UTAH VACATION / JULY & AUGUST 2008

(INCLUDES SKULL VALLEY INDIAN RESERVATION, MOAB, UTAH; ARCHES NATIONAL PARK; HELLS RANSOM BLM REC AREA; COLORADO RIVER; HOLE 'N' THE ROCK; CANYONLANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT; MOKI DUGWAY; LAKE POWELL; GLENN CANYON NRA; CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK; BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK; CEDAR BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT AND BRIAN HEAD SKI AREA)

MONDAY JULY 25 TO TUESDAY AUGUST 12, 2008

7 DAYS / 2,659 MILES

$ 226.04 GAS / 55.616 GALLONS GAS / AVERAGE MILEAGE 47.809 MPG

FALLON, NV; CARLIN, NV; WEST WENDOVER, NV; NEPHI, UT (via SKULL VALLEY INDIAN RESERVATION); MOAB, UT (via ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, HELLS RANSOM SLICK ROCK BLM REC AREA and COLORADO RIVER BOAT RIDE); MONTICELLO, UT (via HOLE 'N' THE ROCK, NEWSPAPER ROCK STATE PARK and CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK); BULLFROG MARINA, UT (via WHITE ROCK UTE RESERVATION, MOKI DUGWAY, GLENN CANYON NATIONAL REC AREA, LAKE POWELL and HALLS CROSSING MARINA); BRYCE CANYON, UT (via CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK and BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK); CEDAR CITY, UT (via RED CANYON STATE PARK HOODOOS, PANGUITCH LAKE, CEDAR BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT and BRIAN HEAD SKI AREA); ELY, NV (via GREAT BASIN AREA); FALLON. NV (via DANA'S DEAD BATTERY VALLEY RUN); RENO, NV; HOME (via GRASS VALLEY)

On my 2005 Ultra Classic with Dana on her 2004 Dyna Low Rider

LONG DAY = 272 MILES / DAY 1 / Home to Fallon, NV.

MONEY PAGE

My Gasoline                                              $ 226.04

Dana's Gasoline                                         $ 198.87

Road Drinks and Snacks                             $ 88.74

Restaurants                                                $ 615.15

Motels                                                       $ 1,676.53

Room Snacks and Drinks                            $ 104.76

Package Shipping or Forwarding                  $ 17.00

Laundry                                                     $ 12.50

Movies                                                       $ 29.00

Miscellaneous                                             $ 23.39

Admission to Attractions / Tours                  $ 300.25

Ferry Boats                                                $ 20.00

Tips / Gratuities                                          $ 55.00

                                 TOTAL                    $ 3,367.23

DAY 1     SUNDAY     JULY 27, 2008            272  (Miles Today)    272 (Trip Miles)

Home to Fallon, NV

Holiday Inn Express,  Fallon, NV

LUNCH:      Del Taco                                                  West Reno, NV
DINNER:     Julio's Italian & Mexican                           Fallon, NV.

East I-80 to Fernley, NV; East US 50 Alt to Fallon.

Last year, after missing the very first summer motorcycle vacation in 22 years due to Dana's Mediterranean cruise, we had been planning this 2-to-3-week ride for a few months. The plan was to hit Utah for the umpteenth time and take a slow visit to the some of places we had skipped or hurried through in the past. Dana done the planning and had us doing easy, low-mile days and also had us staying in a few places for two or three nights which we seldom do, making this trip a more relaxing ride. In addition, we had planned a few new roads along the way, specifically a few roads that run north-south between I-80 and US 50 in Nevada that we have never explored. I had spent the last two weeks doing bike service and maintenance and getting some new tires and brakes on my bike and taking Dana for a new rear tire on hers. She decided not to replace her almost-five-year-old battery before we left - this will come up later in the trip.

I was pretty much pooped out after the last week of preparation but I was ready to hit the road this Sunday morning. We pulled out at 9:25, about a half-hour late. It was chilly and foggy but a sweatshirt was enough for me to stay comfortable. Traffic was fairly heavy but fast and it thinned out nicely after Auburn, where it had warmed up. The Gold Run Rest Area was closed so we jammed on to Colfax where we stopped at Starbucks for a pit stop and a cold tea drink for Dana and also to dump our cold-weather tops. This small business area was very busy and it was now pretty hot. We got back onto the freeway and had a nice ride through the mountains. I had tweaked my Power Commander ignition module last week and it seemed to be getting better mileage now. We stopped for gas a short time later then hopped back into the hills.

I was feeling pretty hollow as we crossed into Nevada so we stopped at a Del Taco for a quick lunch a few minutes later. Dana had a cool Mexican Caesar salad and I had fish tacos. A few minutes later we were back on the road and headed straight to Fernley where we jumped off the freeway for a week or more. We rolled into the hotel in Fallon a few minutes past 3:00. We carted our luggage in and relaxed in the room with the air conditioner for a bit. Dana wanted to gamble so I walked across the lot to Stockman's Casino with her and took advantage of the free soda and popcorn machines and also signed up for the player's card and got the typical freebie keychain/flashlights, etc. I hung out for a short time then went back to the room and relaxed while Dana stayed.

She came back in at 7:20 and I proclaimed it was dinner time. I had decided on "The Wok" and the lady at the front desk it was a great place to eat so we took off on one bike and found it downtown and it was closed on Sunday. Damn. Dana had seen a Mex & Italian place a couple of blocks back so we went there - I had a good taco-enchilada plate and Daney had tamales. Good grub. We walked the small town area afterwards and picked up some drinks and snacks at one of the places and then we rode to Safeway where Dana ran in for some things. We got back to the hotel a few minutes after 9:00. Dana walked back over to the casino and I showered and relaxed. She came back in at 11:15 and we relaxed and TV'ed. I was tired and fell asleep early.




DAY 2     MONDAY     JULY 28, 2008          259          531

Fallon, NV to Carlin, NV

Comfort Inn,  Carlin, NV.

BRKFST      Lobby Buffet at Holiday Inn Express                       Fallon, NV.
DINNER      Pizza Factory                                                          Carlin, NV.

East US 50 to Middlegate and The Shoe Tree; East NV 722 to near Austin; east US 50 into Austin the west US 50 out of town; North NV 305 to Battle Mountain; East I-80 to Carlin.

I got decent sleep last night. I woke up before the 8:00 alarm feeling lazy. I went for breakfast at the lobby continental breakfast while Dana showered and I brought her back coffee, yogurt and a banana. It was already warm as we packed the bikes. We left the hotel at 10:21 and gassed up nearby and left town a moment later. We got stopped for road paving at 10:51 just a few miles out of town but only got held up for seven minutes. We passed Sand Mountain ATV park and I saw that "The Loneliest Phone Booth In America" was gone. Traffic was extra light and we cruised at 50-55 sightseeing and when we saw Middlegate Station we stopped for a pit stop and waters.

While in the bar a V-Rod rider came in and started talking to me and he suggested that since we were heading east that we take a cool detour of NV Highway 722. After our 25 minute stop we jammed, just to stop a few minutes away at the Shoe Tree for pictures.



People have been stopping and throwing their shoes up into this tree for decades and it is quite a sight. We had been back on the road for only a minute when we saw the 722 detour loop so off we went and it was a great ride, far prettier than US 50. The small road twisted around hills and small canyons and alongside a river, past an ancient long-closed ramshackle gas station that has excellent shade trees for a picnic, etc. It was a very scenic road and although it is actually three miles shorter than the US 50 route, it took 15 minutes longer to traverse due to its twisty and narrow nature. We hooked back up to US 50 just outside of Austin where we rode in for gas, a pit stop and waters. We rode up to the Post Office to buy stamps but found the clerk was at lunch from 1-2 pm so we missed out.

After the stop we backtracked through Austin and just out of town took off on a road we had never been on - one of the new roads we had mapped out to explore. Highway 305, one of the north-south roads I had always wanted to see, was nice enough, a pretty ride, fairly desolate with a farm or ranch popping up here and there. It was windy back in here and the wind changed from headwind to tailwind a few times due to the canyons laid out along the route.


