Chasing Coyote & Roadrunner

[Cogswell]

This route took me 1,325 miles through Southern Utah and Northern Arizona over 4 days. In addition, there were an additional 4 days getting to and from the jumping off point from home (1,000 miles each way). The start was at Panguitch, Utah - the nearest town to the start of Utah Scenic Byway 12 which goes through some of the most incredible scenery in the United States. From there, I worked my way across Utah from West to East, ending the first day in Bluff, Utah. From there on the second day, it was on to the '4 corners', then through Monument Valley (photo above), down to Flagstaff and Winslow, AZ, then on day 3 north to the Grand Canyon south rim, Marble Canyon and finally back to the starting point. The 4^th day was a loop through Zion Park and Cedar Breaks national monument starting July 28^th and ending August 4^th.

http://goo.gl/maps/USngp

Coyote and Roadrunner . . . when they came up with that classic, Southern Utah was where they had to have gotten the idea. The scenery can't be comprehended through description or photograph . . . it has to be seen directly with the human eye to appreciate it. Looking at the layered rock and the forces that eroded it away is looking back through tens and hundreds of millions of years of Earth's history. The colors and textures of the rock are very diverse and almost look as though some giant sculptor's hand must have created them rather than nature. It's a phenomenal ride and should be on everyone’s two-wheeled bucket list.

I had been thinking about a tour through the southwest for a few years - and with no VFR Northwest meet set up this year to take up my long-haul time budget, this was the year to do it. The route took me through to most of the major National Parks and Monuments in the area – Red Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon, etc, with a side trip to the Flagstaff area. The landscapes are phenomenal – almost other-worldly – the size immense, and at any moment I would not have been surprised to see the Roadrunner blow past me with the Coyote in pursuit.

Many have made this trip, but for those that haven't or maybe never can, I hope you enjoy the photos. I'll add to this as I have time – it's too long for a single sitting to post it all at once.

I recall reading another post once – I think made by Choco – that mentioned the advantages of taking a trip alone – one of them being that you can stop and take a photo any time you want. I tried to make the most of that on this trip – the photo count came in at 670 – some good, some not so – I'll include the best of what I took.

To get from the Northwest to Utah, no matter how I sliced and diced it, there is just no fun way to ride there – it's 1,000 miles of droning on interstates 84 & 15, so I punted and loaded the bike in the trailer and hauled it there and back – a first for me. For the first few hundred miles it startled me to look in the mirror and see a VFR following so closely . . .

The wind turbines that dot the landscape across Eastern Oregon and Idaho are an eyesore, but I suppose they do help keep the power grid humming – when the wind's blowing that is. The size of the blades on these are enormous – seeing one on a truck going down the highway is quite the sight.

Past the Cascades, I encountered this guy on a BMW 1200 with a sidecar. He seemed permanently hunched to the right to keep the sidecar wheel on the ground. It looked quite uncomfortable – but he was humming along at about 80 so it must have been working for him.

After a day and a half, finally arrived at the Utah border.

The weather had been quite problematic - and for anyone living in the area you're well aware of how wet it's been this summer – some of the locals told me they've never seen so much rain. It had been so bad that I had serious doubts whether I could pull this trip off. This radar image of thunderstorm activity is light compared to some of the heavy (and huge) cells that had been going through Flagstaff and much of the Southwest, causing all sorts of localized flooding and road washouts.

As I arrived, I encountered some heavy thunderstorms, which included air to ground lightning strikes (no photos of that unfortunately). That would have been a deal killer for me – riding a motorcycle through a storm with active lighting about is not something I'm willing to do. Note the speed limit on Utah's rural interstates - 80 . . . Even at that speed, the rig with the trailer was rock steady.

Fortunately, as I arrived at Panguitch, the clouds cleared, and on my first day of riding there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I almost lived a charmed life on this trip – I seemed to be just one step ahead of the weather the entire way – each day I rode through sunny weather, to find that the next day looking at where I had been rain was following.

Panguitch, Utah is a small town of few thousand people that lays on the opposite side of a 7,900 foot mountain range from I-15. It sits in a beautiful valley of farms and has one grocery, a couple of gas stations, a small theater and a half dozen restaurants. The people are very friendly and the chief form of recreation for the local kids seems to be riding their quads and dirt bikes around town. No one seems to mind. All in all it seems like a great place to grow up.

I used the local KOA campground as my base, as the proprietors there, the Coopers, agreed to watch my rig while I was away for my 4 day ride. I don't think you'd find nicer people anywhere – they kept watch over my rig while I was gone and wanted to hear all about my escapades when I returned.

