Trip Report

[sharon]

Well here I am, day late and dollar short as usual, but finally getting it done. This was a motorcycle trip, but guess it counts as a trip! LOL! Poor Hope is po'd, stuck in the back half acre while I go gallivanting around on 2 wheels instead of her reliable 6! We left June 24th headed for southern Utah early in the morning to try and beat the heat thru the desert. Made it to Mesquite about 1pm to temperatures of about 115. Needless to say, first stop was the pool! Came out $26 ahead in the casino, so all is still well in my world. Next morning gassed up and headed for the Harley dealer in St. George and waited around for the bed heads to get there. We ended up with 9 bikes in the group. 2 took off for Zion with warnings that there was extensive road work on Hiway 9. The rest of us left to Cedar City, lunch, and 1 wrong turn. Finally in the right direction and started to see some gorgeous scenery on the way to Escalante our stop for the night. Please understand that these pictures were taken off the back of a motorcycle at usually high speeds, so aren't of the best quality.
One of my favorite places to go thru, Virgin River Gorge on the I-15 between Mesquite and St. George:




Hiway 12, Red Canyon. It was so beautiful on this leg of the trip that Sue, one of our riders (and one that took the ride thru Zion) called it Scenic Sensory Overload, and she was so right!






Continued on next post

[Bethers]

Great so far - looking forward to the rest of the trip. I'm amazed that you can even take pictures from on the back. How come you didn't take your bike and rode behind this trip? Inquiring minds what to know.

[sharon]

We turned south on Hiway 95 headed for Bull Frog crossing on the North end of Lake Powell.




And caught the ferry to Halls Crossing. Course it was hot waiting on the boat ramp for the ferry, so I took myself down to the lake, pulled off boots and socks and dived in. One of the perks of not riding my own bike. Ferry finally got there, so we loaded them up. $15 per bike....free in Texas.



At the corner of Hiways 191 and 95, the rest of the group went south to Kayenta and we went North to Monticello and on to Colorado.


We spent 2 days at Orvis Hot Springs, but no pictures allowed there. 2 days of soaking in the hot mineral pools and 1 massage later I was a new woman and we were off to Durango via Hiway 550. The road between Ouray and Silverton is not for the faint of heart and truth be told, I didn't take pictures until Silverton. Very steep, twistie turny, but gorgeous scenery. You'll have to take my word for it.
Silverton:




High Alpine between Silverton and Durango:


Durango to Laughlin, 2 days in Laughlin and then home. A great trip, 3 near misses, 1 elk, 1 mama cow trying to get to her baby across the road and 1 PU truck talking on a cell phone veering into our lane. Got off the bike and shooed mama cow across the road, sent an obvious hand signal to the truck and the elk was long gone.

[sharon]

Great so far - looking forward to the rest of the trip. I'm amazed that you can even take pictures from on the back. How come you didn't take your bike and rode behind this trip? Inquiring minds what to know.

I almost always ride passenger on the long trips, especially when there's a large group (meaning more than 3 bikes). Sometimes I'm not comfortable riding at the speeds they ride, but when it's just the BF and his buddy, they make allowances for the girlie rider. Plus, if we hit bad weather, it's a lot nicer being the passenger instead of the rider! LOL! Besides, who would take pictures???

[BarbaraRose]

Another area I want to see! Have always wanted to see southwestern Colorado. What a beautiful area! Great pics! The ones of the red rock formations in Utah were amazing! What a fun trip!

[AlmostThere]

Beautiful, beautiful pictures, Sharon. So glad you got to enjoy the trip and share it with us!

[Bethers]

I've driven that road around Silverton - beautiful area - and if they're driving fast, I'd rather not be in the group also.

I learned in my motorcycle safety course, I don't like riding in the groups - they sometimes get closer to me than I want to be. I like having my space.

Great pics, g/f.

[carold]

Wonderful pics. We love that area, and I NEVER get tired of seeing pics or being there. Makes me want to leave Canada and head west A trip, is a trip, is a trip. Doesn't matter how or when. carold

[sharon]

I didn't take pictures, but the other great route that we took and had never been on before....picked up the 46E just north of Montecello and south of Moab on 191 at La Salle Junction...turns into 90 in Colorado, then the 145 to 62 into Ridgway. Beautiful scenery, good road and I would take my rv over it with no problem. Some twisties, 1 switchback, but for the most part just pretty. Unless you're an experienced mountain driver, or have avery small rv, I wouldn't suggest the 550 North from Ouray to Silverton. Silverton is a cool little mining town, and if you want to go there are two other ways to do it...550 North from Durango and there are 2 or 3 rv parks there, or you can take the steam train from Durango either both ways or one way by train and return by bus. I've done it all.

[mitch5252]

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Great pictures! Thanks for being Sharing Sharon...

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[VickieP]

Looks like a great trip through some beautiful country. And a hot soak too!

[cpatinjones]

Enjoyed the pics!

[Lotus]

Looks like such a gorgeous area.....and super photos while riding on the motorcycle! "Ya done good!"

Becky

[dcricket]

Did that road trip with my chillens on the way back from our trip to the Grand Canyon. Went and stayed in Durango, as there was a major snow storm hitting that "million dollar roadway" into Ouray and Silverton. Absolutley gorgeous in the snow, but not for the faint of heart. Glad you had a great time. Gorgeous photos. Hmmmmmmm no pics of the Hot Springs eh? just funnin yah...

[Nasoosie]

WOW, Sharon! What fantastic pictures of a super-neat trip! It makes me want to take a cycle tour! It's easy to forget that there are indeed roads like that out here in travel-land now. I loved seeing these!

Thank you!