We cruised at 60-65 mostly back here and seldom saw other traffic. The Power Commander tweaking seemed to be doing better on my mileage. I spied a small rest stop about half-way to Battle Mountain so we stopped for 20 minutes for drinks and a rest. Dana was hungry but I couldn't find my PayDay so she dug out some Cornnuts and we had a snack. It was quiet out here and we could hear training fighter jets behind the nearby mountains but they never came into view. We took a few pictures here then headed off for the jump to Battle Mountain. At Battle Mountain Dana said she was no longer hungry so we hit the freeway straight for Carlin and arrived at 4:16.

We went straight to the hotel where we were accosted by a hippy/biker type who began telling us tales of being stuck at the hotel at the request of the cops after his Bro-In-Law shot himself last night. We got checked in and I was soon at the lobby ice dispenser having ten glasses of ice water. It was still hot and breezy and there was not much to Carlin. A couple of fast-food places in the truck stop and the fast-Italian place down the road. We relaxed for a bit and since I wanted an early dinner tonight we left on my bike around 5:00 and chose the Italian place where Dana got a HUGE tuna sandwich and I had spaghetti. The food seemed okay but the place was kinda dirty and not too well kept up. We walked to the Cavalier market next door after dinner and got sodas for later. We took a quick cruise around "town" and were back at the hotel at 6:20.

We relaxed a bit and around 8 pm we walked over to the Pilot Truck Stop to stock up on road drinks and snacks. Dana wanted to play the slots for a while but we were back at the hotel at 8:45. We had no wash cloths in the room and had asked the uninterested desk clerk to find us some while we were out and she had some waiting for us when we returned. We relaxed and read and re-considered the next day's planned routes, which included two more new north-south roads between US 50 and I-80 - I had seen two new roads today and that had taken away the need to do this again tomorrow. Also the plan was for a 300-mile day whereas if we took a more direct route we could do a shorter 230-mile day while still staying on some cool, new, little two-laners. A gastronomic experience later tonight would change tomorrow's route yet again……..




DAY 3        TUESDAY        JULY 29, 2008        133        664

Carlin, NV to West Wendover, NV

Montego Bay Resort, West Wendover, NV.

BRKFST      Comfort Inn Continental Breakfast                         Carlin, NV.
DINNER       Nope....

East I-80 to West Wendover NV/UT.

Damn. I woke up at 3:00 a.m. and had to hit the bathroom. After an urgent but fairly normal episode I had to return for more problematic adventures - I couldn't figure out which end to point at the toilet. Bad food? Where from? Monday's breakfast at Fallon or last night's dinner in Carlin? I'll never know, but probably Carlin's dinner. I went back to bed but was up again an hour or so later with more problems.

I slept some and woke around 8:00 and while I was getting ready to leave I had another call to the bathroom. By now I was afraid to eat but I collected some stuff and coffee from the breakfast bar for Dana. I had the slows and we rolled out of the hotel at 11:11, stopped at the gas station next door and filled up and hit the road at 11:23. I didn't feel too horrible but was weak and slow. We had earlier thought we may do a longer route with some scenic sidetrips but now all I wanted to do was get to where we were going and rest up. Dana was agreeable because there was a casino involved.

We jammed on the freeway and I exited at Wells where we stopped at the truck stop for some cold drinks and a break. I felt better but didn't want to eat anything. It was pretty cloudy today and this kept the temps a little lower which was nice. A half-hour later we hit the freeway again for a straight shot to Wendover, exiting the freeway there at 2:00. When we rolled over the last hill before dropping into Wendover I noticed that the 50-mile view of the Bonneville Salt Flast showed that the salt, usually very white and bright, was dirty and dark. Frequent and heavy rain does that.

We pulled up at the portico at Montego Bay at 2:05. I started unloading the bikes while Dana went in to register and while I was there Dan, a Harley rider from Fresno who pulled a small trailer, walked up after parking and told me he was returning home from a month-long, 10,000 mile trip around the US. He was stopping only for a break then planned to get down the road a little more today. He had been having a great trip. Dana returned with a baggage cart a moment later and minutes later we were in a very large room with loads of green plastic plants and a view of the freeway and local mountain. I was extra weak and tired and all I wanted was to lie down and get some water in me and rest up. I asked Dana to get me water and she went down to the gift shop and returned with three big, cold bottles and then she walked down alone to check out the casino.

I drank a load of water then fell asleep, pretty much uninterrupted until about 6:00 the next morning. I did wake up for a few minutes here and there for more drinks but only a few times for five minutes. Fifteen hours sleep, for a guy who usually gets five or six hours, was amazing. I felt better but I still had minor problems with belly rumblings for a bit.




DAY 4      WEDNESDAY        JULY 30, 2008              26        690

West Wendover, NV.

Montego Bay Resort,  West Wendover, NV.

BRKFST      Paradise Grill (Montego Bay Resort)             West Wendover, NV.
DINNER      Nugget Steak House                                      West Wendover, NV.

I woke at 6:00 ayem and stumbled around until 8:00 before I figured out it wasn't noon yet. I hadn't eaten in over 24 hours so now I was empty and even weaker. Dana woke up a while later and told me that she'd had a sick stomach early this morning while I was sleeping. We didn't know if that was related to my problems a day earlier or what but we knew we had better watch what we ate today. We walked down to the coffee shop in the casino for breakfast. We played it careful and had oatmeal for breakfast and that seemed to be enough and agreeable. After eating I sat with Dana in the casino while she had a smoke then I returned to the room while she stayed and checked out the casino. I stopped at the gift shop on the way up for small snacks.

Dana came back to the room around noon and we took a ride on my bike to do laundry. We saw one small Laundromat but passed it up looking for another we had seen an ad for in the Yellow Pages. Unable to find that after cruising the Utah side of town, we backtracked to the little one just inside Utah for a wash. While cruising I noticed that the Bonneville Speedway Museum was no longer at the edge of town and that the Taco Burger, one of my all-time favorite taco stands, was also gone. I sat outside on a bench having more liquids while Dana sat in with the laundry. It was pretty warm today. Somehow, the electricity in the building went out just as Dana's wash stopped spinning so when she loaded her clothes into the dryer and pushed in coins, the dryer wouldn't work. It also would not return her coins. She tried another dryer and that also didn't work and THEN we noticed the electricity was out. Damn! I was at the store next door asking about an alternate Laundromat when the lights returned and then Dana discovered that the dryers would start with her first set of quarters. She gave one dryer away to a young guy who was doing his clothes, too.

When the clothes were dry we rode my bike out to the Speedway and looked around and took a few pictures then rode around the west end of town by the huge "Wendover Will" neon welcome sign, finding that there was a whole lot of new housing and businesses out here, including a big Smiths grocery. We were back at the hotel by 2:30 and we found another bike parked next to Dana's preventing me parking next to her and locking them together. Dana showered and I relaxed some more than around 4:00 pm we walked across to the Nugget Casino and had dinner in their steak house. We both had orange roughy with baked taters and salads. They were great and there was so much grub that neither of us finished and we had to get a take-home bag.

Back at the hotel Dana's bike was clear so I re-parked next to her and locked them together then went back to the room and relaxed even MORE while Dana went back to the casino. I slept and read until Dana got in at 9:00. We relaxed and read and watched TV. I showered later and was feeling quite a bit better now. This town is unbelievably quiet - later I sat by the window and watched the freeway for several minutes and saw only two cars pass. There was no computer hook-up here and I didn't bother with the dialup modem.




DAY 5      THURSDAY        JULY 31, 2008             228         918

Wendover, NV to Nephi, UT

Best Western Paradise Inn,  Nephi, UT.

LUNCH       Silver Sage Café and Grocery                   Vernon, UT
DINNER      JC Mickelson's                                         Nephi, UT.