The first leg of the route took me to Utah Scenic Byway 12, past Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon, north to Tropic (named such because its climate is a bit warmer than some of the surrounding communities), Escalante (named for an early explorer of the area) north to Torrey. From Torrey East on US 24 to Hanksville, then from there south on US 95 to Bluff, Utah for the night.

http://goo.gl/maps/yAtXr

Here's a link to Utah's brochure of Hwy 12 – it's quite good in calling out the attractions along the way. If you plan on this ride, this is a useful tool.

http://www.scenicbyway12.com/wp-content/themes/sb12/library/media/images/route_guide.pdf

Next up the start of Highway 12 through Red Canyon, UT.

______________________________________________________________________________

[RollinAgain]

Great pics and writeup! We are also very pleased that you did not speed one bit on those long straight deserted Arizona roads LOL !!!

Rollin

[didit]

I've been on many of those roads and seen those sites over the past years, on return from the SumSum events.

Stunning is right when you talk about the lower section of Utah. Always reminded me of coyote chasing road runner, plus at the world's end or place of creation for dinosaurs.

Grand Canyon, Zion, Valley of the Gods, Marble Canyon - are all 'bucket list' not to be missed places for sure.

Great write up and very familiar pictures, thanks for posting.

I'll be keeping those in mind again for the return from SumSum 3 in 2015

[Switchblade]

WOW 80mph that means everybody runs 95mph ? Thanks for the report and pix's.

[Cogswell]

Great pics and writeup! We are also very pleased that you did not speed one bit on those long straight deserted Arizona roads LOL !!!

Rollin

LMAO . . . ! I would never do such a thing.

Working on the next installment of pics. This should run well over 100 photos - maybe in the neighborhood of 200 - I should be able to post the next batch tomorrow.

[Cogswell]

Finally – the bike's wheels were on the ground and I was geared up. Got rolling around 7:00 am. Between 5,000 and 6,000 feet, the morning was cool – not bitterly cold, but the gear called for a liner and neck gaiter to conserve some body heat. It only took about 8 miles to get to the highway 12 junction.

My sense of anticipation was high, as having read about this place I was waiting to be dazzled. And it didn't take long – I had only gone about 10 miles – rounded a corner and exclaimed out loud to myself “holy sh*t!”. The rising sun accentuated the texture of the soil that I can only describe as a red that looked like it was from Mars. Juxtaposed to the red soil were the green of the conifer trees that gave the canyon the look of some sort of Christmas fantasy land. “This can't be true . . . “ But it was – and is. Red Canyon is awe inspiring. I had barely gone 20 miles out of my planned 300+ for the day and I was already stopping every 300 feet for a photo. I knew I had made the right choice of destination.

Just another half mile down the road are two – tunnels I suppose – I guess arches might be a better word – that looked as though they were from a Star Trek episode.

The road had been designed for maximum entertainment. Riding through the arches – each bend in the road placed for maximum exposure to the scenery. The pavement is buttery smooth and the curves constant radius sweepers that probably could be taken at about any speed – but I thought to myself “why would anyone want to do that here?” I had to constantly command my right wrist to relax so my eyes could drink in all the beauty.

Red Canyon ended all too soon – I suppose there are hundreds or thousands of Red Canyon's still buried underground that have not yet been exposed by millions of years of wind and water – waiting for some future generation to explore and enjoy.

Leaving the area the scenery flattened out and became more desolate.

Along the way I came to the small town of Henrieville, UT – really not much more than a spot in the road – probably maybe only 100 people living there. It never ceases to amaze me how people actually choose to make their way in such remote places – particularly ones that are subject to such harsh weather for long stretches during winter. No Costco's in sight, or restaurants – or doctors. These are certainly not places that are good to be in should something go wrong.

The elevation continued to climb. People normally think mostly of Colorado as the place to go for high elevations – but Utah has its own share of that.

Still, the landscape has a stark beauty

Near Escalante, the town had a small drive in movie theater. I love the name – and their execution on their graphics – but even at that, it must not be doing too well. The sign seemed to be saying “please - take this off my hands – Please!” rather than “for sale”. Too bad drive in's have become extinct – DVD's and Netflix just don't give the same experience and anticipation of tossing a blanket in the back of the family wagon and backing it in at the drive in to watch some monster from outer space devour Manhattan.

