several of which would be weekend days. On top of that, their office is only open from 9:00am to 11:00am, M-F. I would have to get this sorted before the end of the trip, so I couldn't let this slip my mind before getting home! Nothing I could do about it now, so I just tucked it away where I wouldn't lose it and started working on tomorrow's route. Despite getting in trouble for being a hooligan, it was another great day of riding and seeing amazing scenery!
A clear and COLD morning. Daniel bundles up for the fun!
North end of the Gorge
Nice grill in the back with good food. They also have hotel rooms.
Looking North from the parking lot of the store, typical for what we saw all the way from Rocksprings to here.
Typical of what we saw once we crossed into Utah and ran up to Manila
The dam, which we got to drive over
Bridge not far from the dam
More Aspens starting to change up high
Yeah, even where we parked, the gravel in this pull out was DEEP! Notice that Sarah is right next to the road. Smart kid.
We came down on the right and went up on the left
Not that colorful looking during the middle of the day, but I bet the morning sun makes it look incredible.
The view from Sheep Creek Bay Overlook, looking mostly North
Got the flashy lights, Denali D4 lights, siren, chain saw scabbard, blinky lights on the hand guards, and more!
LEO these days seem to think you can NEVER have too many blinky lights!
This is the spot where I pulled off the highway and rode up the short gravel road.
No clue what he was doing
The switchbacks below took us through the trees and canyons amidst a big mining operation
There was a cool canyon just on the other side of the small hill from the highway
The highway is to the left of this image, just over the top where the bikes are parked
Might be a cool spot to camp? We could have easily ridden further out beyond where we were.
Daniel getting ready to run back down to the pavement.
Always running off when I am not looking! Sarah waits patiently for me to come down and for Daniel to return (that is him up in the weeds).
This is a recreation shot of one taken from our 2015 trip
September 2016 (She was 11 at the time).
I did let the owner know about this... Not sure where it was coming from though.
Sarah has been working on making new friends... I still need to work with her on it a bit though
Another beautiful evening
Saturday, September 23rd.
We got up at a decent time and started getting the bikes loaded. It was COLD again! I think it got down in the mid 30s during the night. Fortunately, if you stand directly in the sun, it warms you up really quick despite the cold air temperature. We hopped back on I-80 and ran West a few miles to get to US 191 South. This ran down the East side of the Flaming Gorge National Recreation area. I had originally thought about getting down into the Gorge and riding some of the dirt roads, but with it being cold, I just kept us on the highway. It was a very pretty ride though. After crossing the border into Utah the road gets a bit twistier and more fun. It also got considerably warmer! We stopped at Dutch John and there is a big store and fishing outfitter place. Daniel got lunch. The fires were awesome. I got a Snickers. We shed some layers. Then we got back on the road. The kids pulled out before me and a car got between us, going really slow. The car turned off finally and I zoomed around the corner to catch the kids... Right past a cop
I literally just rolled on and right back off, covering maybe 1/8 mile, if that, but I hit 70mph at the top of the roll on and THAT is where he popped me for 70 in a 40. I was already going 30mph behind the kids when he rolled up behind me. I pulled over and told the kids to just keep going. I got a lecture about reckless driving, impounding, etc,... However, he was nice and only wrote me up for 8 over because he didn't feel like doing all the paperwork and leaving me trying to find a way home That settled, I slowly went off to catch up to the kids Of course I barely made it around the next corner before I had to stop and take some pictures of the lake and the dam. Then I went off after the kids... until I reached a cool bridge. Then I went off after the kids... I finally found Daniel coming back to look for me and Sarah waiting at the Flaming Gorge Visitor Center. We reached UT 44 and headed West around the Gorge toward Manila, UT. I had been seeing this road on the maps for many years, always thinking it would be a fun ride, but had never managed to work it into a trip. It was time. It is a pretty ride, but the really cool part starts when the road Turns Northish for the run up to Manila. There are some amazing views! We stopped for gas and a restroom break in Manila. While there we visited with a local Ranger than drove around with a KTM 500 EXC patrol bike in the back of his work truck. It was setup quite nicely. We also met a really nice couple that talked with us for a while, asking about the trip, and like the Ranger, I totally forgot to get pics or ask for names
We made the run back down UT 44 to US 191 to continue heading South toward Vernal, UT. It was getting quite warm!The run from the Flaming Gorge down to Vernal on US 191 was a really nice ride and quite fun. The trees were changing and finally showing some color. As we were dropping in elevation we had picked up some traffic and got behind a VERY slow moving truck, the same truck we were behind when the LEO lit me up earlier. We came around a corner and as everyone was starting to brake, I spotted a gravel road that went up to what looked like a cool vantage point to view the entire landscape below. I just smoothly pulled off the road and stopped at the top. Daniel and Sarah followed me up and parked nearby. It was one of those places where we could see forever. I snapped some pics and then we got everyone turned around. The road was kind of steep and there wasn't a ton of room at the bottom to get stopped before having to worry about oncoming traffic. So I walked it first to get an idea for the best line and then Sarah came down. Daniel followed and then I went back up to get my bike. Once back on the road we rode through a series of switchbacks and eventually the road ran out to Vernal. From there we just droned down US 40 to CO 64 and ran that into Rangely. We stayed at the same hotel where we stayed when I brought Sarah up here back in 2015. This time the hot tub was not working
On the upside though, they had a new bar/grill next door and it was actually quite good. We met another group of riders that were heading North. These were all retired guys on various touring bikes that like to get up at the crack of dawn and ride 500 miles a day. One of the beemers looked to be dripping oil, and it wasn't mine! After dinner, Daniel headed back to the hotel and Sarah and I went in search of Advil and ice cream, necessities of life. She made a new friend along the way. Then it was time to head to the room and call it a day.The officer that popped me pointed out that I had 14 days to get in touch with the court, but the first 5 days were pointless because I wouldn't even be in their system and they'd have no clue who I was. So really, I had 9 days, several of which would be weekend days. On top of that, their office is only open from 9:00am to 11:00am, M-F. I would have to get this sorted before the end of the trip, so I couldn't let this slip my mind before getting home! Nothing I could do about it now, so I just tucked it away where I wouldn't lose it and started working on tomorrow's route. Despite getting in trouble for being a hooligan, it was another great day of riding and seeing amazing scenery!