East I-80 to Delle & Tempie, UT; South UT 196 (Skull Valley Road) through Skull Valley Indian reservation to Dugway; East UT 199 to near Rush Valley; South UT 36 to Tintic Junction then east on UT 67 to Silver City; South US 6 past Jericho; East UT 148 then east 132 to Nephi.

The alarm was set for 8:00 but I woke up 20 minutes early. I walked down to the gift shop for some milk then walked across to the Nugget for a Starbucks latte and muffin for Dana. We ate in the room and lazed about for a while and finally got a luggage cart, packed up and loaded the bike. We rode out of the lot with our helmets packed in the luggage at 10:43 and stopped across the street for gas, thereby crossing into the Mountain Daylight Time zone and losing an hour. We hit the freeway at 11:56 and saw that traffic was a little heavier today (but still relatively light) and there were a lot of bikes coming and going.

It was warm and we were cruising slow and easy and a short time later we exited at Delle to find that our old, shoddy, wooden minimart with the dirt lot and single gas pump had been replaced with a slightly larger (still tiny) new building, with a paved lot and concrete gas island with three rows of new pumps. We fuelled up and went in for a break and drinks and a few postcards. We now had enough fuel to safely take the sideroad route I had wanted to take so a few minutes later we exited I-80 and headed south towards the Skull Valley Indian Reservation, Dugway and the lonely roads past them. There was no traffic along this route and the occasional communities were simply a few ranches close together. The Indian store in the rez was closed up and deserted and once at Dugway we stopped for some cold water from the cooler. There is a US Army proving grounds located here as well as a huge, unmarked church which I later learned was a Mormon church. We took some pics then headed down the road. The straight, flat road turned into a twisty and hill road for a while just past Terra then flattened out for the rest of the day.

We were hungry about this time and to our surprise rolled up onto a very small farming community where there was a single small building that housed a café and market. We pulled in for lunch and upon entering the "dining room" found that the counter and tables were so tightly packed that if people in a table or at the far end of the counter wanted to exit, the people at the close edge of the counter (us) had to vacate their stools to let the others out. We ordered sandwiches then grabbed a couple of drinks from the deli case. I think this is the first time I have ever seen or heard of a BLT that was not toasted but it was too late by the time I was served - but it was okay and so was Dana's so we left full and pleased and I think the girl forgot to charge us for the drinks so it worked out well and she got a big tip.

We were a mere 60 miles from our destination so we took off onto even smaller roads and hit town at 4:54 at which time my GPS ran us to the wrong end of town creating a detour that got us to the motel at 5:04. Nephi was a lot bigger and prettier than I had expected and the hotel was a fine place packed with tourists and local girl employees who looked as though they had a competition going for the Weirdest Hair-Do. There must be a country singer girl that has hair like this because all the girls had the same type style. 

We unpacked and relaxed under the air conditioner for a good long while and chugged cold waters. Around 7:15 we rode one bike down to the south end of town for dinner at a place I had heard of and wanted to visit - JC Mickelson's, a local favorite for 35 years. They have an extensive country and BBQ menu but I still wasn't feeling like eating a full load. I had salad and two mushroom soups and a bean soup and a huge roll. They were great. Dana had a beef "roll-wich", salad and soup. After dinner we cruised town just looking around. It is the type of place with a very wide four-lane main street with houses along the way where half the residents were sitting or porches, running through sprinklers, or just walking around. Very nice. Mellow. We stopped at the Mount Nebo (the main landmark adjacent to town) Market for snacks, fake Clamato and other liquids and waters, etc., then rolled back to the hotel, shutting down around 8:41, just at sunset. I checked email and relaxed until it cooled off then we got some ice and walked around the lot, looking at some weird and wild bikes on custom trailers in a flatbed truck towing even more bikes in a van - trailering bikes to Sturgis for the owners, I guess. I showered later and slept at 1:00 a.m. Stomach feels better and the dinner and lunch today felt a little off but I think they helped get things back in order.




DAY 6      FRIDAY        AUGUST 1, 2008               229        1147

Nephi, UT to Noab, UT

Best Western Greenwell Inn,  Moab, UT.

LUNCH       Outlaw Café                                           Wellington, UT
DINNER      Moab Brewery                                       Moab, UT

East UT 132 to Moroni; East UT 116 to Mount Pleasant; North US 89 to Fairview; East UT 31 to Huntington; North UT 10 to Price; East US 191 to Green River; east I-70 to Brendel; South US 191 to Moab.

The alarm was set for 8:00 but I woke at 7:30. I was tired and lazy. Dana woke at 8:10 so I walked over to the buffet and brought her back a coffee then I returned for cereal and other goodies for me. It was already warm and the motel was busy. We slowly packed up and rode out of the motel just before 10:30. We gassed up at the station down the road then headed east into the hills and away from the big roads. There was very little traffic and it was a great road that took us through a narrow pass, past Mt. Nebo, all starting at 5,200'. We climbed steadily on a road alongside a cliff to the small towns of Fountain Green, Moroni, Mt. Pleasant and Fairview, where we cut off onto "Scenic Byway 31" where we were now at 6,000'.

The road became twisty and narrow and much more scenic as we rode past lake after lake and past overlooks that had views of many lakes and distant mountains. We stopped for a few minutes at an overlook at 9800' and took some pictures - there were patches of snow at eye level on the next nearby hill.

It was cool here but we could tell the road dropped soon so we didn't bundle up. We then continued down the opposite side of the range with many more lakes, overlooks and views and it warmed up soon. The road ran alongside a river and campgrounds and remained twisty and curvy until we approached Huntington. The road became a busy, nondescript highway at that point, losing all charm. I was getting hungry by then and I had info on a good burger shack just inside town but Dana wasn't hungry so we fled. We rolled into Price just before 1:00 pm and stopped at the first gas station for fuel, a break and some water.

The gal at the counter said there were a few cafes "down the main street then turn right" but as we approached the city center we found it crowded and hot so we turned and fled for a better lunch spot. We found a post office right at the turnaround spot so Dana went in and bought some stamps and we backtracked to the main highway out of town and left town at 1:23.

The road turned quiet again and rolled through Wellington where we spotted an irresistible sign for an okay-looking café and stopped for lunch. The Outlaw Café was full up with locals and tourists alike and my poached eggs, toast and taters were good (still careful of what I ate) and Dana had bacon, eggs with biscuits and gravy which she said were good.


The traffic kicked up a bit and the road out of here was flat and very hot with all kinds of traffic - truckers, motorhomes and RVs, boats, etc. It was breezy at times and the red rock cliffs to the northeast were pretty. The heat was way past comfortable and I saw that Dana was getting red so we pulled over for a short drink stop about 3:15 about seven minutes before reaching I-70.

We jammed forward and took the first Green River exit and passed up all the tourist stops at the west end of town and cruised way into the east side and stopped at a market for a 20-minute water break. The thermometer at the store said it was 108 degrees and we drank a few waters each and talked to the folks on the porch. Plenty hot here and as soon as Dana felt hydrated we took off for the last leg of today's trip. It stayed hot-hot-hot as we jumped on the first Interstate we had seen in a while then jammed to Crescent Junction / Brendel where we hopped back onto small roads. We stopped for a fast drink a few minutes later but then jammed on into Moab, getting into town at about 4:47. We cruised this busy town and went straight for the motel which was right on the main drag in the middle of the business district. It was BUSY with activity everywhere. Hundreds of pedestrians in the city center, a cluster of dirt bikes, all kinds of folks.

