We ordered breakfast from the Moab Under Canvas (MUC) which was delivered this morning, we ate on our porch. After eating we headed to Arches National Park. The first stop we hiked around the monolith and was getting ready to ride on when we noticed a young woman staring at Nick and Jeff's bikes. Nick struck up a conversation with her. She was traveling with her uncle, mother, and I think a sister. They were from China. They love Harleys but she told us that it was illegal for the citizens to own one. We asked the mother, translated by her daughter, if she would like to sit on one. She jumped at the chance and climbed on Jeff's bike. Pictures were taken like mad. The daughter sat on Nick's. The mother asked Jeff how old he was. She said that she was 66, look at her picture below. She looked about 45 to us. We ran into them at another pullout further in the Park. Their excitement was exhilarating, one of Rob's favorite moments of the entire trip.
After leaving Arches, we headed back toward Moab and turned onto highway 128 which ran next to the Colorado River
. We went up the canyon about 41 miles. The canyon and cliffs were, to Rob, prettier than anything in the Canyon Lands. Fisher Towers, are huge red sandstone monolith, was phenomenal. We turned around at Dewey Bridge over the Colorado and headed back to the La Sal Mountain Loop road.
We kept an eye on the storm over the Moab area. The road on the north end of the loop was OK to start, however it went down hill fast, and I don't mean elevation. The road narrowed, became full of pot holes, many patches, a lot of loose gravel from the patches, and over growth of vegetation created a limited view. The road went high fast, no guard rail, and dropped down at more than 8% grade. Some of the switchbacks were so sharp and steep that maneuvering the motorcycles around the corner required feathering the clutch in first gear. It was free range country so we came upon a couple of cows strolling down the road. Once we got to the summit, the panorama view.... The storm was still brewing in the valley. We made the loop and headed back to Moab Brewery. A trip that should've take 45 minutes to over 1.5 hours.
We purchased some take tent beer (yes, I said it) and an non-alcoholic Apple Beer and diet pepsi for Rob. When we got back to the tent we sat back and relaxed on the porch, it was perfect. The temperature was right; the sky was clear to see stars, planets and satellites; and there was a light breeze. The storm that we circumvented was now over the La Sal mountains and a lightening storm was hammering the mountains. During the evening the wind howled so much it woke us all. But we were not evacuated.
163 miles today
3241 miles to date
Touring the Moab area
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Moab, Utah, United States
Other Entries
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1Background
Jun 1415 days priorMonument, United Statesphoto_camera7videocam 0comment 0 -
2Jeff and Nick leaving Corvallis
Jun 1514 days priorCorvallis, United Statesphoto_camera7videocam 0comment 0 -
3Rob and Dave, Denver to Edwards
Jun 1514 days priorEdwards, United Statesphoto_camera7videocam 0comment 1 -
4Rob and Dave, Edwards to Heber City Utah
Jun 1613 days priorHeber City, United Statesphoto_camera1videocam 0comment 0 -
5Jeff, Nick, Dave and Rob join forces
Jun 1712 days priorPocatello, United Statesphoto_camera9videocam 0comment 3 -
6Yellowstone Park
Jun 1811 days priorWest Yellowstone, United Statesphoto_camera15videocam 0comment 3 -
7West Yellowstone, day two.
Jun 1910 days priorWest Yellowstone, United Statesphoto_camera19videocam 0comment 0 -
8Red Lodge Montana
Jun 209 days priorRed Lodge, United Statesphoto_camera29videocam 3comment 0 -
9Teton National Park
Jun 218 days priorTeton Village, United Statesphoto_camera27videocam 0comment 3 -
10Transition day
Jun 227 days priorVernal, United Statesphoto_camera11videocam 0comment 0 -
11Transition day two
Jun 236 days priorSteamboat Springs, United Statesphoto_camera13videocam 0comment 1 -
12Ended up in Glennwood
Jun 245 days priorGlenwood Springs, United Statesphoto_camera18videocam 0comment 1 -
13The hottest day, ever!
Jun 254 days priorBlack Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, United Statesphoto_camera20videocam 0comment 1 -
14Nick's Birthday
Jun 263 days priorGrand Junction, United Statesphoto_camera9videocam 0comment 1 -
15A day of diverse scenery
Jun 272 days priorDolores, United Statesphoto_camera25videocam 0comment 1 -
16Epic's Last Stand
Jun 281 day priorMoab, United Statesphoto_camera24videocam 0comment 3 -
17Touring the Moab area
Jun 29Moab, United Statesphoto_camera32videocam 0comment 0 -
18Headed to GJ/ Spanish Forks
Jun 301 day laterGrand Junction, United Statesphoto_camera2videocam 0comment 0 -
19Nick and Jeff's continued trip home
Jul 012 days laterOntario, United Statesphoto_camera9videocam 0comment 0 -
20Epilogue
Jul 067 days laterMonument, United Statesphoto_camera1videocam 0comment 0
2025-02-10