A clear and COLD morning. Daniel bundles up for the fun!
North end of the Gorge
Nice grill in the back with good food. They also have hotel rooms.
Looking North from the parking lot of the store, typical for what we saw all the way from Rocksprings to here.
Typical of what we saw once we crossed into Utah and ran up to Manila
The dam, which we got to drive over
Bridge not far from the dam
More Aspens starting to change up high
Yeah, even where we parked, the gravel in this pull out was DEEP! Notice that Sarah is right next to the road. Smart kid.
We came down on the right and went up on the left
Not that colorful looking during the middle of the day, but I bet the morning sun makes it look incredible.
The view from Sheep Creek Bay Overlook, looking mostly North
Got the flashy lights, Denali D4 lights, siren, chain saw scabbard, blinky lights on the hand guards, and more!
LEO these days seem to think you can NEVER have too many blinky lights!
This is the spot where I pulled off the highway and rode up the short gravel road.
No clue what he was doing
The switchbacks below took us through the trees and canyons amidst a big mining operation
There was a cool canyon just on the other side of the small hill from the highway
The highway is to the left of this image, just over the top where the bikes are parked
Might be a cool spot to camp? We could have easily ridden further out beyond where we were.
Daniel getting ready to run back down to the pavement.
Always running off when I am not looking! Sarah waits patiently for me to come down and for Daniel to return (that is him up in the weeds).
This is a recreation shot of one taken from our 2015 trip
September 2016 (She was 11 at the time).
I did let the owner know about this... Not sure where it was coming from though.
Sarah has been working on making new friends... I still need to work with her on it a bit though
Another beautiful evening
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What was your main camera for taking these pics, and how did you keep it handy and ready to go?
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iPhone12 in my left jack pocket. I can get it out pretty quick, remove one or both gloves as needed and hopefully not have them fall on the ground repeatedly..., snap my pic/video, put it back in the pocket, pick up the gloves if needed, put the gloves on and be rolling fairly quickly so I didn't get too far behind the kids.
We get more and more jealous as this adventure continues!!!
I got a simple and small digital camera on Amazon and I can keep that in my jacket pocket. It takes great pictures. My problem is I pass spots and I say I should have stopped for a picture and I didn't. Another problem is if I stopped for all the pictures I should have stopped for, I'd never get there. Picture taking along the way can be challenging.
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I feel your pain. There are times where I just have to tell myself that I can't capture it all and somethings just need to be plain old memories. Even so, I still stop a lot more than some folks might like if they were riding with me. I will also turn around and go back if I really want the shot. The kids were commenting that everywhere we rode looked like a postcard or a puzzle everywhere we looked.
I am very happy you kept snapping and am sure others are also. I think it might have something to do with age. I constantly wish I had taken more pics at events/gatherings over the years. Just talking about them without pics gets a little hollow. The memories may be there but pics are beyond priceless sometimes. At my stage I can fill up both hands with valued friends I rode and traveled with, pics are beyond special and I wish I had more. The personal thing is of the most value but as this thread shows they also spur others to make the same journey. My goal during the winter is to map out a trip for next summer. I'll bet others are doing the same.
If you take all the pictures you want to there’s no reason to go back for another look . I always leave something undone if it’s away from a city . Mountain top has a foot of snow on it right now and I’m not going to go up and look , gotta leave something for next year .
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Day forty two (forty three), Rangely, CO., to Montrose, CO., and warm weather!
Sunday, September 24th.
It was another cold morning, but not as cold as the last few. Standing in direct sunlight warmed us quickly! The group of older retired guys was long gone, probably leaving at sunrise We got the bikes loaded and headed South out of town on Big Park Rd. The map and reality didn't really jive, and it soon became obvious the road was going to take us a direction I didn't want to go. We did a short backtrack to CR 104 and cut over to CO 139 to continue running South. Sarah wasn't wanting to do anything unpaved, but this was an easy and short run of gravel with some fun elevation changes and nice corners. She actually enjoyed it. CO 139 was a nice ride and got nicer the further South we ran. We crossed Douglas Pass and started down the South side of the mountains. Coming up the North side was nice, but the South side has really cool views and switchbacks. I stopped for pics and the kids got out pretty far ahead of me. While stopped, a guy on a yellow 1150 GS with a side car rig passed me and did an immediate U-turn to pull over where I had stopped. This was Scott Heath. We chatted a bit and I spotted Daniel coming back up the mountain to find me. Scott mentioned seeing the kids coming down the mountain and commented on how smooth they looked and how he liked their lines through the corners. That was nice to hear! Daniel zoomed past me before turning around and joining me at the overlook.
