Not much of an exciting today. The last leg took us from the hot springs at Glenwood back home. We had breakfast at our hotel – the session was early and the pools were not yet open. The weather also looked pretty crap, so we decided not to hang around, but to get back on the road.
We loaded up and set off, planning to follow the I-70 motorway for about half the journey, then head off onto the “interesting” roads. However, we were riding through motorway passes covered in snow on both sides of the road (though fortunately not actually on the roads), and some fair amount of rain, so we decided that we would stick to the highway. A couple of stops to warm up with hot drinks along the way helped, and we got back to the warm hearth of home around lunchtime.
Another wonderful road trip with Mr B, we made some great memories and enjoyed the company.
On our usual road trips, two nights in the same hotel is luxury – it means we get a ‘free’ morning due to not having to pack, load the bike, plan the route etc. Today, we were back on the road. The boy worked out in the hotel gym, then we did the whole packing/loading routine, checked out the hotel, and hopped on the bike. We rode all of 2 blocks to the Moab Diner, where we promptly halted and went in for breakfast.
Lena and I ate here a few years ago on one of our trips, and the diner was excellent, so Ben and I retuned to the scene of the crime. We were not disappointed.
Duly fueled for the day, we saddled up (for real, this time), and hit the open road. We left Moab on a southbound trajectory, following the highway for about 20 miles, where we turned left towards Naturita. We were heading towards the La Sal mountains for a bit, and they are still snow-covered. It got quite chilly, and we stopped by the roadside to add layers and change to the warmer gloves.
The road itself was pretty, and we dropped into a lovely canyon, with some tight, twisty bends keeping things exciting. The canyon was lush and very green. We crossed the state line back into Colorado, and were happy to be back in our home state.
The Canyon opened up into a very broad, flat valley – called Paradox Valley. Paradoxically, I couldn’t remember why it was called that! I just googled, and the paradox is that the local river (called Dolores), bisects the valley instead of running along the floor for the length of it. The valley is 3-5 miles wide, and about 25 miles long. After the pretty descent, traveling the length of the valley is boring.
At the end of the valley, one intersects State Highway 141, and we joined this thoroughfare, heading north towards Gateway. The road follows the river (East and West Creek) through the Tabeguache canyon, another beautiful and breathtaking natural feature of this wondrous land. There is an almost imperceptible divide in the canyon, with the east creek flowing one way, and the west the other. Apparently it is unique in the world for this feature of one single canyon with 2 opposing outflows.
Anyway, science aside, the beauty and road were both incredible, and we ate up the morning miles in relative warmth and suitable awe. We reached the far northern end of the canyon at Gateway, where we stopped at a gas station cum country store to a rest, to gas up the bike, and to have some of dads famous homemade biltong for a lunchtime snack. We passed a pleasant hour, then took off again. We rode for an hour or so til we got to Grand Junction once more. Here, we rejoined Interstate 70, this time eastbound.
An hour and a bit of motorway travel brought us to Glenwood Springs, our destination and final night of our brief tour. There is a huge spring pool next to our hotel, so we dutifully went and lowered ourselves into the waters. The temperature of the water was about 104f/40c, and was just the thing for our bodies that had spent 3 days on the road. We soaked for an hour, and once cooked we showered, donned our best evening wear, and headed into town.
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We crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Colorado river, and landed at a cute street full of restaurants on both sides. We chose wise – the Colorado Ranch House, and were treated to an excellent meal. A shared stater of grilled asparagus and caprese salad, followed by a smoked half chicken each, and we finally forced ourselves to have a pudding. I had apple crumble pie, and B had the raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake. Both of these were divine.
We staggered around the lovely little town to try and walk off the meal, then headed back across the rolling river to our hotel, where we caught up on emails, blogged, and went to sleep.
Tomorrow is the final leg, and while this has been a wonderful journey – and a privilege as always to spend some time on the road with Mr B – I am looking forward to being back home with my cats and dogs and (mostly) lovely wife. We are planning a slow start – likely we will boil ourselves in the hot spring one more before we mount up for the final ride of this series. Anyway – thanks for riding along with us. I will provide a final report once we get home.
