I couldn't drive all this way and not see the Grand Canyon
June 27, 2008
Today in a couple minutes ill be leaving for the south rim of the grand canyon to see the rest of this big hole in the desert! I also want to add, that when I left my campsite in the Dixie National Forest yesterday morning my good neighbors who had made me dinner last night brought by an amazing breakfast as well along with fresh coffee. They own the only gas station in New Castle Utah, so if you’re ever passing through there, be sure to stop in, good people here!
What a climb that was! So driving into Telluride you can see some of the most amazingly tall waterfalls, and at the extreme top of the falls there is a house precariously perched. It’s as if the water is coming out of the house for the falls it is very cool to see. I talk with some of the locals and they tell me there is a road that will take you up the falls so of course I must explore this awesome road. I head out of town in the general direction of the falls and it climbs in elevation REALLY quick, lot’s of switchbacks, very hairy ones at that they are tight and have lots of loose rocks, some of them are so tight that I have to do like a five point turn and on a motorcycle at that to get around the switchbacks. 
I get closer and closer to the falls and the great thing about Colorado is that everyone is so active so there were a good number of hikers on the trail as well. Every now and then I would see some soccer mom’s grand Cherokee climbing the hill as well, which eased my apprehensiveness about how treacherous this climb may be. I start to see more and more snow as I move up the mountain and I finally get to the base of the falls and its like I walked into a torrential down pour of rain, I only stay for a brief minute to snap a few pictures and I have to get out of there quick. 
One thing of note, my new tires, the Avon Gripsters, are notoriously nicknamed the ‘Slipsters’ when in muddy conditions so… torrential downpour makes for pretty muddy conditions at the base of the falls so get out of there quick before I’m slipping and sliding in any really bad mud. Higher and higher more switch backs and I finally get to just below the house at the top of the mountain and the source of the falls, and the view of the town of Telluride and the valley is astounding. 
There are a number of other 4x4’s there as well and one mom machine surprisingly had William & Mary stickers all over it, a throwback to my Virginia days. They notice I have Virginia plates and turns out one of the girls plays soccer for W&M. It’s funny who you meet at the top of a waterfall in the middle of nowhere. So as bad as the climb up was the ride down wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be the switchbacks were a lot easier because I knew how many and where they were. After I got down from the mountain I headed through the town of telluride which was going crazy there were tons of people there for their wine festival, so I purchased my standard sticker and postcards, and proceeded on my way. 
I found a great dirt road out of Telluride through the San Juan National Forest and I took that for a good 30 something miles and it was great to be under the trees and in the mountains again. I was sad though because later in the day I would be heading to lower elevations, aka the desert. After leaving Colorado dropped in elevation and I made my way into the hard to get beer state of Utah. It got hotter and I drank more water and I made my way into Moab Utah the off roading and mountain biking capitol of the world! Everywhere you see there are huge lifted jeeps, beefy tired mountain bikes and tons of dirt bikes. 
Sadly though I have yet to see a dual sport motorcycle. I went to an awesome Mexican place for dinner where I got a Portobello mushroom burrito something which I have never had before, and it was gigantic, the size of my arm literally… it was called the M.O.A.B. otherwise known as the Mother of All Burritos! Not wanting to deal with the horrendous heat in the desert I conveniently found a really chill hostel here in Moab. Dorm rooms were just 9 bucks and you could get your own room for 25, so I did what any savvy cost conscience traveler would do who wants a good night’s sleep I got the $25 room which is about what I would pay for a campsite and I had nice cooling air-condition on top of it all!