Moving on – Utah's highways are laid down with some very colorful stones -many pale shades of pink, white and sand – ones I suppose that do not contrast effectively with the yellow paint used to divide the road – thus a black stripe laid down the center to provide that contrast. It makes for a very unusual road surface. So much so that I finally stopped, got off and walked to the center to satisfy myself that the black stripe was not oil or tar that would compromise traction.

This shot I called “twin rocks”, though later I would find out that name had already been used – and in a much bigger way.

More later . . .

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[Yokel]

Wow, amazing pictures and really like your descriptions. Keep it coming!

[V4 Rosso]

More later . . .

Looking forward to it. Beautifull scenery, well captured

[Dutchy]

I *will* convince my wife and son that our next year's family vacation will be in this part of the world....

[wagzhp]

Wow! Stunning pictures and excellent commentary. Looks like I need to add this area to my list of places to see.

[Switchblade]

Great shots .......

[Noobtastic14]

That is a beautiful bike with a beautiful touring setup!

Also, awesome pics! I get so carried away with riding (even alone) I always forget the camera part!

-Drew

[Cogswell]

Continuing on, as I rounded a bend this impressive formation came in to view which looms over the road. It gets its name for obvious reasons. What I found particularly interesting about it is the multiple colors of layering as it rises from the valley floor, but also at the top it has a 'cap' which seems to be made out of different material. I found that later on - some rock formations that would be predominantly horizontal layering, the abruptly the striations in the stone became vertical. How the heck could that have happened?

Just when you think you've seen “the best”, on this road “there's always more”. As I rode past this formation, I recall thinking that “these formations look much like the great structures in Europe – castles or churches with flying buttresses. If god made a castle, this is what it would look like.” As I said at the outset, photos just don't give any idea of the scale of all this . . . these things are HUGE – looming over the highway.

Motoring along I came to the former settlement of Fruita. Like many of the towns and settlements in the Southwest, they're the children of wishful thinking or false advertising. I doubt the soil at "Fruita" has ever produced even a single piece of fruit of any kind (maybe I'm wrong - but you get the point). At this place, the last thing you'll find is any abundance of fruit (or any heat in Tropic, or lush crops in Bountiful). Maybe it's what the early settlers had to do in order to convince themselves to stay. I can't even imagine the hardships those people endured scratching out a living from this barren landscape. It's probably difficult enough to endure with heat, light, modern plumbing and trucks bringing in all needed supplies. But 150 years ago those people had none of that – I can't imagine how they did it.

At any rate, Fruita did have a school – and it remains preserved to this day. It must be in one of the most scenic locations of any school in North America. The cliff it sits beneath is a towering slab of rock - a seemingly very precarious location. I don't understand why they chose to locate it so close to the rock wall. I had to keep walking further and further away from the building to get it all in to one photo. The building is preserved in fine detail – the wood weathered from 150 years of exposure. The interior is all there too – a pot bellied stove, desks for the students and the chalk board for the teacher. It would have been interesting to see how those kids got here and what they learned each day while here. They're all long dead now – having raised their families and lived out there lives in this isolated valley.

The girl in the reflection seemed to be wary of me - I still had my helmet on as I was walking around the school house and the bike was parked on the opposite side of the parking lot. She seemed content to wait until I was finished to approach the building - it wasn't until I got home did I find out she was in the reflection of the window.

Just a mile down the road from the school house were some native petroglyphs (carvings) on the stone walls of the canyon. To get there though it was about 1/4 mile hike from the parking area, and since time was tight (miles to go), I passed on that. I'm sure it was interesting though.

Next up - Glen Canyon.

[Cogswell]

I *will* convince my wife and son that our next year's family vacation will be in this part of the world....

I'll get to this part later . . . but while at the Grand Canyon, I would say that more than half of the visitors there spoke European languages - it seems a very popular destination. And judging from the cars and motorhomes they were driving (all with California license plates), they are flying from Europe to LAX as their jumping off point , renting a vehicle and then touring the region. Highly recommended - you'll love it.

[Cogswell]

Something that one might observe about this post was that one of the parks I had mentioned early on was Bryce Canyon – and looking at the map, by this point in the route I had already passed it . . . and yet I have not posted any photos of it! In researching this ride, it became apparent that Bryce Canyon is more of a destination rather than one along my planned route. The road is described as having turnouts at the major overlooks, but “parking is limited, so you are encouraged to use the shuttle”. My mental map of that was that traffic would be a bear, I wouldn't see much without getting off the bike and hiking to more scenic overlooks . . . and I was here to ride as much as see all the sights. And it felt like I was doing at least as much looking as riding, so it was time to get on with it. Turns out that in a couple of days I would stumble on to another park that's almost as spectacular as Bryce. As I rode by I remember thinking “I'll save that one for the next time I'm here – I'm drinking in a lot already.” Besides – I had spent a ton of time in Red Canyon and other locations already – taking dozens of photos, so I really needed to make some time – I had planned about 350 miles for the day and I was behind schedule. I'll toss in a stock photo here though for perspective. . .