We got back on the road and ran down through the switchbacks to find Sarah. The pavement was in BAD condition in some places, with giant cracks and holes!! Near the bottom Sarah came around a corner heading back up to find us. As I was about to go around a left hand corner out of sight, I sat down and checked my mirror just in time to see her tip over in the road while trying to execute a U-turn. The slope of the road got her and she just slowly tipped over. A truck right behind her stopped to help. I was already turning around and zooming back up to her. We got the bike upright, checked it over, and got her remounted while Daniel flagged traffic back at the blind corner so no one would come zipping around right into us. Then we were good to go and continued headed South. When we reached the North side of Fruita we stopped at a gas station to take a break and shed some layers as it was starting to get quite warm! They had a cool old school back behind the gas station so I had to go check that out. While I was doing this, a guy stopped and talked to the kids. He said he worked at a KTM dealership and wanted to get pics of the bikes to show people that they were good for adventure touring! He was gone by the time I got back to the gas station. After a nice break we continued South across I-70 and ran down to the North end of the Colorado National Monument.
Pictures are terrible at conveying slope and scale. Ride up a crazy steep hill, take a pic, and it will look like a smooth flat sidewalk in front of a house. Take a pic of a massive cliff face and it will look like a little mole hill at best. So taking pictures of the landscape in the Colorado National Monument is kind of a lost cause. It has steep roads and massive rock formations. I tried though. As was usual, Sarah tended to get out front and just do her thing, so I didn't see much of her. Occasionally I would catch up to Daniel. I tried taking more short videos because I think they do a better job of capturing the landscape than still shots, but they still fall woefully short of the reality. It took quite a while to get through the whole park because I stopped a LOT. We finally found Sarah near the end of the park and then headed into Grand Junction. We ran through town, seeing lots of cool old architecture on our way to I-70 on the East end of town. The line of mountains Northeast of town loomed larger and larger until we were right under them as we got on I-70. Again, you just have to see it for yourself to understand the scale of this landscape! The really cool part is where I-70 starts following the Colorado River up into a canyon.
We exited at Hwy 65 for the run through Plateau Creek Canyon. There are cliffs in here that are near 800 feet high, straight up, and right next to the road. The curves on this road are awesome... when there is no traffic. The traffic today was heavier than I have ever seen in the 7-8 times I've ridden this road. There were plenty of passing zones, but it was pointless because there was just more traffic. Even if I were able to pass, Daniel and Sarah couldn't always pass, and there was no point in getting way out ahead of them. At hwy 330, 65 turns South and runs toward the base of the Grand Mesa. Then the climb started and the road got nice and twisty. The pavement wasn't great. It had a lot of frost heaves in it and cracks, so we had to stay alert while trying to take in the amazing scenery! I started stopping a lot and never saw Sarah and Daniel again until I was at the bottom of the other side of the Mesa. I spoke with some locals while stopped and they mentioned that today was "Color Sunday". Apparently, the local media declares what day is the best day to go out and see the fall colors and that day was today. This explained all the freaking traffic! To be fair though, the trees were pretty awesome, but there were still a LOT that had not even started to change. I eventually got a phone call from Daniel to let me know he was already down off the mountain and would be waiting at a gas station. I had no idea where Sarah was, so I called her and let her know where he was and that I would be there soon.
Once off the mountain, we regrouped and hopped on CO 92 to run over to Delta at US 50. From there it was a boring slab ride down to Montrose to our hotel. I've stayed here 3-4 times in years past and it was a good location and bike friendly. The room was very large with lots of space to spread our gear all over the place. It's a bit old, but still clean and inexpensive. It was also nice to be able to park the bikes right outside the door to the room. There was even a nice little porch area where we could hang out and enjoy the pretty evening. Everyone really enjoyed the riding and scenery today and we were all thrilled to be back in warmer weather.
Not far from Rangely on CO 139
Heading up the North side of Douglas Pass
Interesting looking dirt roads heading toward the top of the pass
Riding past roads like these KILLS Daniel
Looking North as we climb to the top
Looking South heading up to the top
View from the top of the pass looking South
The sharp left corner is where I was when Sarah fell over just uphill before the prior corner
Scott Heath
The old school North of Fruita, closed for good in the early 1980s.
Those little white rectangles on the wall were attempts to save the building by reinforcing it. Obviously they failed.
Grinder and press, still working, not sure what this was about but it was right behind the school
There is still power to the building running lights and cameras
Imagine the years of laughter, screams, scabs, and tears this thing generated!
Notice the distinct lack of safety notices and foam padding, back when kids were tough!
Looking up at the switchbacks on the North end of the monument
A great example of the camera squashing hundreds of feet of cliff until it looks like 50 feet...
Can't get too close to the edge because it is crumbly and a LONG way down
One of many balancing rocks
Upper left is where I was standing a few pics ago
In the distance is the long line of mountains North of Grand Junction.