Mr B and I have done some wonderful, exciting activities in our 26 years together. We had a great bikers trip up to Scotland when Ben was 14 or so, and we stayed at an estate where we did archery, shotgun shooting, quad-biking and more. We enjoy doing this kind of thing, and so for today I had booked an off-road 4×4 self-driving trip, with a guide, doing a trail called “Hells Revenge”.
Satan himself could not have devised a more challenging and fun activity. The tour company provided a lovely guide – Jesse Rainbow – and a fleet of off-road vehicles. These were Kawasaki Teryx S4s (in case you wanted to know), and each party got to drive their own. Aside from Jesse in his lead vehicle, there were 3 other couples driving their own 4×4. Ben does not have a license, so I drove ours for the full tour.
We started with a minimal safety brief, then hopped into our vehicles, and drove through town, and up to the trail head – about 10 minutes. The vehicles are automatic, and have a high, ow, reverse and 2wd or 4wd options. These things are incredible. We drove up, down, around and across rock so steep I would hesitate to walk them – but somehow these machines just drove the route with ease.
We were on the trail about 3 hours. The trail consisted of some sandy, rocky road – but mostly of large sheer rock formations that we drove on. We were never quite vertical – though it often felt like that – but we drove in places that mountains goats would think twice about
We stopped a few times to look at the scenery, or to learn something interesting about the trail from our guide. There were one or two features/obstacles that we did not attempt, but did stop to check out. The escalator, the devils hot-tub, the washing machine were a few of these – it is hard to imagine that a vehicle of any sort could negotiate these. But they do.
We got back in to town around 11am. We walked back to the hotel, saddled up the bike and road south for a few miles to a restaurant called Hidden Cuisine. Run by a wonderful South African lady from Cape Town, we had visited last year when my parents were with us, and Zinzi – the owner – had generously given us some of her time. We talked about lots of things with her, including my biltong recipe.
Anyway, after we ordered out lunch, I asked if Zinzi had a couple of minute to come say hi. She turned up as we were finishing our meal. She fully remember meeting us, which is amazing. If you think of any restaurant, and how many patrons come through daily, then remember we were only ever there once, you would not expect a host to remember you. But she totally did, pointing to the table where we had sat with mom and dad.
I had brought Zinzi a piece of my biltong, and she was very thrilled. I don;t imagine Moab is filled with many South Africans, or biltong – hopefully she enjoyed it.
After lunch, it was time to go to Arches National Park. My 3rd or 4th visit, it was just as exciting as the first time. Sharing the experience with B was lovely – he really appreciates the experience and beauty of nature. A major park dotted with incredible rock formations, including a number of arches that have formed over the millennia from the weathering effect. We drive through the park, stopping here and there to marvel at he scenery, or to hike to a viewpoint or particular arch or other formation.
The day arrived – and the first part of it was spent doing the usual arrangements, trying to find all the necessary bits and pieces, and attempting not to forget anything. We decided on taking the bike, so we also needed to make sure we had enough warm clothing layers to get us over the Rockies.
The dogs were a great help in getting us ready to roll.
We set off some time after 0800, to much fanfare and a brass band playing us off. We headed south west, and were treated to the beautiful vistas that open up once you get over Kenosha pass. There was a fair amount of snow, but not near the roads.
At Fairplay (which is where the mythical town of South Park is set) we turned north on Road 9, and wound our way over some pretty sharp hairpin bends and high forest roads towards Breckenridge. Again, weather was cool but our layes were adequate. We passed Breckenridge, and rode another half hour or so to Frisco, where we stopped at a lovely bakery for brunch.
Suitably fed and caffeinated, within 5 minutes of leaving we were on the main east-west Interstate that cuts through the whole of Colorado and beyond. Now traveling at motorway speeds, we ate up the miles heading west. The motorway is among the more pretty of it’s ilk, and passes through mountainous regions for 100 miles or so.
Down the western slopes of the Rockies, we got warm – quickly. We dropped of the I70 at Grand Junction, and quickly stopped to peel off the various layers, change our thick gloves for summer ones, and drink a lot of cold water. Now off the motorway, we rode through Grand Junction and out the other side – about 10 miles in all – to the entrance to the Colorado National Monument.