We checked in and sat in the room by the air conditioner for a while gulping drinks. Around 6:30 we walked the half-mile to the Moab Brewery after learning from the clerk that Eddie McStiff's Pub had gone downhill the past couple of years (which I had also read on the Internet reviews.) The Brewery was live and the kids nice. One guy took advantage of my beard and introduced me to several people he was seating nearby as "ZZ Top." I decided I wanted a rib combo but they were out of ribs so I had a steak and rings - bueno. Dana had some raviolis and we both had some home-brew root beer which was good. It was a cooler walk back as the sun was behind the mountains. We stopped at City Mart on the way back where I picked up a whole lotta drinks and snacks. We went back to the room and hung out and cooled off. We went out later to lock up the bikes and look around.

The trees in the lot had long, thick bean-looking pods growing off them. Our Hummer Excursion guide would later tell me these were "catalpa" trees. Odd.

Dana slept at 12:00 and I showered and relaxed even more.







DAY 7      SATURDAY        AUGUST 2, 2008           68         1215

Moab to Arches National Park to Moab

Best Western Greenwell Inn,  Moab, UT.

LUNCH        Teriyaki Stix (at Hogi Yogi)                     Moab, UT
DINNER       Moab Diner                                            Moab, UT

North US 191 to Arches Park; North into Arches Park and all over the park (Arches Entrance Road up to North end at Devil's Garden, then east to Delicate Arch and back to Park Center.) then south US 191 back to Moab; Later around Moab and out to East end.

We had a busy day planned and it was going to be a hot one. The alarm was set for 8:00 but we woke fifteen minutes early. I had the slows as usual. There is no breakfast buffet here but I went to the lobby and grabbed some coffees for Dana. We left the hotel ay 10:07 and went first to the Radio Shack where I bought a new battery for my small Sony camera. We left and exited the city at 10:19 and a few minutes later turned into the entrance of Arches National Park.

There were a lot of visitors already zooming into the Park and it was getting plenty hot. We have been through this area three times before and we rode into Arches Park in 1991 but we didn't spend too much time - just rode out about halfway on the main road. We decided to ride out to the end and take pictures on the way back but we were only eight miles into the park when we stopped near the Petrified Dunes viewpoint for some cool pics of rock formations.


At 11:07 we stopped at a picnic turnout with outhouses for a break and some water but just a few minutes later we stopped at Devil's Garden Trailhead at the end of the trail to visit some arches. We were lucky to find a parking spot near the trail. It was steaming and we hiked a ways out to see Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch but seeing as how it was well over 100 degrees we skipped the farther Arches. The next arch, which we did not walk out to, was Wall Arch which in one week would crumble at the center and would no longer be an arch.


After an hour of walking (it was only a half mile for the farthest arch but most walking was in dirt and sometimes soft sand and steps) we were back at the bikes guzzling water from the cooler and ready to roll. We were at 5,100' here but it was still very hot. We left the area at 12:15 and headed towards the entrance, stopping many times for side trips and pictures along the way. We took some photos near Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch then made our way out to the Lower Delicate Arch viewpoint stepping off for a visit at around 12:35. At the photo-op place we ran into a couple from Minnesota and took each other's pictures so we could all have a couples picture. We gulped more water and after fifteen minutes took off again. At 1:02 we took the road behind Balance Rock for a short ways and parked for photos of that area and the huge balanced rock then headed back towards civilization, passing the Tower of Babel, Courthouse Towers and the Three Gossips but did not stop for pics.

At 1:25 we cruised into the Visitor Center and stopped. We chugged more water, went into the air-conditioned center just at their short movie started and sat and watched it and cooled off. We visited the exhibits then went to the gift shop and grabbed some postcards. The flag was at half-mast at the center and I learned that some firefighters nearby had died in one of the many forest and park fires yesterday. We left the Center after a 40-minute visit and fled the park a few minutes later. We cruised town and since we had skipped breakfast hours ago and were near-starved, stopped for lunch pretty quick at a place I had been eyeing since we arrived. I thought that Teriyaki Stix was an ad on the window for a certain dish or menu item with which I was unfamiliar (like chicken stix with a teriyaki flavor) but it was the name of the smaller counter inside the larger Hogi Yogi. They offered teriyaki bowls so I got a chicken and veggie bowl and it was huge and tasty and filled me up big-time. Dana ordered a "spicy chicken bowl" and I don't think she had guessed at how spicy it was going to be - I ate some of her leftovers and it was hot-hot-hot, bur she ate most of it which was better than I may have done.

We rode back to the hotel and were in at 3:00. I was beat. Dana went down to the pool for a bit and I fell asleep by the air conditioner watching the local park and activity channel on TV. She came back a while later and around 5:45 we decided to look around town for laundry options, etc. We took off on my bike and found the first and closest Laundromat had no wash and fold service but the next one down had all options in case we wanted to drop off the clothes in the morning. We cruised out to take our first look at the south end of town but there is little there for tourists and town ends abruptly. We rolled back into town and stopped at the Moab Adventure Center to see what looked good and Dana bought us two excursions - a Hummer tour into the slick-rock adventure area just outside town for tomorrow daytime then a dinner and Colorado River boay ride tour for tomorrow evening. Then we rode back to the town center. It was still hot. We stopped at a sports store and I bought a couple of new bungee cords to replace my old stretched-out ones and picked up a few Cliff Bars for tomorrow's Hummer ride. We then stopped across the road at the City Market for loads of liquid, water, milk, Clamato, etc., and I was surprised to get a discount with my Basha's card.

We pulled in at the hotel for our final parking job at 5:12. We locked the bikes and relaxed for a bit then at 7:45 we walked down to the Moab Diner for dinner - Dana had seen the sign advertising the best chile verde in Utah. The food was good and they gave us lots - we both left food on the plates. Dana had the chile verde and a milk shake and I had a green chile burger. The sun was down when we were done so we walked past the hotel to check out the nearby business district. We visited an Indian art store where I found yet another Kokopelli on a motorcycle pendant (low price PLUS a 40% off sale!!!) and also a cool little Zuni badger fetish (no cheap sale.) We crossed the street and checked out some small stores, bookstores and gift shops, etc. At the Sundance store I bought us some floppy hats for tomorrow's outings then found a pair of goofy socks for Dana as well. It was getting late but the clubs and cafes were still booming and a few stores stayed open. We passed our hotel again to return to the Moab Diner where I got an ice cream cone which I had been wanting for days. We were back at the room at 9:10.

Dana said she wanted to do laundry in the hotel's guest laundry so I stripped and gave her another set of dirty clothes and jumped in the shower as she left. She was back at 11:15 and we just relaxed and read. The computer was working well on the hotel wireless so we checked mail. Dana went to sleep at a late (for her) 1:00 and I was out an hour later.




DAY 8       SUNDAY         AUGUST 3, 2008             0         1215

Best Western Greenwell Inn,  Moab, UT.

BRKFST     Pancake Haus                                       Moab, UT
DINNER     Canyonlands By Night Adv Center         Moab, UT

In the Hummer ride, out to east side of town on Sand Flats Road and up into "Hells Revenge" slick rock bicycle trails to Colorado River overlook (at N38 36.455 W109 32.120) then backtrack to town. Later in shuttle north US 191 to Colorado River and the tour and dinner headquarters and later back to town. On the tour boat - east on the Colorado River a short 3 miles up the river and return to base.

The alarm was set for 8:00 but somehow I slept until 9:00 and woke to find Dana showering. I walked to the lobby to get her coffee. We sat around for a bit and at 10:15 we walked across the street to a breakfast place where I had some pretty good sausage and eggs and pancakes and Dana had blueberry pancakes. We went back to the room afterwards and chilled out - I fell asleep for a short time, too.

At 1230 we walked to the Moab Adventure Center for our Hummer ride into the rocks. Our driver Eric was a fun guy and we had a French family of five along as well. We drove out to the BLM's "slick rock" and "Hells Revenge" area where the terrain is sand and dirt and boulders that we climbed straight up and down, taking a trail (kinda) back into an area where we overlooked the Colorado River.