One side note is that I thought when planning this trip that finding fuel was going to be an issue – there are long hauls between even the smallest of towns and I had my stops carefully planned and the operation of the stations verified by calling ahead. It turns out none of that was necessary. For whatever reason, there are plenty of gas stations along this route – some of them in the tiniest of villages or spots in the road. Prices were a bit higher, but not outrageous – so this ride is more doable that I had previously envisioned.

Leaving the petroglyphs the day was getting on, and it seemed best to make time, so I rolled on the throttle harder and got moving. I was a bit hasty in doing that though, as no more had the school faded from sight I was accelerating in 4th gear, rounded a sweeping curve and had to grab a big hand full of brakes for these guys:

They had been directly in the center of the road. From their behavior, they clearly heard the sound from the twin Remus cans echoing through the canyon. Once I was off the gas and slowed, they seemed to calm down and milled about once off the pavement, not seemingly eager to vacate the area – giving me enough time to pull the camera from the tank bag and capture a few photos. A few had some pretty impressive horns – certainly not something I was expecting in this part of the world – particularly a herd standing on the double yellow.

[Belfry]

Great work as usual Curry.

What camera are you using?

Cheers.

[Cogswell]

Leaving Fruita, the road leveled out on to a fairly flat plane, on a pretty lonely stretch of road. Much like as I was riding through parts of Wyoming last year – there were stretches where except for the road, there wasn't a sign another soul on earth exists. There's a beautiful simplicity in that. No worries about other people intruding in to my experience. No cages to “not see me”. It spoke to one's self reliance. I recall thinking “this would be a lousy place to break down” and then got to thinking back to the prep work I had done on the bike before leaving. “Did I get those caliper bolts torqued correctly?” “I did use loctite on them – didn't I? “How many more miles does the chain have in it??” But that's what made it interesting. I felt like a cowboy on an iron horse racing across the plains chasing some unknown destination. Maybe this is one of the few places where one can truly clear their mind of the daily clutter. Having brushed those thoughts aside, I rolled in to the throttle, got in to a comfortable position and just drank in the sound of the pipes churning out their tune at 6,000 rpm.

One of my gas stops for the day was Torrey, UT. Like many times when fueling, people walk over to strike up conversation. On this occasion, a very lovely young woman with short blonde hair got out of her car on the other side of the pumps and began asking me questions about where I was from and where I was headed. The conversation quickly turned to her Ducati which she owned in her hometown of Flagstaff, but which she lamented was in need of some (very expensive) service. She rides with her boyfriend (lucky stiff) but was wanting something different. She eye'd the '08 as I began explaining the differences in the various gen's. And while she showed interest, her eyes lit up when I said “have a listen to it” and thumbed the starter. She looked back and forth to me and the bike several times and I blipped the throttle before proclaiming “that sounds COOL”! I told her to check out VFRD and look around – there aren't a lot of VFR's around, but the people that own them know what they have. She said she was going to check it out when she got back to Flagstaff. Whoever you are out there – I hope you buy a VFR and check in here and read this post – I'd like to see some posts from you and share who you are.

More bizarre formations came in to view – ones obviously created by flowing water. Hard to believe – 5,000 feet above sea level, I'm riding through the landscape laid down under a sea some millions of years ago, then carved out by a now long gone ancient river that must have been tens of miles (or more) wide to expose this moon like surface. And now the whole area – hundreds of miles wide – is more than a mile above the sea. Awesome's not the right word for it- I'm not sure what is. What could have possibly created this round pockets in the rock . . . some sort of gargantuan machine gun? The road continued to twist and turn and reveal something strange and interesting around each bend.

The road began descending – clearly heading in to some sort of valley. Finally some signage indicated that I was approaching Glen Canyon, another feature that was carved by the Colorado river.

Next up I'll have many more photos of the Glen Canyon area - truly spectacular.

[Cogswell]

The road began descending – clearly heading in to some sort of valley. Finally some signage indicated that I was approaching Glen Canyon, another feature that was carved by the Colorado river.