There are lots of cool and massive arches in the making here.
The road is running along the top edge of the rock face, you can just barely see it.
See the white car just off center left by the big bush, that helps with scale on this one.
This probably has a name, I will call it Echo Point
Those are full grown trees growing on the rock face!
You can have a conversation here with someone that cares about what you think! If you speak loud enough you can hear yourself
No. I am not leaning to one side.
Switchbacks on the North end and a cool tunnel
Heading up the North side of the Grand Mesa on CO 65.
The spot where I stopped and talked with the local ladies
Seen on the side of CO 65 on the South end of the Mesa...
Sunday, September 24th.
It was another cold morning, but not as cold as the last few. Standing in direct sunlight warmed us quickly! The group of older retired guys was long gone, probably leaving at sunrise
We got the bikes loaded and headed South out of town on Big Park Rd. The map and reality didn't really jive, and it soon became obvious the road was going to take us a direction I didn't want to go. We did a short backtrack to CR 104 and cut over to CO 139 to continue running South. Sarah wasn't wanting to do anything unpaved, but this was an easy and short run of gravel with some fun elevation changes and nice corners. She actually enjoyed it. CO 139 was a nice ride and got nicer the further South we ran. We crossed Douglas Pass and started down the South side of the mountains. Coming up the North side was nice, but the South side has really cool views and switchbacks. I stopped for pics and the kids got out pretty far ahead of me. While stopped, a guy on a yellow 1150 GS with a side car rig passed me and did an immediate U-turn to pull over where I had stopped. This was Scott Heath. We chatted a bit and I spotted Daniel coming back up the mountain to find me. Scott mentioned seeing the kids coming down the mountain and commented on how smooth they looked and how he liked their lines through the corners. That was nice to hear! Daniel zoomed past me before turning around and joining me at the overlook.We got back on the road and ran down through the switchbacks to find Sarah. The pavement was in BAD condition in some places, with giant cracks and holes!! Near the bottom Sarah came around a corner heading back up to find us. As I was about to go around a left hand corner out of sight, I sat down and checked my mirror just in time to see her tip over in the road while trying to execute a U-turn. The slope of the road got her and she just slowly tipped over. A truck right behind her stopped to help. I was already turning around and zooming back up to her. We got the bike upright, checked it over, and got her remounted while Daniel flagged traffic back at the blind corner so no one would come zipping around right into us. Then we were good to go and continued headed South. When we reached the North side of Fruita we stopped at a gas station to take a break and shed some layers as it was starting to get quite warm! They had a cool old school back behind the gas station so I had to go check that out. While I was doing this, a guy stopped and talked to the kids. He said he worked at a KTM dealership and wanted to get pics of the bikes to show people that they were good for adventure touring! He was gone by the time I got back to the gas station. After a nice break we continued South across I-70 and ran down to the North end of the Colorado National Monument.
Pictures are terrible at conveying slope and scale. Ride up a crazy steep hill, take a pic, and it will look like a smooth flat sidewalk in front of a house. Take a pic of a massive cliff face and it will look like a little mole hill at best. So taking pictures of the landscape in the Colorado National Monument is kind of a lost cause. It has steep roads and massive rock formations. I tried though. As was usual, Sarah tended to get out front and just do her thing, so I didn't see much of her. Occasionally I would catch up to Daniel. I tried taking more short videos because I think they do a better job of capturing the landscape than still shots, but they still fall woefully short of the reality. It took quite a while to get through the whole park because I stopped a LOT. We finally found Sarah near the end of the park and then headed into Grand Junction. We ran through town, seeing lots of cool old architecture on our way to I-70 on the East end of town. The line of mountains Northeast of town loomed larger and larger until we were right under them as we got on I-70. Again, you just have to see it for yourself to understand the scale of this landscape! The really cool part is where I-70 starts following the Colorado River up into a canyon.
We exited at Hwy 65 for the run through Plateau Creek Canyon. There are cliffs in here that are near 800 feet high, straight up, and right next to the road. The curves on this road are awesome... when there is no traffic. The traffic today was heavier than I have ever seen in the 7-8 times I've ridden this road. There were plenty of passing zones, but it was pointless because there was just more traffic. Even if I were able to pass, Daniel and Sarah couldn't always pass, and there was no point in getting way out ahead of them. At hwy 330, 65 turns South and runs toward the base of the Grand Mesa. Then the climb started and the road got nice and twisty. The pavement wasn't great. It had a lot of frost heaves in it and cracks, so we had to stay alert while trying to take in the amazing scenery! I started stopping a lot and never saw Sarah and Daniel again until I was at the bottom of the other side of the Mesa. I spoke with some locals while stopped and they mentioned that today was "Color Sunday". Apparently, the local media declares what day is the best day to go out and see the fall colors and that day was today. This explained all the freaking traffic! To be fair though, the trees were pretty awesome, but there were still a LOT that had not even started to change. I eventually got a phone call from Daniel to let me know he was already down off the mountain and would be waiting at a gas station. I had no idea where Sarah was, so I called her and let her know where he was and that I would be there soon.