We spent around 15 minutes at the top of the climb taking pictures and looking around. I have been in plenty of 4-wheel-drive vehicles in a lot of different terrains but I had no idea something could climb this stuff like that Hummer did. We had a great view at the 4,500' top area. Opposite the river view we could see the LaSal Mountains and we took some fotos, some from the inside of the Hummer between the seats and top (Dana and I sat in the rear in an elevated seat.)
















It was a great, rough ride and we were back at the Center just after 3 pm.

By 3:10 we had walked back to the room and were once again under the air conditioner.

It was not the 108 degrees it was when we first pulled into town but it was still plenty hot. We hung out, read and watched TV and I fell asleep yet again. We stayed in until it was time to head down to the River for our dinner and night cruise. The original plan was to ride to the place but we called them and asked that their shuttle pick us up and at 6:30 the driver, Preston (who also drove the boat later) picked us up. There was one other couple at another motel to be picked up then we were dropped at the Canyonlands Adventure place at the north edge of town.

A few minutes later we were seated with a hundred or so other folks in the chow hall where Preston and a bunch of other cowboys and cowgirls fed us in a tray line - LOADS of food, five meats, corn, beans, taters, 3 salads, and cake. Just at dark, around 8:20, we piled into a large barge with movie-type seats and took off for a ride on the Colorado River. We cruised south on the river for a few miles while listening to Dee, the guide, tell us of the history of the business, the settlers and the rivers and had us finding all kinds of odd "pictures" on the rocky cliffs that ran alongside the river. At the turnaround point we were only a half-mile from the earlier turnaround point on the Hummer expedition way on top of the rocks to the south. At that point the guide fell silent and a recorded story came on in the boat while some other tour guys in a truck with a huge generator and flood- and spot-lights began lighting up the steep cliffs around the boat, following the boat's return path by driving alongside on the river road. The story and lights were great and it was still very warm even on the water and as late as it was. We docked at a little after 10:00 and Preston gave us and the other couple a ride back to out hotels.

We were back at the shack a little after 10:30 and hung out. We had not even unlocked our bikes today but had gotten in more activities that most days.




DAY 9      MONDAY        AUGUST 4, 2008             149        1364

Moab, UT to Monticello, UT

Best Western Wayside Inn,  Monticello, UT.

DINNER       MD Ranch Cookhouse       Monticello, UT

South US 191 to past Lasal Junction to the entrance to Canyonlands National Perk; West UT 211 to Newspaper State Park and on to Canyonlands Park Entrance; West into Park on UT 211 to the end of the road then back east on UT 211 to US 191; South US 191 to Monticello.

Today we were to clear Moab but our destination was a mere 60 miles to the south. An odd kind of day but we had side trips to do along the way. I woke just after 8:00 and got Dana's coffee and we were leaving the hotel at 10:38. It was warm but not too hot yet. We started by stopping at the post office to ship some stuff home. Due to a too-small, flat-rate box a quick $5 job turned into a 25-minute $22 job but we finally cleared and headed on down the road. We next gassed up and then finally got out of town but only fifteen minutes later we were stopped at the Hole 'N' The Rock, a place we have passed by several times but never stopped.

We visited the gift shop while waiting for the tour of the house built inside a rock cliff. I picked up some post cards and Dana bought me a very cool bobble-head hippo. We took the tour and finally learned what the place was all about then we walked the grounds, taking pictures, seeing the tomb of the family that built the home, seeing some live animals and feeding an ostrich then talking to a couple on a ride around their state.

















After an hour's visit we jammed back on the escape route We zoomed past Wilson Arch, at the roadside, too fast to stop and failed to get a picture.

A short half-hour got us to Highway 211, the cutoff to Canyonlands Park but there was a road construction flag lady there that had us stopped for a little over ten minutes then we rolled again, only to be stopped again less than ten minutes later. That was a 20-minute stop and we finally rolled out, closing in on some threatening skies, and reached "Newspaper Rock", a place Dana had heard of, at 2:02.

We stopped and walked to the rock and took some pictures of the petroglyphs just as the rain began to fall, but it was light and not much of a problem. The flaggger man at the entrance there told us that farther down the road there were a couple of options that we could drive to get to Monticello instead of backtracking through all this construction. Cool! After a short visit, we headed towards the Canyonlands entrance for a visit to a National Park we have passed several times but had never taken the time to ride way off the mail roads to get there. When we rolled out of the canyon and trees and got our first glimpse of some rock formations way before the Park we stopped for some pictures and found that we were also beside a nice river. We saw an exit to the Outpost (should we stop for lunch???) and started to ride in but the road was powder and rock so we turned back.









A few minutes later we pulled into the Park entrance where the ranger girl told me that no, there is no other way out - we have to retrace our trail back to the first construction stoppage. Damn. We paid our fee and continued on the park road way out to the end at The Needles where at 3:10 we stopped and walked around, gulped waters and took some pictures. There was a fair storm in front of us but I couldn't tell which direction it, or we, would be going later.








We headed back a while later and stopped to take a peek at Wooden Shoe Arch but didn't take pictures. A moment later we were once again on the roadwork trail, having to stop at two locations, once for six minutes and again for ten minutes and we caught about five minutes of light rain along the way.

We got back on the highway at 4:42 and after a fast, dry fourteen miles, were in Monticello. I had asked Dana to plan a night here because on previous trips we had rolled through this place and at that time it looked like a good, homey place to stay. This trip, however, the two main city streets were torn up for improvements, leaving gravel, metal plates, dirt, potholes and coned detours on every street we needed. The motel was a nice place a block off the main highway and we got checked in quickly. When we got into the lot Dana noticed my headlamp was not shining. I checked to find that both the high and low beams were out. This is uncommon since it is usually one (the most-used) beam to go out first and I was afraid maybe I had a problem with a melted wire or plug, or maybe a switch. But I'll worry about it later because there is no night riding coming up.

We unloaded and got settled in and started thinking about dinner. We had not eaten all day. I had heard about the MD Ranch Cookhouse and the K&A Chuckwagon and the girl at the desk said they were both good. Around 5:30 we rolled out on my bike and went by the K&A but it looked like a "show" type dinner house so we cruised back to the other side of town and chose the MD, a good enough looking place. The place was almost busy and had possibilities but between the bumbling young, slow waitress and the mediocre grub I doubt that I'll ever go back there. The menu the café had left at the room said thay had buffalo stew in a bread bowl but that was an old menu so I couldn't get that and settled for stew and a biscuit. The waitress returned a while later and said they were out of that and handed me a menu that had been dipped in ranch dressing and I ordered fried shrimp instead. The shrimp sucked - old oil? The cocktail sauce was also nasty so I got some ketchup which helped a bit. The corn, beans and Lost Trail Root Beer were okay. We were hungry so we loaded up anyway but I think we should have stopped at the K&A instead. Dana had a green chile burger that was okay but her fries were limp and undercooked - almost raw.

We left dinner at 7:08 and rode out to the south end of town just to see what was there. Nothing at all. After that we stopped at the Blue Mountain Market where I bought some milk and snacks but couldn't find the Three Musketeers Bar I had wanted for two days. Then we rode to the north end again then went east a ways past our motel and ended up back at the room at 7:45. We spoke to a couple from Fort Worth who were headed to Moab so we told them about a few places to enjoy then we just hung out and relaxed. It was still warm enough to keep the air conditioner on but was cooler than earlier nights and it was also a little breezy. When I asked Dana to include a night in Monticello she had already planned for this night to stay in Blanding, which I remembered to be smaller with less attraction but I think I was wrong. At least the motel is good. We stayed in, checked our email on the motel's free in-room wireless connection and just hung out.