This rock formation was several miles away - zooming in makes it appear closer - riding under it gave the sense of the immense scale. Here was a great example of various directions of the layering in the rock. You have to look closely - in the lower right of the photo there are trucks and cars on the road directly below the cliff - they're tiny specs.

This was the only place I saw State Patrol the entire way - two units had someone pulled over, and it did not look like it was going well - so while it would have been great to have really run through here - I just sort of idled by and nodded my head to acknowledge them as I went past.

Note the bridge in the background in the gap of the rock . . . I didn't even notice it at the time, not realizing it would be in the photo. But then of course I came to it and had to cross the bridge. I was hoping for a really good shot of it, but no vantage point was available for that.

What I would love to know about this location is whether the gap in the rock is natural or if man made to allow for passage of the highway. I suspect the former . . . but then . . .

Another bridge further along (not the one above). I'd love to know how it got that name . . .

[Dutchy]

My guess is that Timmy's reputation went south west???

[timmythecop]

Man. sooo groovy. I bet you really felt alone out there. Cool feeling, yes?

[Cogswell]

Great work as usual Curry.

What camera are you using?

Cheers.

Thanks. I used a Sony point and shoot W-5 I bought in 2005. It's been a reliable camera. I had never dropped it in all that time until this trip - and then I did it twice - in the same day.

Man. sooo groovy. I bet you really felt alone out there. Cool feeling, yes?

The best part of the trip along with the sencery . . . . no cars to pass, no worries about someone pulling out in front of me - just haul ass if you want to.

[Cogswell]

Glen Canyon seems to be the confluence of several rivers other than the Colorado, including the San Juan river . . .

Note the rock formation below that was in the photo in the prior post (with the tiny dots of cars and trucks below). Here the formation in the upper right is probably 5+ miles away - and still appears huge.

It doesn't seem possible that this . . . river could have done all this - it seems to be barely moving. The Columbia river is bigger . . . This kind of landscape surely must have been carved by something like the Amazon – but . . . that? And we're not even to the Grand Canyon yet . . .

More bizarre formations came in to view – ones obviously created by flowing water. Hard to believe – 5,000 feet above sea level, I'm riding through the landscape laid down under a sea some millions of years ago, then carved out by a now long gone ancient river that must have been tens of miles (or more) wide to expose this moon like surface. And now the whole area – hundreds of miles wide – is more than a mile above the sea. Awesome's not the right word for it- I'm not sure what is. What could have possibly created this round pockets in the rock . . . some sort of gargantuan machine gun? The road continued to twist and turn and reveal something strange and interesting around each bend.

This rock appears to have been liquid at one time, though I think I remember seeing a sign along the way that mentioned that these are ancient sand dunes that have petrified. Note how the grain goes in one direction, then abruptly changes to another - sometimes several times. Then below the round holes once again in the rock - I suppose from flowing water that carved the out millions of years ago.

Imagine all this underwater again . . . hidden from our eyes. Many primitive cultures lived here (how??) and have left their marks behind for us to try to interpret.

This road was like so much of the rest on this leg – two urges competed in my mind – one wanting to roll to WOT and blast through the canyons imagining myself chasing Roadrunner - and the other to find the kill switch and just pull over and take it in. The scale is immense.

Did I mention this stuff is big??

Climbing out of Glen Canyon the road once again became more stark, and the terrain flat - for a while anyway. I stopped to take these photos where the road simply disappeared through a cut in the cliff. This one appeared to be man made for sure.

As I drank water, I drained nearly a quart. In the desert heat - it's good to have a couple tucked away in your luggage - I drank probably a gallon of water a day - and I was still thirsty - the heat and the wind really take it out of you. No place to be stranded without water.

No stopping . . . how the hell do they expect me to get the shot??

While Glen Canyon Dam flooded much of the area in 1963, another dam at Dinosaur never materialized, saving likely many of the fossil beds in Northern Utah. Many primitive cultures lived here (how??) and have left their marks behind for us to try to interpret.

This road was like so much of the rest on this leg – two urges competed in my mind – one wanting to roll to WOT and blast through the canyons imagining myself chasing Roadrunner - and the other to find the kill switch and just pull over and take it in. Wikepedia has some good stock photos and reading on Glen Canyon . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Canyon

I'm almost of a mind that it would be good to ride it in both directions – one way to do the sightseeing, and the other to shred the sides of the tires. It's a metaphor for life – have fun – but do not race through it too quickly without enjoying - for soon it will be gone.