I get closer and closer to the falls and the great thing about Colorado is that everyone is so active so there were a good number of hikers on the trail as well. Every now and then I would see some soccer mom’s grand Cherokee climbing the hill as well, which eased my apprehensiveness about how treacherous this climb may be. I start to see more and more snow as I move up the mountain and I finally get to the base of the falls and its like I walked into a torrential down pour of rain, I only stay for a brief minute to snap a few pictures and I have to get out of there quick. One thing of note, my new tires, the Avon Gripsters, are notoriously nicknamed the ‘Slipsters’ when in muddy conditions so… torrential downpour makes for pretty muddy conditions at the base of the falls so get out of there quick before I’m slipping and sliding in any really bad mud. Higher and higher more switch backs and I finally get to just below the house at the top of the mountain and the source of the falls, and the view of the town of Telluride and the valley is astounding. There are a number of other 4x4’s there as well and one mom machine surprisingly had William & Mary stickers all over it, a throwback to my Virginia days. They notice I have Virginia plates and turns out one of the girls plays soccer for W&M. It’s funny who you meet at the top of a waterfall in the middle of nowhere. So as bad as the climb up was the ride down wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be the switchbacks were a lot easier because I knew how many and where they were. After I got down from the mountain I headed through the town of telluride which was going crazy there were tons of people there for their wine festival, so I purchased my standard sticker and postcards, and proceeded on my way. I found a great dirt road out of Telluride through the San Juan National Forest and I took that for a good 30 something miles and it was great to be under the trees and in the mountains again. I was sad though because later in the day I would be heading to lower elevations, aka the desert. After leaving Colorado dropped in elevation and I made my way into the hard to get beer state of Utah. It got hotter and I drank more water and I made my way into Moab Utah the off roading and mountain biking capitol of the world! Everywhere you see there are huge lifted jeeps, beefy tired mountain bikes and tons of dirt bikes. Sadly though I have yet to see a dual sport motorcycle. I went to an awesome Mexican place for dinner where I got a Portobello mushroom burrito something which I have never had before, and it was gigantic, the size of my arm literally… it was called the M.O.A.B. otherwise known as the Mother of All Burritos! Not wanting to deal with the horrendous heat in the desert I conveniently found a really chill hostel here in Moab. Dorm rooms were just 9 bucks and you could get your own room for 25, so I did what any savvy cost conscience traveler would do who wants a good night’s sleep I got the $25 room which is about what I would pay for a campsite and I had nice cooling air-condition on top of it all!June 28, 2008
Get me out of the desert! This Grand Canyon better be the best stop ever because it is the only reason I left the mountains of Colorado, since there is no way I can come all this way and not see the grandest of all the canyons in the land. But yes I am not a fan of the heat in the desert, and sadly it turns out there is a lot of desert between here and the Pacific Ocean. After a great night’s sleep at the wonderful Lazy Lizard Hostel in Moab Utah I awoke refreshed and ready to take on the heat. 
I stop in at Mondo Café the same place I went last night to post some new things to the blog and I stay there for a good hour and a half planning and re planning the coolest fastest way through the desert. I should let you know that the plan I made this morning is no longer being used and I have since deviated from my route. So today I decided to visit Arches National Park and Canyon lands National Park, both of which are right next to each other near Moab. Well, Arches was my first stop and it was horridly warm that and I was not my usual happy self since Margaret Ann was leaving for Oxford this very evening. 
I think the combination of MA leaving and the heat and the fact that all I wanted to do was get to the ocean made me drastically change my plan and I rushed through Arches, you see one arch you’ve seen them all, and I skip Canyon lands because well I’m going to see the Grandest Canyon ever, and I hightail it out of Moab to Bryce Canyon… reason being, I was talking with a guy who lives in his van who saw me and immediately assumed I was just another loaner living on my bike and he proceeded to tell me there are cooler climates in Bryce Canyon. That was all the convincing I needed from this van man and I was off. On my way I saw a bunch of motorcycles heading in the opposite direction and at one rest stop I saw some of them and asked them where they were headed. I don’t mean to be mean but they were rather snooty probably due to the fact that they saw my beast of a KLR, all muddied up and they were all on nice expensive BMW touring bikes most likely worth as much as my graduate education. 
One of them told me that they were doing a 26 hour endurance rally, whatever that meant, they were riding really far and for a very long time, that must be why they all had attitudes. Ok so it’s just 187 miles to Bryce from my current location and I would get to pass through another national park, which is Capitol Reef and a national forest which is Dixie National Forests, so that’s like a two-fer to see all these places and ride far. I hadn’t planned on enjoying my marathon ride to Bryce, however it was a great route through capitol reef and Dixie National Forest. I took Highway 12 and Highway 24 which are two of Utah’s Scenic Byways. The ride through Capitol Reef was awe striking, the mountains were gigantic, it makes me wish I paid more attention to my geology classes back at VMI because I might know and appreciate just a little more all these awesome rock formations. 