DAY 10      TUESDAY         AUGUST 5, 2008          180           1544

Monticello UT, to Bullfrog Marina, Lake Powell, UT

Defiance House Lodge,  Bullfrog, UT

LUNCH      Hall's Crossing Store (Picnic)                 Halls Crossing, UT.
DINNER    Anasazi Restaurant                                 Bullfrog Marina, UT

South US 191 through Blanding and to Bluff (with a sidetrip east on UT 162 after taking a bad turn): West US 191 out to Bluff then west on UT 163 to near Mexican Hat; north UT 261 through the Moki Dugway and farther north to near Natural Bridges National Monument; West UT 95 to near Natural Bridges National Monument; West UT 276 to Glenn Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell and into Hall's Crossing ; North across Lake Powell via the Utah Ferry "MV Charles Hall" and into Bullfrog Marina; Later rode around Bullfrog Marina.

I was up around 8:00 and I walked over to the very crowded buffet room (in another, detached wing of the motel) for a simple breakfast then brought back some fruit and coffee for Dana. It was not too warm yet and was somewhat cloudy and still - odd for this trip. We left the motel at 10:12. It cooled off a lot as we climbed from the 7,000' mark but we dipped back down soon and it was warming up after that. It was a very smooth road with little traffic to Blanding where we gassed up and cruised through town.

After seeing Blanding I was convinced that, even though they only had a couple of restaurants, it was a nicer place to stay than Monticello - very clean, no dirty construction, newer buildings in most places. Maybe next time. What little traffic there was disappeared as we pulled out of Blanding and rode through the Ute Reservation and entered Bluff. Today's route was a risk and not too definite as I wanted to ride through the Moki Dugway, a dirt road that climbs up a steep cliff. It is way out of the way and if we got there and found it was too risky or just not passable it would cost us a hundred miles to backtrack IF we had enough gas.

We left town at 11:36 to find the road we wanted. It was a pretty ride out to the Valley Of The Gods area where our turnoff was located. We were approaching Mexican Hat and Dana saw the upside-down hat namesake rock but I was glued to the road and missed it. I pretty much figured that we would be unable to ride the Moki Dugway and was prepared to retreat and backtrack and by now we had passed up any chance there was to eat for a hundred miles if we did get through so the day was an unknown.

My apprehension grew as we turned off onto Highway 261 and rode the final eight miles to the bottom of the Dugway. We hit gravel at 12:08 and I told Dana just to take 'er slow and easy, especially on the twisties, and we'd be okay.

The trail only climbs from 5500' to 6200' and it zig-zags back and forth up the hill but it takes three miles to do it. Several of the tighter hairpin curves were paved - it was old, crumbly and holey pavement but it was better than plain gravel and we made it to the top overlook at 12:28 after averaging 14 mph up the hill. It was an easier trek than I had expected. We stopped at the top and gulped waters and took a load of pictures then took off, hitting pavement four minutes later.

The GPS Track shown at the left illustrates the tight and twisty Moki Dugway. Although the start and finish of the yellow track (the dirt and gravel road) are only three-quarters of a mile from each other "as the crow flys," the actual trip on the road is over three miles, all while climbing a thousant feet in elevation up the side of a rock cliff. The photograph on the right was taken from the top and shows just one of many hairpin turns. You can get a satellite foto of this place by going to GoogleEarth and navagating to GPS point N37 16.452 W109 56.388 .

It was a narrow road along this later stretch with no other cars and no sign of civilization for miles. I took a roadside pit stop then zoomed on, hitting bigger and busier (but not by much) Highway 95 at 1:02. There were other cars and bikes on 95 but only a half-dozen or so in the ten minutes it took us to reach the turnoff to Lake Powell and the ferry to tonight's destination.

We passed up Natural Bridges National Monument again - the fourth time we have failed to stop and check it out. We'll get back to it sometime - it is now about the only National Park in Utah we have not visited. Turning onto Highway 276, the last leg before getting to Lake Powell, I saw the sign that said the Ferry across the Lake to Bullfrog departed on the even hours - in this case the next one left at 2 pm. It was then 1:13, which gave us a whopping 47 minutes to get another 48 miles to the ferry entrance. That 48 miles was mostly open road but had some bumpy twisties along the way and also was partly in the National Parks area where speed limits were low so I didn't think we could make that next ferry but I felt that I had to try so I kicked it up to over 60 mph (speed limit here is 55).

As it turned out, the road was one of the most scenic so far but I missed a lot of it trying to hurry and by the time it was all over I had only averaged 48 mph and missed the ferry by four minutes.

We crossed into Glen Canyon NRA at 1:50 and made our way through the Halls Crossing Marina area and down to the Ferry Ramp just in time to see the ferry about a hundred yards out and chugging away from us. This left us sitting here, somewhere in this nowhere steaming hot complex for the next two hours. There is a main marina with a snack shop and shaded picnic areas but the road to the dock is steep downhill with a treacherous pea gravel road. I rode down but didn't want Dana to get involved so I went back up to where I had left her. About then a Park cop drove up and told me that the lower marina was the best place to wait things out. He said there was a little store and a campground at the other end of the road but it had little shade. We thanked him and rolled up to the store to find a couple of vacant picnic tables at the edge of the lot in a lot of shade and also a shady area to park the bikes in nearby. That was us.

We parked in abundant shade and went into the store and bought up the remaining Oscar Meyer "Lunchables", some cheese and salami and milk and drinks and retreated to the picnic table, also in huge shade, where we had the first picnic of the trip. There was no hurry now so we just sat and ate and relaxed. There was cell service here so we checked our messages at home. After a good little rest I remembered that my headlamp was out so I gathered my spare Halogen bulb from my saddlebag and went to work. Once in the fairing I found that the problem was actually a cracked glass on the inoperative bulb which for certain will burn out both high and low beams. I felt lucky because I had a similar situation where a too-hot bulb in too-hot Phoenix resulted in a melted Bakelite plug and brittle wires. It only took a few minutes to get the new bulb in and get the job wrapped up.

Then it was time to head down to the ferry so we rode out to the ramp and parked at the level top to avoid having to wait on the steep slope closer to the boat. We waited for ten minutes then when the crew was finished cleaning the deck we pulled down and rode onto the deck at 3:55. It was a fun 25-minute ride across this narrow area of the Lake and we took pictures and watches skiers, houseboaters and other water freaks as we passed by. We exited the ferry at Bullfrog Marina at 4:30 and rode straight to the hotel anf got checked in. Our room was at the end of a corridor with a door right into the parking area so we were able to park a few feet from or room and get settled in quickly. It was pretty hot out here.

Our room had a great view of the lake and was a fine place to be and we took a load of pix off the balcony. We relaxed and cooled off for quite a while when at 6:45 I decided that we should ride down to the gas mart and get more drinks. We rode my bike down to find the place was closed. Damn… We rode over to the other marina area but that road was too rutted to try so we just took a tour of the Bullfrog Resort and visited the residential area, the boat ramp, the fish cleaning islands, etc.By 7:00 we were back parked at the room. A few minutes later we walked down to the hotel restaurant (where the shuttle driver told us it was THE only thing open in the resort) and got a great table overlooking the water and had a great dinner. I had trout and taters and veggies. The sun was about down as we started eating and after dinner we walked out on the outside dining porch and took in the view. The on-water activities had mostly stopped and there were only a few boats left coming in to the marina. The Jet-Skis had all cleared out. Even though the stores were all closed the desk lady said she would open the gift store for us after dinner so we held her to that promise and once inside gathered some drinks and snacks for the room.

On the way back to the room we saw some lightning in the distance so once at the room we brought out chairs into the lot and watched as the storms grew closer and the lightning brighter. The wind came up a lot - so much that when Dana vacated her chair for a moment it almost blew away. We got a few sprinkles but we were at the edge of the thunderstorm so we didn't get much at all. After about 40 minutes we dragged our chairs back in and relaxed and TVed and read.