Once off the mountain, we regrouped and hopped on CO 92 to run over to Delta at US 50. From there it was a boring slab ride down to Montrose to our hotel. I've stayed here 3-4 times in years past and it was a good location and bike friendly. The room was very large with lots of space to spread our gear all over the place. It's a bit old, but still clean and inexpensive. It was also nice to be able to park the bikes right outside the door to the room. There was even a nice little porch area where we could hang out and enjoy the pretty evening. Everyone really enjoyed the riding and scenery today and we were all thrilled to be back in warmer weather.
Not far from Rangely on CO 139
Heading up the North side of Douglas Pass
Interesting looking dirt roads heading toward the top of the pass
Riding past roads like these KILLS Daniel
Looking North as we climb to the top
Looking South heading up to the top
View from the top of the pass looking South
The sharp left corner is where I was when Sarah fell over just uphill before the prior corner
Scott Heath
The old school North of Fruita, closed for good in the early 1980s.
Those little white rectangles on the wall were attempts to save the building by reinforcing it. Obviously they failed.
Grinder and press, still working, not sure what this was about but it was right behind the school
There is still power to the building running lights and cameras
Imagine the years of laughter, screams, scabs, and tears this thing generated!
Notice the distinct lack of safety notices and foam padding, back when kids were tough!
Looking up at the switchbacks on the North end of the monument
A great example of the camera squashing hundreds of feet of cliff until it looks like 50 feet...
Can't get too close to the edge because it is crumbly and a LONG way down
One of many balancing rocks
Upper left is where I was standing a few pics ago
In the distance is the long line of mountains North of Grand Junction.
There are lots of cool and massive arches in the making here.
The road is running along the top edge of the rock face, you can just barely see it.
See the white car just off center left by the big bush, that helps with scale on this one.
This probably has a name, I will call it Echo Point
Those are full grown trees growing on the rock face!
You can have a conversation here with someone that cares about what you think! If you speak loud enough you can hear yourself
No. I am not leaning to one side.
Switchbacks on the North end and a cool tunnel
Heading up the North side of the Grand Mesa on CO 65.
The spot where I stopped and talked with the local ladies
Seen on the side of CO 65 on the South end of the Mesa...
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I 2nd, 3rd and 4th this suggestion. I also demand handouts of all the roads, little towns, etc. Yep, that is a demand!
As internet Influencer's/Celebrities you now have responsibilities to your fans. Seriously I think charliez's idea is a great one.
Depending on when and where you host this watch party I'd be up for attending.
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I still have seven more days of reports to get up, but I am leaving for Arkansas early Monday morning and won't be back until late Friday evening. So it will be a bit before I can get the last seven days done.
Yes, waiting with varying degrees of patience.
Enjoy AR!
Enjoy AR!
Picked a perfect time for AR it appears!
- Joined
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Day forty three (forty four), Ridgway, Naturita, Gateway and the Uncompahgre Plateau
Monday, September 25th.
We got a late start today, getting on the bikes around 12:30pm. We were all tired and slept in. We all still wanted to ride, so I decided we'd do an "easy" loop around the Uncompahgre Plateau on US 550, CO 62, CO 145, CO 141 and finally US 50 back to Montrose. The plan was to run the loop together until we got to the North side between Gateway and US 50 where Daniel and I would head South on Divide Road along the top of the plateau and Sarah would continue on to US 50 and run back down to Montrose. She wasn't excited about running dirt today.
The run down US 550 was slow because of road construction. They are making it four lanes. Not fun now, but it will be nice when completed. The really nice part of the ride started as we headed West out of Ridgway on CO 62. This cuts between the South end of the Uncompahgre Plateau and the North side of the San Juan Mountains. The trees were changing, but not yet in full change mode. The road was smooth and has tons of nice fast sweeper corners. At CO 145 we turned West and headed up into the San Miguel River valley/canyon. This is about 15 miles or so of just fun corners that follow the river. We had to get around a dump truck and 18 wheeler, but after that it was clear running. The corners are all marked 30-40mph at the slowest, so this is just a fun rhythm road. We didn't have to haul butt to make it fun. We just had to be smooth. The rock formations along East side of the road were jagged and colorful, full of trees growing in places that make you wonder how they hang on. The highway eventually crossed the river and quickly climbed up the West side of the canyon onto a plateau. The town of Norwood sits here, a small farming and ranching town. The road is flat and straight, with 90 degree corners here and there, much like roads at home. Just past Redvale it starts to get a bit twistier, following Naturita Creek as it drops down to join the San Miguel River just outside the town of Naturita where we picked up CO 141.
As we headed NW out of town on 141 the road got nice and twisty again, still following the San Miguel River. The pavement was smooth and of nice quality. The landscape took a turn for the dramatic just a few miles down the road near the old mining town of Uravan with HUGE rock faces on one side of the road and a steep drop off the other side of the road. The San Miguel feeds into the Dolores River, which then continues flowing North through an incredible canyon!! Beyond the point where the rivers merge, photography just doesn't get the job done when trying to convey the scale and magnificence of the landscape. You just have to see it for yourself, better from a bike instead of a car/truck
According to my topo maps, some of these rock faces are 250-500 feet high. The landscape is littered with the remains of old uranium and gold mines. There are still active claims in the area. Grand Junction even has a mining club for amateur miners. I once stopped and spoke with a guy mining his claim on the side of the road. Once he was convinced I wasn't there to make trouble, he was excited to tell me all about it. He wasn't getting rich, but he was finding gold still, or at least that was his story... 