I rode through the monument last summer -about 20 miles of road that climbs rapidly, and hugs the rim of a few significant canyons. The sights are amazing, the corners very sharp, and the sheer drops down into the canyons are magnificent. We did a lot of ooh-ing and aah-ing, and stopped at various vantage points for some pictures.
After leaving the Monument (it is not a specific thing – the whole area is designated as the monument), we re-joined the highway and rode another 40-50 miles, crossing the State line into Utah in the process. Somewhere near Frisco, we left the Interstate once more, and meandered in a south-westerly direction.
After driving about 30 miles or so through pretty desolate scenery, we intersected with the Colorado river. The river quickly runs in to a broad canyon, and the road runs alongside it for miles. It is breathtakingly beautiful, the sides are high, and composed largely of the massive red rock that gave Colorado its name.
At one point, about 20 miles or so before Moab, the river makes a sarp right turn, and the landscape opens up into a vista befitting a cinematographically perfect Western. Large mesa’s, buttes, opening plains and odd shaped rocks patterned the landscape. It was a warm day, an in teh background, the La Sal mountains hovered behind the spectacular rocks. The La Sal range is still snow-covered, and added anther dimension to the scenery.
We got to Moab around 6pm. We checked in to our hotel, and made a beeline for the swimming pool where we cooled off. A nice walk to the Broken Oar eatery was followed by a decent meal, and we then returned to the hotel and turned in – both of us very tired from the lovely day
Ben is in the air, en-route from Manchester via Frankfurt to Denver, and I will be collecting him from the airport in about 5 hours. I have been agonising over the trip and choice of vehicle – the mornings are still really cold in this part of the world. However we travel, to get to Moab we have to cross the Rockies. We live on the eastern slopes, and we need to climb over the hill and down the other side, to get to Utah and the amazing landscapes there.
We live at 8400 feet altitude, and need to travel about 160 miles before we come down to a reasonable altitude of around 5000 feet, where we can expect better temperatures. The early part of the day at home has temperatures around 2-5 degrees C (35-40 f), which is pretty cold for a few hours of motorbike travel. Once we get down to the lower climes, the days should be really warm – but I will need to consult with the boy as to whether we want to brave the cold and pack a bunch of extra layers for the mountain legs. The alternative is to take the Jeep – which is fun to ride, too – but not as much fun as the HarleyArmchair Davidson. We’ll see what he thinks once he lands.
Meanwhile, here is the route I am thinking of taking us on:
Day 1 – Home to Moab via the Colorado National Monument
Day 2 – Local around Moab
Day 3 – Moab to Glenwood Springs via Naturita and Gateway
Interesting times make for interesting opportunities. I am coming to the end of my current job, and have taken some time off. At the same time, the boy has just accepted a new role starting mid-June, and his current company put him on garden leave til then – so both of us find ourselves with some time on our hands.
Having realised we both have some extended time off, we quickly made a plan to get together, and the decision was that he would come to the US of A for a visit. This was only organised a week ago. While discussing the options, we decided that a road trip, which is one of our things, would be desirable.
Ben and I like to spend time on the bike together. Since he was at primary school has has liked to sit on the back of the bike (or maybe secretly he just liked wearing the leather jackets), but whatever the reason, we have done many many, miles together. Whether it was a day riding to the coast, or a week exploring the castles and battlefields of Scotland, time on the road has been good for us both.
When we first moved to the US, Ben came to Seattle for a month, and during that time we took a week out and rode the Pacific coast down to California and back. Like many a biker, he likes to ride exciting roads with good scenery – and the Rockies and surrounding states offers these in abundance.
Anyways – Ben lands in Denver tomorrow, and we are heading off Tuesday morning for a 4-day trip to Moab in Utah. The plan is to spend a couple of nights in Moab, so we can explore the wonders of the desert, and then head home with an overnight in Glenwood Springs, which is home to a huge hot springs complex, so we can soak our bones in the warm waters and recover from 3 days on the roads.
I plan to provide my usual daily updates, so follow along from the comfort of your armchairs.