The original plan for tonight's stay had been the smaller outpost community of Ticaboo. Several years ago we were rolling thought this area on the way to Mexican Hat and we had stopped at the gas mart in Hanksville. I was looking at a wall map and saw a shorter route than we had planned and this route included the road through a dot on the map called Ticaboo. I asked the clerk about this shorter route to Mexican Hat and he told me the route was a very poor road, mostly gravel with cliffs on one side and wide trucks coming the other way. He said we'd never make it down the steep gravel grade on motorcycles. So we continued on our planned route, skirting Blanding, seemingly way out of the way. Since then I have looked into the community of Ticaboo and we had planned to stay there - the fact that it is a small place in the middle of nowhere appealed to me for some reason. It is a very small out-of-the-way lodge where we would have to ride 15 miles to dinner at the A&W or 30 miles to Bullfrog Marina. At the last minute Dana gave me info on Bullfrog which indicated that the accommodations were better and it was more accessible to a fine dinner, etc. So we cancelled the Ticaboo reservations and stayed at Bullfrog. We liked Bullfrog a lot. Also, after riding the Moki Dugway earlier today I believe the Indian at the Hanksville gas stop years ago was talking about that place when describing the treacherous road that we would be unable to pass on the bikes. Piece of cake. Kinda.......




DAY 11      WEDNESDAY         AUGUST 6, 2008         237       1785

Bullfrog Marina, Lake Powell, UT to Bryce Canyon NP, UT

Bryce Canyon Lodge       Bryce Canyon, UT.

LUNCH      Red Rock Restaurant                                    Hanksville, UT
DINNER     Ruby's Cowboy Cafe And Steak Room        Bryce Canton, UT

North UT 276 to near Three Forks; North US 95 to Hanksville; West UT 24 through Capitol Reef National Park and on to Torrey; South UT 12 through Boulder, Escalante and on to Bryce Canyon national Park.

I woke at around 8:00. It had rained a lot last night and it was cloudy and breezy but already warm. I walked to the café for a coffee for Dana and stopped at the gift shop on the way back for a juice. The hotel was busy and it was hot in the sun (we were in a clear spot for a while) by the time we were packing the bikes. We left the hotel at 9:57, gassed at the bottom of the hill (I was going to buy a lot of water and stuff for the ride today but the shelves in the gas mart's store were bare) and left at 10:05. There was another outpost about nine miles up the road so we stopped there and I bought a bunch of waters and some punkin' seeds for the road. Another four miles and we jammed past Ticaboo. As we passed by Ticaboo, last night's originally planned place to stay, we saw that it was little more than a spot in the road but there did seem to be a café on one end of the lot, a place not mentioned in the Ticaboo Lodge website. It is truly way out in the middle of nowhere and may be a place to visit sometime in the future.

We stopped a moment later so Dana could put her jacket on. It was chilly as we climbed away from the lake. What little traffic there was consisted of vehicles pulling boats and Jet-Skis heading for the lake. A half-hour later we reached Highway 95 and headed east. There wasn't much traffic on 95 either. We hit a few short spots of light rain along the stretch and another half-hour later we were in Hanksville. That was the point where we had "kinda" planned to ride up to Goblin Valley State Park but that involved a five-mile dirt road and the weather was iffy and it didn't seem like a good idea to go there so we stayed on 95. We saw the Red Rock Restaurant ahead and it had a few cars in the lot so we stopped for lunch. We wanted breakfast but they stop serving that at 11:00 so we settled for Dana's Grilled Ham And Cheese Sandwich and my BLT. We have been through Hanksville a few times before but had only stopped for gas and this is the only café and we found it to be "pretty good." The Indian kids running the show were not "real" café people but they managed to get the food prepared and out to us in short order and it was tasty so we'd likely return. I also bought a postcard there that pictured the pair of mountaintop "hoodoo" formations with which Dana and I had used as a background for pictures of our last two sets of bikes while riding through nearby Red Canyon and in a day or two would take the photos with the latest and third pair of bikes.

We hit the road again and cruised the mainly flat, curvy road through Capitol Reef National Park where we stopped about a half-hour later to take some pics.

After a ten-minute stop we continued and left the park boundary at 1:28. We took advantage of a way-out café/gas place near Torrey for a fast gas stop and while there it was still cool and we could hear thunder nearby. We left a few moments later and found ourselves climbing into familiar territory after Torrey and into Grover then into the wide set of mountains between there and Escalante. At the last gas stop we had been at 6500' but as we left Grover behind we had a steady climb into high, cold and foggy terrain. We saw clouds and rain ahead and by the time we got to 7,000' we were IN the damp fog. We could see clear skies and sunny land BELOW us at the bottom of the mountains to the east and I thought maybe we would drop out of the fog soon but at 2:06 and at 8700' it began to rain. We pulled off on the side of the road and got some raingear on, Dana covering from head to toe but I simply pulled on a sweatshirt and a hat thinking this was to be one of those nuisance rains that would peter out soon. We continued and climbed at 9600' and the drizzles remained light, not too bad. We saw a few other sets of motorbikes cruising in the oncoming direction. It was pretty up here and traffic was light. Lots of meadows to see and a few deer scattered. At 2:30 we started to drop off the hills but instead of drying out it started to pour and got cold as well. It was pouring down before and after Boulder but we kept on pluggin'. The rain continued until we hit Escalante where we stopped for a break and where I got more raingear on. The rain remained fairly heavy for quite a while but we had dropped to under 6000' so it was not as cold and the rain began to taper off around Tropic, just before the Bryce Park boundary.

We pulled in at the lodge at 4:47. We got registered and found that the reservation people had Dana down to check in on SEPTEMBER 6 instead of today, August 6. We got a room anyway and were soon unpacking and settling in. The Internet connect here worked only in the lobby, not in the rooms. There were a few tour buses loaded with loud and raucous kids and the rooms next to us were occupied by some of them. It was noisier than I would have liked but the kids were lightweights and petered out like the rain had and were pretty quiet after 10:00. We relaxed for a while but we got hungry and at 6:12 we rode my bike down to Ruby's resort (where we had tried for reservations but they were booked up for months) in a light drizzle and went in for dinner.

When he reached the dining line there was no line at all and we were seated within a minute. I chose the buffet and Dana ordered from the menu. The food was plenty good but the buffet was not special like the ones we usually eat at on the road. As we left the dining room an hour later we found a huge, long line at the front desk - maybe a hundred or more people waiting to be seated. Lucked out again. We stopped at the HUGE store on the way out and picked up drinks and snacks - I found the Munch bars and Three Musketeers bars I have been seeking for days.

We were back at the lodge at 8:05, locked the bikes up and relaxed. I took the computer to the lobby and checked the mail then we just hung out and relaxed. We had all sorts of clothes hung out to dry in the room, some stuff on top of warm lamps and the TV. Dana was not quite as enthused as she had been about Moab. When she booked this place she had thought it would be similar to Moab - a hoppin' town with lots of places to walk to, check out, enjoy and thought there would be day trips to keep us busy but this area is far from anything like that. We had checked out Bryce Canyon Park on our last trip, riding all the way to the end and stopping at every scenic area on the way back so we would see nothing new out there. There was only one real spot to eat at and because of all this we decided to cut this stay short and haul ass in the morning. She started making reservations for the next night up in Cedar City which was on the other side of the distant and stormy mountains. We just chilled and watched TV and read. The kids got pretty quiet before it was an issue and we slept well.




DAY 12      THURSDAY        AUGUST 7, 2008          109       1894

Bryce Canyon, UT to Cedar City, UT

Best Western Town And Country Inn,  Cedar City, UT

LUNCH      Hermie's Drive-In            Cedar City, UT
DINNER    Godfather's Pizza             Cedar City, UT

West US 12 to Hillsdale; North US 89 to Panguitch; West UT 143 past Panguitch Lake, into Cedar Breaks National Monument then north UT 143 through Brian Head Ski Area and into Parowan; West on E200 Street to I-15 then west I-15 to Cedar City. Rode all over Cedar City throughout the day.