Once I got through Capitol Reef I noticed mountains ahead, which was a nice relief, soon I found myself climbing and switch backing my way through the Dixie National Forest. It was getting a little late and I was getting a little tired and was nowhere near close to Bryce, also with it being a weekend the campground at Bryce would most likely be filled, and the air up in the mountains I was going through was just so cooling so I decided to stop at the next campground I could find, and what a great find it was! Quite possibly my best experience at a campground thus far on my trip. I find a nice site, pay my $9 and I begin to set up shop for the night. As I’m doing so my neighbors from across the way with their very nice 5th wheel ask me if I’m hungry, not wanting it to be another Ramen and tuna fish night I respond with a yes and they offer me some of their leftovers which were something like I’ve never tasted before. 
They cooked potatoes in a Dutch over with bacon and onions and spices and they were really good. We sat and talked for a while and they offered some great suggestions on places to go and where its cooler, which I am always looking for! While talking with them another one of our neighbors comes by; Chuck, a fellow motorcycle enthusiast, and Marine Aviator from San Diego. I talk with Chuck and his wife for a while, about everything from motorcycles to Marines, and they suggest an even better route through the sand dunes near Yuma. Now I must make some difficult choices, I am not quite sure where to go now, so many great places! It really was great to have some good conservation and company at my campground tonight, since my blackberry sadly has no service here I couldn’t make any calls but thankfully like I said there were some really great and friendly people here in the Dixie National Forest! Tomorrow will be one for the record books, three national parks in one day, Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon, then onward to the mountains in Flagstaff Arizona to bed down for the evening.
I stop in at Mondo Café the same place I went last night to post some new things to the blog and I stay there for a good hour and a half planning and re planning the coolest fastest way through the desert. I should let you know that the plan I made this morning is no longer being used and I have since deviated from my route. So today I decided to visit Arches National Park and Canyon lands National Park, both of which are right next to each other near Moab. Well, Arches was my first stop and it was horridly warm that and I was not my usual happy self since Margaret Ann was leaving for Oxford this very evening. I think the combination of MA leaving and the heat and the fact that all I wanted to do was get to the ocean made me drastically change my plan and I rushed through Arches, you see one arch you’ve seen them all, and I skip Canyon lands because well I’m going to see the Grandest Canyon ever, and I hightail it out of Moab to Bryce Canyon… reason being, I was talking with a guy who lives in his van who saw me and immediately assumed I was just another loaner living on my bike and he proceeded to tell me there are cooler climates in Bryce Canyon. That was all the convincing I needed from this van man and I was off. On my way I saw a bunch of motorcycles heading in the opposite direction and at one rest stop I saw some of them and asked them where they were headed. I don’t mean to be mean but they were rather snooty probably due to the fact that they saw my beast of a KLR, all muddied up and they were all on nice expensive BMW touring bikes most likely worth as much as my graduate education. One of them told me that they were doing a 26 hour endurance rally, whatever that meant, they were riding really far and for a very long time, that must be why they all had attitudes. Ok so it’s just 187 miles to Bryce from my current location and I would get to pass through another national park, which is Capitol Reef and a national forest which is Dixie National Forests, so that’s like a two-fer to see all these places and ride far. I hadn’t planned on enjoying my marathon ride to Bryce, however it was a great route through capitol reef and Dixie National Forest. I took Highway 12 and Highway 24 which are two of Utah’s Scenic Byways. The ride through Capitol Reef was awe striking, the mountains were gigantic, it makes me wish I paid more attention to my geology classes back at VMI because I might know and appreciate just a little more all these awesome rock formations. Once I got through Capitol Reef I noticed mountains ahead, which was a nice relief, soon I found myself climbing and switch backing my way through the Dixie National Forest. It was getting a little late and I was getting a little tired and was nowhere near close to Bryce, also with it being a weekend the campground at Bryce would most likely be filled, and the air up in the mountains I was going through was just so cooling so I decided to stop at the next campground I could find, and what a great find it was! Quite possibly my best experience at a campground thus far on my trip. I find a nice