Next stop (and final for the day - this is just the first day . . . ) was Bluff, Utah - about 40 miles from 4 Corners.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluff,_Utah

The temptation is to think that "how interesting could that be" . . . I suppose it's what you look for. In this case, more than you might think.

More tomorrow . . .

[Cogswell]

So the end of the day brought me to Bluff, Utah. I can't say that I have been to a town in the Continental United States that claims to have been founded in 650 A.D. My guess is that rather than it being some sense of humor, it's rather to pay tribute to the first humans to have come to the area around that time frame. Like so many small towns (250 here), it's a bit 'rough around the edges', but for my tastes that can be a good thing. Usually the people in those places are hard working, honest and what you see is what you get - all traits I enjoy.

To call Bluff a "town" would be an overstatement . . . "spot in the road" might be a better term.

It basically consists of 3 motels, a convenience store, a restaurant and a gift shop. I stayed at the “Recapture Lodge”, which seemed to be the most substantial motel in town.

The property is family owned and operated. No ID needed to check in . . . just pay your money and they give you a key to your room - one that has exterior siding (T-111) on the walls. Things were clean and tidy though, and I was able to park outside my room, so a perfect type of stop on a moto-vacation for me. Work takes me sufficiently often to the large corporate run hotels, so I do like to patronize locally owned properties when I can.

I asked the woman working the front desk about the name - it seemed quite unusual - did it refer to recapturing one's youth, lost love, etc? She began telling me about one of the early settlers of the area who had a herd of animals - horses mostly, and got in to a scrape with some of the Navajo's who lived nearby that got the animals from him. Apparently they were able to herd the animals in to a box canyon - a typical tactic used by the natives to contain livestock. Anyway - somehow or another the fellow that had lost them was able to gather up some help and go in to the canyon and retrieve the animals, so the local lore was that he had "Recaptured" them. That became a known local story and thus became the namesake of the Lodge. The Lodge was built in 1957. The founder had been a geologist with Union Carbide who had spent time surveying the area for minerals and other geologic features. For whatever reason he decided he was going to quit his job and start this lodge. That was a gutsy move, as the road did not even continue on to Monument Valley at the time due to a location that washed out frequently, and there was no electricity there - all power came from generators. I mentioned to her that the guy's wife must have been the most understanding woman on the planet when he announced his plans to her. No shopping, no social life and no electricity. Apparently they stayed married until her death - and he's still living - in to his '90's. Even now that some of those issues have been ironed out, the nearest shopping is 70 miles away in Cortez, CO, so just getting groceries is a significant endeavor. I try to remember that when I stop at Costco on my way home . . .

She went on that some people that move there find that the isolation brings something unexpected – the inability to hide one's own personal quirks. She told me that some people “just can't take it” - not the isolation – but the inability to “disappear in to the crowd” that's possible in larger places. As she said - “the good news is that you know everyone in town. The bad news is, you know everyone in town.”

The lobby of the lodge was quite rustic, boasting two well used pianos, one a baby grand. There was also a collection of other musical instruments, making me wonder when and how they get used. On the sign it also mentioned "slide shows" - I never thought to inquire about what that meant. In the foreground was a Foosball table - I can't remember the last time I saw one of those.

The non-paying guests at the Lodge were numerous hummingbirds. They were everywhere. These had very muted colors though, unlike those we get in the NW (Rufus) hummingbirds. These birds gladly shared the multiple stations at the feeder, where as the ones here will fight endlessly to keep the others from the feeder - making all sorts of racket in the process.

The restaurant in town is "The Bluff City Grill" (more false advertising - to call Bluff a "town" let alone a "city", is a huge stretch).

They gave themselves away though, with their "specials" sign . . .

What immediately popped in to my mind was "as opposed to what - the lousy food that on the rest of the menu??" I love small town America . . .

Entering Bluff just across from the town's name sign, there is a welcoming committee waiting to greet visitors in the form of a couple of derelict cars. I saw them on Google maps street view so once there in person, I had to get a closer look. Today they look like this:

This is a 1949 model, now a rusting hulk. But one day, it looked something like this:

I wish these cars could talk. They would have quite a story to tell. One day in the distant past this was someone's pride and joy the day they brought it home from the dealership - that was shown of to friends and neighbors who envied the person that could afford it. This was when cars had personality and style and each model year brought something different.