There is one section of 141 that is a series of big 180 degree sweepers with the rock walls on each side of the road. Just a bit past Roc Road, as we came around a right handed sweeper, there was a a clump of trees at the base of the cliff and a small gravel parking lot. Behind the trees and up under a rock ledge sat a brick cistern with a concrete lid. A water hose came out the bottom and the open end was under a rock sitting on the lid. Removing the rock and lowering the hose allowed clear and good tasting water to flow out of the cistern. We rested in the shade for a while before getting back on the road and making the final run up to Gateway. The road stayed nice and twisty, following the river canyon a few more miles. Just beyond where the Blue Creek feeds into the river, the canyon opened up and got much wider. We stopped in Gateway for gas and wanted to get lunch, but the little food trailer and even the convenience store were both closed. The pumps were operational, but VERY slow when it came to processing the credit card before we could actually start pumping. A group of Harley riders came in after us and they were never able to get them to work, so they left without getting gas. We were topped off though.
CO 141 turns back to the NE at Gateway and runs along West Creek, skirting the North edge of the Uncompahgre NF. The creek is in the bottom of a long and beautiful valley full of farms. The road is fun, comprising fast sweepers and gentle elevation changes. Sarah was complaining of bugs hitting her more than usual. At one point she hollered into the communicators that she needed to pull over NOW! Apparently some kind of bee or other stingy type of critter got her on the neck. After checking to make sure there wasn't any kind of stinger needing to be removed, we got back on the road. We were still a few miles from our planned break off point where she would continue on the pavement back to the highway. As we got closer, I was asking her if she felt okay, had any issues breathing, etc,... I didn't want to send her off on her own if she was feeling any bad effects from that stick, but she seemed to be fine. So we made sure she knew where she was going to get back to the hotel and said goodbye. Daniel and I turned off the highway onto the start of Divide Road, which might also show as 1/10 Rd., on some maps.
This road is all gravel. The North end where we started has a nice series of steep switchbacks that climb quite quickly to get us up onto the plateau. We climb several thousand feet within a few miles. Most of the road is between 8-10K ft in elevation. The climb up was pretty rough. The road had some of the worst washboard I have ever experienced. Even after the climb, the washboard continued for quite a few miles and had a LOT of large loose gravel on it. Controlling the bike was tough and there wasn't any "happy" speed that made it smooth out. It felt like the bike was shaking apart out from under me. Daniel didn't seem to mind it on his 390 Adventure. It might have been that my suspension is the original suspension and had just over 30K miles on it and is due for rebuild or replacement! It did eventually get better, only having washboarding in limited areas. It was VERY smoky. The forest service was engaged in controlled burns on the North end of the plateau. It was burning my eyes and nose and gave me a pretty nasty head ache. However, it did make for dramatic evening lighting of the landscape. It was pushing 5:00pm when we parted ways with Sarah. Knowing we had a good ways to go, I wanted to run about 40 mph to give us a chance of getting back to the hotel before dark. It was not to be. Already we were seeing deer and there were many open range areas with cows hiding in the shade under the trees. I tried to keep our average speed up when we were in open areas though. Still, it was slow going in other areas, not just because of critters, but also because there were long sections of the road where fresh gravel had been laid down in a thick and loose layer. This made some of the tight corners a bit tricky, especially when blowing one meant tumbling down the side of the mountain!
Near Columbine Pass I missed a turn. We didn't go to far before I figured it out and we got back on track. Just beyond the pass we stopped at the Tabeguache Overlook to take in the sights. It was pretty amazing. We also noticed a nice storm brewing off to the South, but far enough away it wouldn't be an issue for us. As we got back on the road I spotted something in the middle of the road a hundred yards or so from the pullout at the overlook. At first I thought it might be a cow, but it was way to tall and the horns looked wrong. Turned out to be a HUGE moose! We looked at each other a few moments and when I started trying to get the camera out it took off down into the woods and disappeared. Yeah, we had to slow down as the sun was getting lower and the shadows were getting longer. We had already spotted even more deer... Somewhere further down the road I was looking off to my right at the sunlight lighting up an area of Aspen trees when noticed movement in my peripheral vision on the right. A deer was shooting out of the bushes into the road RIGHT AT ME! I instinctively swerved left away from it while braking and it slammed its head into the right side of the bike, just in front of the engine. It's body flopped back around against the right side of the bike into my right leg and then careened away from me out of sight. I was fine and the bike stayed upright without any issue. Daniel was pretty close behind me and had to do some HARD braking to avoid the deer that was tossing and turning in the road right in front of him. He managed to stop without hitting it and it managed to get back on its feet and launch off into the woods. This all happened in the space of a few seconds and then it was over. It was a CLOSE call and REALLY got our attention. It was now getting dark and COLD. The temp went from pleasant to the low 50s really fast. We stopped to put on our heated jackets and warmer gloves before starting the slow trek through the darkness to get down out of the mountains into Montrose. We finally reached the intersection with CR 90 or "Old Hwy" 90 that cuts from Naturita to Montrose and started running East toward town. It was a long and slow ride. We were scanning for any kinds of reflections from my Denali D4 lights. At one point we both noticed reflections on the side of the road head of us and moments later a big F250 flicked on a TON of lights right in our face and blinded us, totally wiping out our night vision!! No idea what that was about, but it wasn't cool. Sarah had already called me earlier wanting to know when we might get to town, now she was calling again because she was worried about it being after dark. This time we were on the outskirts of town and only a few minutes away. It had turned into a long ride and got a bit crazy, but we were finally back safe at the hotel. We grabbed a less than wonderful dinner at a local Arby's and called it a day. Now I remember why I never eat at Arby's...