site, pay my $9 and I begin to set up shop for the night. As I’m doing so my neighbors from across the way with their very nice 5th wheel ask me if I’m hungry, not wanting it to be another Ramen and tuna fish night I respond with a yes and they offer me some of their leftovers which were something like I’ve never tasted before. They cooked potatoes in a Dutch over with bacon and onions and spices and they were really good. We sat and talked for a while and they offered some great suggestions on places to go and where its cooler, which I am always looking for! While talking with them another one of our neighbors comes by; Chuck, a fellow motorcycle enthusiast, and Marine Aviator from San Diego. I talk with Chuck and his wife for a while, about everything from motorcycles to Marines, and they suggest an even better route through the sand dunes near Yuma. Now I must make some difficult choices, I am not quite sure where to go now, so many great places! It really was great to have some good conservation and company at my campground tonight, since my blackberry sadly has no service here I couldn’t make any calls but thankfully like I said there were some really great and friendly people here in the Dixie National Forest! Tomorrow will be one for the record books, three national parks in one day, Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon, then onward to the mountains in Flagstaff Arizona to bed down for the evening. June 29, 2008
Pardon me but do you happen to know what time zone this is. I find myself asking people this question every couple days or so. Mountain or West Coast, Eastern or who knows what. When I pass through towns I try and find the nearest bank to A.) check how hot it is outside and B.) see what time it is, because C.) well cell service is rare out west. I asked the lady at the desk of the campsite what time zone it was while I was registering for my site after the fact I had stayed there, since I got in at oh say 10:40 at night. June 29th was a marathon day for me. 
Three national parks, one national monument and two national forests, and all in one day! My first stop was Bryce which was basically a canyon but with tons of sandstone columns in it just free standing. There are thousands of them hundreds of feet tall scattered all throughout the canyon, and on top of it all the canyon is a very very dark red color. After Bryce I hightailed it over to Zion National Park, which had to have been the most surreal place I have ever seen ; huge gigantic red cliffs with the famous checkerboard patterns all over them. The park itself does not have many places you are allowed to drive, what they have done is set up a shuttle service which takes you most of the way, however due to the fact I was on my marathon national park tour that day I couldn’t take the time to go on the shuttle. 
I did however drive about 15 miles into the park and one of those miles was through a tunnel straight through a mountain. Every couple hundred feet though there were cut outs from the mountain that looked out to the canyon and you got to see a glimpse of what you were missing on the outside. At the canyon floor Zion was hot, a little too hot for me. I filled up my Nalagene at the visitor’s center and I started to head out, when a man by the name of Harry S. stopped me and asked what part of Virginia I was from. Turns out Harry is from Lynchburg and him and his wife were on their way back from crossing the US on their Harley. He was the first Virginia I have met on my entire trip and on a motorcycle none the less, good man! Next stop Grand Canyon, due to some rain delays I would only be able to see one part of the Canyon and the sunset at best, so I raced across the desert but much to my surprise it only got cooler, much cooler then it started to rain. I thought as I was heading towards the Canyon that it would get very arid and deserty, however I was very wrong, I guess I should have read my National Geographic Guide to the National Parks because the place on the canyon I was going to, the North Rim is at altitude and it is very cool. But hey, I’m not complaining! 
I get to the park entrance and it’s another 20 miles to Cape Royal where I will get my first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. It’s a twisty, switch backing slow 20 miles to the Point but I make it, I jump of my bike in full gear grab my camera and I race to the point so as not to miss the sunset. And it was great! After a day of racing through the desert I was very pleased to finally have made it and to be able to relax. 
Turns out though Point Royal is known for its sunsets because there were TONS of photographers with their huge tripods and gigantic zoom lenses, it really looked like the paparazzi were at the point that evening. 
I found a seat plopped down and did nothing. Ok sunsets over now to find a campsite, this shouldn’t be hard, well it was, I had to drive about 60 miles back out of the park the way I came and I didn’t find one until around 10:40 like I mentioned, I got to my site threw up the tent and crashed! Fast forward to this morning now where I am writing this entry.