They wore their names proudly and proclaimed the power they boasted under the hood. The "Buick Eights" in these cars are not the V8's were used to now. These were straight 8's. If you see one of these with the hood raised, it's easy to think "that's not much of an engine for this car, especially one that says "Super" on it . . . " But a closer look will count out 8 plug wires. I ran in to an owner of a beautiful black '48 model at a car show after seeing this and asked him how it runs - he said it has loads of low end torque and runs buttery smooth.

Harley Earl, the chief designer for General Motors of the era, was fascinated with everything planes – particularly jet airplanes. Even the piece on the hood appears to be a gun sight from a WWII fighter plane . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harley_Earl

This car though, was only a “3 holer”. Buicks had the strange tradition of defining their model line by how many “Portholes” they had on the fender. The one with 3 “holes” was mid line, while someone with deep pockets bought a “4 holer” - probably a “Roadmaster” with 4 holes on each front fender. How times change.

Workers in now bankrupt Detroit went to work and earned their livings tightening the nuts and bolts that make up this car. Who were they? What became of them? Who was the original owner? Where are they now – alive, dead? And how did the car come to rest here – rotting in the sun? The interior eaten away by time and rodents – unthinkable when the car was new. And where was it driven in its lifetime – what things passed by its windows – maybe on Route 66? Many fascinating stories to be told.

Then there was the truck. It's either a '52 or '53 Dodge. This one obviously earned its keep through a couple of businesses – one rubbed out sign for someone's “Stone Company” (seems odd – no shortage of stones around – you'd think people have a surplus of them in Bluff) and the other a horse breeder in Colorado. With the plates on it from 1973, it's probably been laying there now for the past 40 years. I remember my father telling me how when he was a young man he always wanted a “Job Rated” Dodge – they were way better than the Fords and Chevy's . . .

This is how I came to get my Dodge PU – Cummins diesel powered - my father bought it not long before he passed away and I got it from him when he died. He hardly drove it so it's almost like a brand new truck. Fortunately the “Job Rated” moniker has long been abandoned by Dodge, replaced by the “Ram” name.

A part of me wishes someone would come along and rescue these cars and bring them back to their original state . . . but their mission seems to be here – to stand as silent sentinels and welcome the few visitors that come Bluff's way through the good weather window of each year.

Thus ended the first day, 325 total miles.

[Cogswell]

These are the "Twin Rocks" referred to much earlier on. They're just across the road from the derelict cars at the end of the previous entry - right behind the "Bluff, Utah" sign. They definitely mark the end of the town.

Day two had me up early, though I realized that riding at sunrise would be a problem as I would initially be headed east. Still, I had a long day ahead and wanted to get going. Total mileage planned for the day was 436 miles.

http://goo.gl/maps/iQr36

Little did I know that Bluff would be for the most part the end of the canyons I had enjoyed the entire day. In some ways I feel cheated riding a VFR. One of the things I enjoy most about it is hearing the exhaust sound . . . but I'm always leaving that behind as I ride on. Carving through these canyons that note can echo and bounce around off all those hard rock walls extending hundreds of feet in to the air. Through one cut through the rock, there were a group of Harley's parked along the road. As I rounded the bend I could see their heads turn in unison “to see what's coming”. As I got close I thought "I wish I could trade places with them and listen to myself as I go by”. As I neared, two of them gave me a “thumbs up” - so as I passed by I dropped a gear and rolled the throttle further open. I can only imagine what that sounded like to them. This has to be one of the best places on Earth to ride a VFR . . .

Leaving Bluff and the Twin Rocks behind, I was off to 4 Corners. The main highway thrugh Bluff is US 191, but to get to The 4 Corners I had to back track a mile or so to SR 162 which takes you in to the very SW corner of Colorado (only about 75 miles from Durango where SumSum went through last year) and then in to the NW corner of New Mexico.

Getting out to 4 Corners is fairly un-interesting – just 2 lane rural blacktop through the most desolate terrain you'll find outside of Death Valley.

This land is open range, and horses were about - much more of a worry than cattle, but maybe a bit less so than deer - at least the horses seemed to be spooked by vehicles and would run the other direction. This is Navajo sovereign land subject to their laws and jurisdiction.

The photos below were taken at the junction of US 160 and CO state route 41

http://goo.gl/maps/SngMh

From there, it's just a few miles to the New Mexico border and the 4 Corners

Admission to the monument is $3.

There are 4 separate buildings that surround the center of the plaza, each with numbered doors on the outside. It's not at first obvious what all the cars are doing parked backed up to the buildings. Turns out that they are vendors' booths, where local crafts are sold from the booths in to which the buildings are divided. The plaza is nice - it has seating and at the center a bronze plaque.