Part of the San Juan Mountains at the overlook on CO 62 West of Ridgway
Not much snow
Near the start of the fun stuff on CO 141 just past Uravan
These are not the big rocks...
He can't resist climbing
Who knows what lurks back in there...
The real fun starts back where the road disappears into the canyon
I think that is Sarah in the curve by the white van
I think that is CR Y11 and it runs back up along the Dolores River to CO 90. It has been whispering to me for years...
One of many mines in the area
Remnants of the Hanging Flume
I think there was a bear attack...
More graffiti out here than I remember from years past
Rest stop
Daniel and Sarah topping off their water bladders
Looking straight up at the rock overhanging the cistern
Start of the Divide Road
There is a camper down there on that hill just past the end of that yellow road marker in the bushes
Monday, September 25th.
We got a late start today, getting on the bikes around 12:30pm. We were all tired and slept in. We all still wanted to ride, so I decided we'd do an "easy" loop around the Uncompahgre Plateau on US 550, CO 62, CO 145, CO 141 and finally US 50 back to Montrose. The plan was to run the loop together until we got to the North side between Gateway and US 50 where Daniel and I would head South on Divide Road along the top of the plateau and Sarah would continue on to US 50 and run back down to Montrose. She wasn't excited about running dirt today.
The run down US 550 was slow because of road construction. They are making it four lanes. Not fun now, but it will be nice when completed. The really nice part of the ride started as we headed West out of Ridgway on CO 62. This cuts between the South end of the Uncompahgre Plateau and the North side of the San Juan Mountains. The trees were changing, but not yet in full change mode. The road was smooth and has tons of nice fast sweeper corners. At CO 145 we turned West and headed up into the San Miguel River valley/canyon. This is about 15 miles or so of just fun corners that follow the river. We had to get around a dump truck and 18 wheeler, but after that it was clear running. The corners are all marked 30-40mph at the slowest, so this is just a fun rhythm road. We didn't have to haul butt to make it fun. We just had to be smooth. The rock formations along East side of the road were jagged and colorful, full of trees growing in places that make you wonder how they hang on. The highway eventually crossed the river and quickly climbed up the West side of the canyon onto a plateau. The town of Norwood sits here, a small farming and ranching town. The road is flat and straight, with 90 degree corners here and there, much like roads at home. Just past Redvale it starts to get a bit twistier, following Naturita Creek as it drops down to join the San Miguel River just outside the town of Naturita where we picked up CO 141.
As we headed NW out of town on 141 the road got nice and twisty again, still following the San Miguel River. The pavement was smooth and of nice quality. The landscape took a turn for the dramatic just a few miles down the road near the old mining town of Uravan with HUGE rock faces on one side of the road and a steep drop off the other side of the road. The San Miguel feeds into the Dolores River, which then continues flowing North through an incredible canyon!! Beyond the point where the rivers merge, photography just doesn't get the job done when trying to convey the scale and magnificence of the landscape. You just have to see it for yourself, better from a bike instead of a car/truck
According to my topo maps, some of these rock faces are 250-500 feet high. The landscape is littered with the remains of old uranium and gold mines. There are still active claims in the area. Grand Junction even has a mining club for amateur miners. I once stopped and spoke with a guy mining his claim on the side of the road. Once he was convinced I wasn't there to make trouble, he was excited to tell me all about it. He wasn't getting rich, but he was finding gold still, or at least that was his story... There is one section of 141 that is a series of big 180 degree sweepers with the rock walls on each side of the road. Just a bit past Roc Road, as we came around a right handed sweeper, there was a a clump of trees at the base of the cliff and a small gravel parking lot. Behind the trees and up under a rock ledge sat a brick cistern with a concrete lid. A water hose came out the bottom and the open end was under a rock sitting on the lid. Removing the rock and lowering the hose allowed clear and good tasting water to flow out of the cistern. We rested in the shade for a while before getting back on the road and making the final run up to Gateway. The road stayed nice and twisty, following the river canyon a few more miles. Just beyond where the Blue Creek feeds into the river, the canyon opened up and got much wider. We stopped in Gateway for gas and wanted to get lunch, but the little food trailer and even the convenience store were both closed. The pumps were operational, but VERY slow when it came to processing the credit card before we could actually start pumping. A group of Harley riders came in after us and they were never able to get them to work, so they left without getting gas. We were topped off though.
CO 141 turns back to the NE at Gateway and runs along West Creek, skirting the North edge of the Uncompahgre NF. The creek is in the bottom of a long and beautiful valley full of farms. The road is fun, comprising fast sweepers and gentle elevation changes. Sarah was complaining of bugs hitting her more than usual. At one point she hollered into the communicators that she needed to pull over NOW! Apparently some kind of bee or other stingy type of critter got her on the neck. After checking to make sure there wasn't any kind of stinger needing to be removed, we got back on the road. We were still a few miles from our planned break off point where she would continue on the pavement back to the highway. As we got closer, I was asking her if she felt okay, had any issues breathing, etc,... I didn't want to send her off on her own if she was feeling any bad effects from that stick, but she seemed to be fine. So we made sure she knew where she was going to get back to the hotel and said goodbye. Daniel and I turned off the highway onto the start of Divide Road, which might also show as 1/10 Rd., on some maps.