Three national parks, one national monument and two national forests, and all in one day! My first stop was Bryce which was basically a canyon but with tons of sandstone columns in it just free standing. There are thousands of them hundreds of feet tall scattered all throughout the canyon, and on top of it all the canyon is a very very dark red color. After Bryce I hightailed it over to Zion National Park, which had to have been the most surreal place I have ever seen ; huge gigantic red cliffs with the famous checkerboard patterns all over them. The park itself does not have many places you are allowed to drive, what they have done is set up a shuttle service which takes you most of the way, however due to the fact I was on my marathon national park tour that day I couldn’t take the time to go on the shuttle. I did however drive about 15 miles into the park and one of those miles was through a tunnel straight through a mountain. Every couple hundred feet though there were cut outs from the mountain that looked out to the canyon and you got to see a glimpse of what you were missing on the outside. At the canyon floor Zion was hot, a little too hot for me. I filled up my Nalagene at the visitor’s center and I started to head out, when a man by the name of Harry S. stopped me and asked what part of Virginia I was from. Turns out Harry is from Lynchburg and him and his wife were on their way back from crossing the US on their Harley. He was the first Virginia I have met on my entire trip and on a motorcycle none the less, good man! Next stop Grand Canyon, due to some rain delays I would only be able to see one part of the Canyon and the sunset at best, so I raced across the desert but much to my surprise it only got cooler, much cooler then it started to rain. I thought as I was heading towards the Canyon that it would get very arid and deserty, however I was very wrong, I guess I should have read my National Geographic Guide to the National Parks because the place on the canyon I was going to, the North Rim is at altitude and it is very cool. But hey, I’m not complaining! I get to the park entrance and it’s another 20 miles to Cape Royal where I will get my first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. It’s a twisty, switch backing slow 20 miles to the Point but I make it, I jump of my bike in full gear grab my camera and I race to the point so as not to miss the sunset. And it was great! After a day of racing through the desert I was very pleased to finally have made it and to be able to relax. Turns out though Point Royal is known for its sunsets because there were TONS of photographers with their huge tripods and gigantic zoom lenses, it really looked like the paparazzi were at the point that evening. I found a seat plopped down and did nothing. Ok sunsets over now to find a campsite, this shouldn’t be hard, well it was, I had to drive about 60 miles back out of the park the way I came and I didn’t find one until around 10:40 like I mentioned, I got to my site threw up the tent and crashed! Fast forward to this morning now where I am writing this entry. Today in a couple minutes ill be leaving for the south rim of the grand canyon to see the rest of this big hole in the desert! I also want to add, that when I left my campsite in the Dixie National Forest yesterday morning my good neighbors who had made me dinner last night brought by an amazing breakfast as well along with fresh coffee. They own the only gas station in New Castle Utah, so if you’re ever passing through there, be sure to stop in, good people here!June 30, 2008
Another high mileage day and a hot one at that! After I left my campground in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon I rode to the South Rim because well I had to see more that just one part of this giant thing. So I took to the road and would you believe it but it’s a good 2 hours from one side of the Canyon to the other because you have to drive the ENTIRE way around; I mean you think someone would be smart enough to make a bridge or something! Ok so the ride was long, really long and when I got to the canyon it really started to heat up! 
At that point I had seen enough of the Canyon and I was in need for some fun, I was going to bed down in the mountains in Flagstaff Arizona but I decided I needed some fun night life so I did the next best thing, I plugged in Las Vegas Nevada into the Garmin and off I was, just 275 miles and I would be in the Sin City, and holy crap was that a longggg ride. Garmin said I would be there around eight thirtyish, I stopped once for a delicious red bull and a slim jim, because as we all know Las Vegas has some killer deals on food, that I could not pass up due to a full stomach. I mean we’re talking the home of 99 cent shrimp cocktails and all you can eat 24 hour buffets and more! The further I rode the hotter it seemed to get even with the sun setting. I passed through one town and I saw the local bank told me it was 105 degrees out, and it was a quarter to eight! The ride from the grand canyon to Vegas was in general pretty boring desert riding however one plus was that I was on highway 93 which conveniently passes over the Hoover Dam, so that was a big plus, I got to cross the dam right when the sun was setting and I got to see the huge new bridge they were building, it was absolutely enormous. 