My only photo of myself taken the entire trip - by an elderly couple that practically pulled the camera from my hand and insisted that they take my picture for me . . .

GPS coordinates of the site . . . Note the elevation.

Four Corners is something you'll only do once so you can say you were there . . . other than that there's nothing to see. If you Google map the site and zoom way in, you'll see that the CO / UT border has a bend in it about 1,000 feet north of the marker - there's probably a story behind that, but I don't know what it is.

From there is was a fast blast back to Bluff to pick the highway back up to Monument Valley, UT - which is the photo that started this thread.

Along the way though, there weren't the canyons I'd gotten used to the previous day, but the scenery was no less interesting. The rocks became decidedly more red, which I understood meant that there was more iron present - meaning that in a way the rocks there are 'rusting'.

Heading further south from Bluff, about 1/2 of the way to Monument Valley, is Mexican Hat, which is little more than a store and one very interesting motel perched on a cliff overlooking the San Juan River.

http://goo.gl/maps/4sRz7

http://www.sanjuaninn.net/

The namesake for the location is a rock formation - that looks like, well . . . a hat.

It looks as though one good shove would knock it off its perch . . .

Climbing up out of the San Juan river basin, you come back up on to the plateau to and endless array of rock formations. I knew that the photo I wanted was at mile post 13, so I began the countdown as I drew closer . . . 16, 15, 14 . . . Then I crested a small rise around a bend, and there it was – the photo I'd been waiting for.

Many movie scenes (mostly Westerns) were shot in this valley with these formations as the backdrop, so it was instantly recognizable.

IMO this is the best photo I took on the trip – or maybe I've taken period in all of my riding. The trick to getting this photo is to stand well back from the subject in the foreground (in the case the bike). I had walked back maybe 50 to 100 feet or more and then zoomed in. What that does is bring the background closer along with the subject, merging them in to one that makes both appear close up. If you stand right at the bike and take the shot, the background will appear way off in the distance. I clocked the distance from the spot to the formations in the background – it was about 1 1/2 miles.

From Monument Valley, the scenery thinned out quite a bit, and it was a quick run down to the Utah / Arizona border.

Continuing on, it was a fast run down US 160 to Tuba City for a quick fuel stop. That stretch of road has been turned in to a 16 feet wide piece of insanity by a landslide that has washed out a section of US 89 north of the 89/89A junction south of Page, AZ. As a result, traffic that would normally take that route to/from Page is being diverted on to SR 98 south to 160 to pick 89 back up to Flagstaff. The result is that 160 is jammed with cars, and everyone's in a giant hurry. Cars were passing long lines of traffic with little regard to what was coming the other direction. One in particular just pulled out to pass and just kept going with his right signal on - 'looking for a place to get in' and barely was able to before a truck whizzed by the opposite direction. And then shortly thereafter he did it again!! I don't really much care if people want to kill themselves with the stupidity of their driving - but when they endanger others, it really gets my ire going. . . I recall saying under my helmet "I'm going to watch someone die." It was nuts. I was quite happy to get off 160 and on to 89 south to Flagstaff.

Though I have heard many good things about Flagstaff, I had never been there and wasn't sure what to expect. Getting closer, I ran in to a few rain drops from a far off thunderstorm that was producing some air to ground lightning, but it wasn't much of a threat. As I got closer, the elevation continued to increase, and the desert plateau turned in to a high altitude pine forest. It was actually quite scenic. Arriving at Flagstaff, I had gotten to my southern most point of the trip.

I have no idea what a "Stem Community" is. Anyone . . . ?

Turns out I really liked Flagstaff. I commented to myself that "I think I could live here". It's a college town, is very clean and really modern (at least the parts I saw). It reminds me very much of Bend, OR - high altitude, pine forests around, with a lot of nice pubs and places to hang out. I wish I'd had more time to spend there.

Along the way, there were a few things that caught my eye . . .

There seemed to be a lot of train traffic going through the town - on a main east / west line across the southwest.

I ducked in to a Howard Johnson's for the night - my first time at a HoJo's and my only "corporate" stop on the trip.

But at least they were willing to accommodate my request for a ground floor room.

This was my half way point - the second day had its highlights, but wasn't chock full like the day before had been - but still lots left to see in the two the remained.

[vfrcapn]

Looks like a great trip, nice pics. I've been through those areas a couple of times now and agree it's absolutely majestic. Looking forward to the rest of the ride report.

BTW, STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Flagstaff declared itself the first, maybe the first to market it...