330 Miles
Today was a great day although it kicked off with an issue and ended with a bit of a bummer. Remember yesterday, when I bragged about getting my lifetime National Parks Pass? Well, it seems that I traded the pass for my credit card. After the customary, horrible breakfast, I skipped Macbean’s toast with peanut butter and hard-boiled eggs, we headed back to Arches to see if I could retrieve my card. While I was in line, I decided to change the SD card in my Insta360 camera. I managed to do that but I have been unable to find the card in my tank bag since then. So, all my videos from the first part of the trip are missing. I had downloaded the photos. They didn’t have my card at the booth but they suggested that I go to the service desk at the welcome center. After an interminable wait, I was helped by a person behind the desk who said all of September’s lost and found had been locked up, this is October 1st, and the person with the key would be away for a couple of hours and I could come back then. Screw it. The only question is do I call it in now or carry on using my phone for tap to pay?
After a quick sprint along I-70 past Green River, we headed south towards Hanksville. The road opened up again and vanished into the distance. I guessed five miles to the small mountain to the left of the road. It was closer to 10 miles away. The mountains further to the left are the Henry Mountains; apparently the last ones to be mapped in the lower 48.
Apparently, these are not beehives the are hoodoos or goblins. We had to stop and check them out as we rolled down the road towards Hanksville. With Hanksville and the Henry Mountains in front of us, I did wonder if it was one and the same Henry. Apparently not, one was a Mormon pioneer and the other a Secretary of the Smithsonian.
There are some pretty interesting trucks on the wide open roads. This was a double tanker trailer with really well polished chrome. I tried to get my picture reflected on the back but it did not come out.
We stopped for lunch and gas in Hanksville. There are no services between Hanksville and Blanding on Utah highway 95. We filled up with gas and got tacos at the Outlaws Roost. The tacos are all custom and freshly made. Mine were excellent. I highly recommend stopping there.
One of the roads that has been on my list to ride was the Bicentennial Highway. In poring over the Butler map of Utah, Martyn had found it as well marked as a lost highway. It did not disappoint, the views were spectacular along the way.
This is either the Colorado River or the Dirty Devil river.
This is looking down into the top end of Lake Powell.
Some of the views along the road were spectacular with massive valleys and cuts through the rock. As we got further along, just before our turn-off to head south, I saw as sign for the National Bridges National Monument. After a quick conference, we decided to check it out. Turns out my national parks pass works here too and allows in two motorcycles. It’s paying for itself already.
It turns out the difference between a bridge and an arch, in a national parks sense, is that one is wind carved, the other is water carved and still has water flowing beneath it.
Given the speed limits were low, it was hot, and we were on and off the bikes, Mac and Martyn took advantage to ride without helmets. I wasn’t being a goody-two-shoes. They both had top boxes on their motorcycles with room to stash a helmet. The easiest place to stash mine was on my head.
At times, in can be hard to actually pick out the bridge from a distance.
When we left the monument, we planned to turn-off 95 and head straight south towards Monument Valley. A half mile down the road a big sign came up saying twenty miles of unpaved road with lots of winding turns. Mac decided that on an RT that turning around and going the long way was a better part of valor.
The long road did not disappoint with fantastic views along the way.
The last time I was here, I did not stop to get a picture from Forest Gump point. I need to come back again when the sun is not in the south west, some time in the morning.
We made it to the Goulding Lodge and Trading Post for the night and checked in. We were given an apartment that was up the canyon from the main hotel. Martyn decided to run down to the local store to buy beer. Here’s where the bummer came up. We were in the Navajo Nation Reservation and there are no alcohol sales. The closest place to buy beer was back up at Mexican Hat. We had to make do with the three beers we had carried down from Moab.
Given there were going to be no beers involved, we rode down to the Lodge for dinner and got to see the amazing views.
Sunset from the Goulding Lodge restaurant.
One of the things that had come up in conversation was fry bread. Tonight, we had Navajo burgers made with fry bread. They were huge and tasty with the green chili strips. I tried an N/A IPA; don’t recommend.