The new highway 93 is going to literally span the entire valley below, no more switch backing you way down to the dam, it’ll be a clean straight shot, and a good several hundred feet over the ground! I pulled into my hostel more closer to nine than eight thirty, and I checked into my room. The hostel here in Vegas is really cool, it is an old 70s hotel converted into a hostel, with a huge pool, bar, ect and tons of people. Finally a hostel with actual people, the past few I have really struck out on. I met two chaps here from England by the name of Tom and Nick who had flown to San Francisco rented Harleys and driven down the coast and on to Vegas. Tonight was their last night though and they went out in style, spending I think every last penny they had at the casinos. I hung out at the hostel for a bit and met the people here, and i decided it was time to head to the strip. The last time I had been in Vegas I was just 18 so there really wasn’t much for me to do here, however this time around I have the privilege of being 21+ so I could try my hand at a little gambling. Well not being the gambling type I got off the bus at the strip and the first sign I saw it said 99 cent jumbo hot dog, so of course I had to oblige. 
I paid $2 got a little change back and there were a lot of slots there, and being the type who hates change I figured I’d try my hand at getting even more change, that would hopefully be able to make its way into dollar form that could go in my wallet. I played some nickel slots for a bit then moved up to the quarter slots, and 30 minutes later I walked away with two nice and crisp $20 bills. And with those bills I did my next most favorite thing… eat. 
I walked around and explored the casinos just to see what was out there. Convenient enough my camera batteries ran out so I couldn’t take very many pictures. Well the sun is encroaching on my last bit of shade here at the pool so I must put my lap top away and jump in the water!
At that point I had seen enough of the Canyon and I was in need for some fun, I was going to bed down in the mountains in Flagstaff Arizona but I decided I needed some fun night life so I did the next best thing, I plugged in Las Vegas Nevada into the Garmin and off I was, just 275 miles and I would be in the Sin City, and holy crap was that a longggg ride. Garmin said I would be there around eight thirtyish, I stopped once for a delicious red bull and a slim jim, because as we all know Las Vegas has some killer deals on food, that I could not pass up due to a full stomach. I mean we’re talking the home of 99 cent shrimp cocktails and all you can eat 24 hour buffets and more! The further I rode the hotter it seemed to get even with the sun setting. I passed through one town and I saw the local bank told me it was 105 degrees out, and it was a quarter to eight! The ride from the grand canyon to Vegas was in general pretty boring desert riding however one plus was that I was on highway 93 which conveniently passes over the Hoover Dam, so that was a big plus, I got to cross the dam right when the sun was setting and I got to see the huge new bridge they were building, it was absolutely enormous. The new highway 93 is going to literally span the entire valley below, no more switch backing you way down to the dam, it’ll be a clean straight shot, and a good several hundred feet over the ground! I pulled into my hostel more closer to nine than eight thirty, and I checked into my room. The hostel here in Vegas is really cool, it is an old 70s hotel converted into a hostel, with a huge pool, bar, ect and tons of people. Finally a hostel with actual people, the past few I have really struck out on. I met two chaps here from England by the name of Tom and Nick who had flown to San Francisco rented Harleys and driven down the coast and on to Vegas. Tonight was their last night though and they went out in style, spending I think every last penny they had at the casinos. I hung out at the hostel for a bit and met the people here, and i decided it was time to head to the strip. The last time I had been in Vegas I was just 18 so there really wasn’t much for me to do here, however this time around I have the privilege of being 21+ so I could try my hand at a little gambling. Well not being the gambling type I got off the bus at the strip and the first sign I saw it said 99 cent jumbo hot dog, so of course I had to oblige. I paid $2 got a little change back and there were a lot of slots there, and being the type who hates change I figured I’d try my hand at getting even more change, that would hopefully be able to make its way into dollar form that could go in my wallet. I played some nickel slots for a bit then moved up to the quarter slots, and 30 minutes later I walked away with two nice and crisp $20 bills. And with those bills I did my next most favorite thing… eat. I walked around and explored the casinos just to see what was out there. Convenient enough my camera batteries ran out so I couldn’t take very many pictures. Well the sun is encroaching on my last bit of shade here at the pool so I must put my lap top away and jump in the water!
posted by Nick @ 4:25 PM
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