This road is all gravel. The North end where we started has a nice series of steep switchbacks that climb quite quickly to get us up onto the plateau. We climb several thousand feet within a few miles. Most of the road is between 8-10K ft in elevation. The climb up was pretty rough. The road had some of the worst washboard I have ever experienced. Even after the climb, the washboard continued for quite a few miles and had a LOT of large loose gravel on it. Controlling the bike was tough and there wasn't any "happy" speed that made it smooth out. It felt like the bike was shaking apart out from under me. Daniel didn't seem to mind it on his 390 Adventure. It might have been that my suspension is the original suspension and had just over 30K miles on it and is due for rebuild or replacement! It did eventually get better, only having washboarding in limited areas. It was VERY smoky. The forest service was engaged in controlled burns on the North end of the plateau. It was burning my eyes and nose and gave me a pretty nasty head ache. However, it did make for dramatic evening lighting of the landscape. It was pushing 5:00pm when we parted ways with Sarah. Knowing we had a good ways to go, I wanted to run about 40 mph to give us a chance of getting back to the hotel before dark. It was not to be. Already we were seeing deer and there were many open range areas with cows hiding in the shade under the trees. I tried to keep our average speed up when we were in open areas though. Still, it was slow going in other areas, not just because of critters, but also because there were long sections of the road where fresh gravel had been laid down in a thick and loose layer. This made some of the tight corners a bit tricky, especially when blowing one meant tumbling down the side of the mountain!
Near Columbine Pass I missed a turn. We didn't go to far before I figured it out and we got back on track. Just beyond the pass we stopped at the Tabeguache Overlook to take in the sights. It was pretty amazing. We also noticed a nice storm brewing off to the South, but far enough away it wouldn't be an issue for us. As we got back on the road I spotted something in the middle of the road a hundred yards or so from the pullout at the overlook. At first I thought it might be a cow, but it was way to tall and the horns looked wrong. Turned out to be a HUGE moose! We looked at each other a few moments and when I started trying to get the camera out it took off down into the woods and disappeared. Yeah, we had to slow down as the sun was getting lower and the shadows were getting longer. We had already spotted even more deer... Somewhere further down the road I was looking off to my right at the sunlight lighting up an area of Aspen trees when noticed movement in my peripheral vision on the right. A deer was shooting out of the bushes into the road RIGHT AT ME! I instinctively swerved left away from it while braking and it slammed its head into the right side of the bike, just in front of the engine. It's body flopped back around against the right side of the bike into my right leg and then careened away from me out of sight. I was fine and the bike stayed upright without any issue. Daniel was pretty close behind me and had to do some HARD braking to avoid the deer that was tossing and turning in the road right in front of him. He managed to stop without hitting it and it managed to get back on its feet and launch off into the woods. This all happened in the space of a few seconds and then it was over. It was a CLOSE call and REALLY got our attention. It was now getting dark and COLD. The temp went from pleasant to the low 50s really fast. We stopped to put on our heated jackets and warmer gloves before starting the slow trek through the darkness to get down out of the mountains into Montrose. We finally reached the intersection with CR 90 or "Old Hwy" 90 that cuts from Naturita to Montrose and started running East toward town. It was a long and slow ride. We were scanning for any kinds of reflections from my Denali D4 lights. At one point we both noticed reflections on the side of the road head of us and moments later a big F250 flicked on a TON of lights right in our face and blinded us, totally wiping out our night vision!! No idea what that was about, but it wasn't cool. Sarah had already called me earlier wanting to know when we might get to town, now she was calling again because she was worried about it being after dark. This time we were on the outskirts of town and only a few minutes away. It had turned into a long ride and got a bit crazy, but we were finally back safe at the hotel. We grabbed a less than wonderful dinner at a local Arby's and called it a day. Now I remember why I never eat at Arby's...
Part of the San Juan Mountains at the overlook on CO 62 West of Ridgway
Not much snow
Near the start of the fun stuff on CO 141 just past Uravan
These are not the big rocks...
He can't resist climbing
Who knows what lurks back in there...
The real fun starts back where the road disappears into the canyon
I think that is Sarah in the curve by the white van
I think that is CR Y11 and it runs back up along the Dolores River to CO 90. It has been whispering to me for years...
One of many mines in the area
Remnants of the Hanging Flume
I think there was a bear attack...
More graffiti out here than I remember from years past
Rest stop
Daniel and Sarah topping off their water bladders
Looking straight up at the rock overhanging the cistern
Start of the Divide Road
There is a camper down there on that hill just past the end of that yellow road marker in the bushes
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Good stuff.
Wow! Did the deer impact on the bike, and hopefully not your leg?? If your gunna get hit by a deer going full blast, that was a good way for it to happen! Wow!
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If you or the kids are interested in cars at all, there is a massive, high-end car collection / museum in Gateway that was created by John Hendricks... Discovery Channel founder.