The alarm was set for 7:30 but due to loud people, idling tour buses and general hubbub, furor and broughaha, I woke at 6:30. I got some coffee for Dana from the lobby. There were lots of clouds and it had rained during the night and the Weather Channel promised increasing thunderstorms in southern Utah. We donned our raingear (and helmets for a change) right out of the gate (I had it all on except for the jacket which is a quickie if needed) and it was sprinkling a bit as we shoved off at 9:36. It was chilly with thin clouds and there were no evident dark clouds in the direction we were headed so that made it promising at least for the next short time.

After a short ride we stopped at the Red Canyon center for photos of the bikes with the hoodoo formations in the background. This is the third set of bikes we have had these hoodoo pictures with. We jammed again but it was a short ride to Panguitch where we stopped yet again for gas. It was not too chilly here even at 6608' but we were soon riding up into the mountains where it chilled a bit. At least it was dry.

The road was tops and there was no traffic at all and we had climbed to over 8200' when at 10:38 we reached beautiful Panguitch Lake. It is a big lake nestled in a big valley and there were a few eateries and new resort areas here but there was very little going on. We rolled on past and continued to climb until we hit the 10,000' mark at around 11:00 and just a few yards short of the Cedar Breaks National Monument boundary. We didn't ride into the fee area of the Park as the visitors center was a ways off in the wrong direction and instead we turned north away from the park and a couple of minutes entered the Brianhead Ski area, still over 10,000'. This area was also not very busy and we stopped at the small commercial area to look around and get out of our raingear. We visited the small market there and I picked up some snacks to eat on the porch and since Dana's oldest boy's name is Brian she took time to seek out a suitable Brianhead tee-shirt for him. We relaxed for a moment, grabbed some postcards, took a pit stop and Dana took some pictures of the many hummingbirds in the feeders that hang over the porch.

We pulled out after a half-hour visit and were immediately stopped for a few minutes at a road work zone. Once allowed to continue we began a fast drop off the hills from 10,000' to 6031' in a short eleven miles and a half hour. Many tight hairpin turns kept us going slow before the road straightened out at Parowan below. It began to rain so we stopped upon entering Parowan and suited up. At the far edge of Parowan I saw a sign outside a small diner touting Navajo Tacos and I wanted to stop but we had just suited up and it was still raining. I hadn't had my Navajo tacos yet on this trip and I was dangerously close to doing without but we kept on, hitting the freeway a mile later. As soon as we hit the freeway Dana saw the "Cedar City - 15 Miles" sign and gave me a shrug - she didn't realize she had planned such a short day. Fine with me - there were things to do in town. It stopped raining a moment later and began to heat up. We were on the first Interstate freeway we had seen in a while.

By the time we exited Cedar City it was hot, especially in the plastic raingear but I figured the hotel had to be close so we continued on and pulled off the freeway soon. It was another 6-7 minutes on slow city streets before we got to the hotel and I was burning up by then. I yanked off the raingear as soon as we stopped then enjoyed the air conditioner in the lobby while Dana checked in. It was early - barely lunch time - and Dana quizzed the clerk about the location of theaters and the possibility of finding Navajo tacos in town. He gave us good info and let us into the room even at this early time.

The hotel was a great place and the room was fine but as we were riding from the registration area through the lot to our room, Dana came close to dumping her bike when she encountered a very tall speed bump. As she was crossing the hump slowly she bottomed out and it almost knocked her bike over but she recovered well and avoided the bumps for the remainder of the stay.

It was hot now. Cedar City is a big town. We unloaded and cooled off for a while and Dana found a movie she wanted to see - "The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor" - and saw where it played at 4:00 PM. That gave us three hours to kill.

At 2:15 we rode my bike across to Hermie's to see what the Navajo taco was like. We ate a load of stuff, including two White Boy, totally unremarkable Navajo tacos. They were "alright" but had no beef, only beans, and they lacked the real flavor of a true Indian Taco. But at least I got my taco for the trip, as I always have in this area in the past. After lunch we had quests to perform - a new book for me (I had read the three books I brought along,) Dana's smokes, a headlamp bulb to replace the spare I had used a few days ago and some drinks for the cooler. I found a bookstore where I picked up James Patterson's "The Quickie", then went looking for one theater just to dial in the location for later. We found a Walgreens while there and Dana got her smokes. Then we went back to the main street and stopped at Smith's for some drinks. Across the lot was a cycle shop we walked to but the had no bulbs. Once loaded up we went back to the hotel and dropped off the sodas and jammed to the north end of town where I had seen a couple of bike shops. We stopped at Yamaha and watched the parts kid bumble around before deciding he had no Halogen H4 bulbs. He had them, just didn't know how to find anything without a Genuine Yamaha Part Number.

It was showtime by then and the second theater was at this end of town by the Yamaha shop so we pulled over there and watched the movie in the nice air conditioning from 3:45 to 6:15. We cruised town after that, making our way out to the far west end of town then on the way back to the room stopped at a NAPA Auto Parts Dana had seen earlier, where I found the bulb I was looking for. We were back at the hotel at 6:45.

A short time later we walked over to the Godfather's Pizza which was in the same complex and had some dinner. I had pizza, Dana had a huge salad and it was all pretty good stuff. The sun was dropping when we returned to the room at 8:20 and Dana immediately grabbed the clothes and headed for the guest laundry a few doors down. I gave her my clothes I had on and headed for the shower. I spent some time later computing and mailing and also wrote a few postcards. Later was all about relaxing and staying cool. Since our planned route had been blasted by continuing hard storms to the south, I was trying to figure out a scenic northern route for tomorrow while staying off the Interstate - but the route I wanted would only work if I *knew* there was gas in Milford, a dot on the map 55 miles north. If Milford had no gas I'd have to either roll up the freeway to Beaver, or go ahead and take my scenic route but detour over to Beaver for gas and return, wasting 35 miles. I worked on the computer for an hour or more but was unable to find any businesses in Milford, but that was because the connection was so slow, the website would "time out" before I got any info. At the time I went to sleep I figured we'd have to miss out on the little country road I wanted to take.




DAY 13      FRIDAY        AUGUST 8, 2008         212      2106

Cedar City, UT to Ely, NV

Ramada Inn,  Ely, NV

BRKFST      Hotel Breakfast Bar                             Cedar City, UT
DINNER      Evah's  (Buffet Bar at the hotel)            Ely, NV

North on UT 130 to Meyersville then north on UT 21 to Milford; West UT 21 to Garrison UT and across into Nevada; North NV 487 to Baker and to US 50. West US 50 to Ely, NV.

When I woke at 8:30 I looked at the laptop computer and found that I had left it on overnight. It had automatically kept trying to do the chores I had assigned it and had a list of diners showing for Milford. I called two of the three diners and received no answer but when I phoned Penny's Diner an employee answered and when I asked, told me that yes, they have gas in Milford - two stations. That was the deciding factor in taking the small country route I wanted to ride this morning.

I walked down to the breakfast buffet and had some cereal and stuff then returned with Dana's coffee. We packed up and as we were in the lot an old guy in a super-huge, very clean motorhome was cruising the lot on the way out of the hotel's motorhome parking area - the coach was new and shiny black and very fancy and the guy had a huge smile for us - he was pulling an equally new, huge trailer which had two decks - one carrying a new car while the upper deck carried a new boat. What a setup - it reminded me of the bumper sticker I saw many years ago: "We are spending our kids' inheritance."

We rolled out of the lot at 10:30, cruised through town and hooked up with my little road at the north city limits. It was clear and warm, but just getting there. There was very little traffic out on this tiny desert and farm road and as we cruised through the very small town of Millersville at 11:20 we found that there were two gas stations here as well and these would have put us in the safe zone for having gas the rest of the day. Not too much later we entered Milford and found it to be a fairly large country town with all the services you'd need. Having trouble finding any business listings on the Internet made me think it was a spot in the road but it was far from that. We stopped for gas and a pit stop and I picked up a pack of seeds to much on as we rode. We cruised the rest of town and found that it ended abruptly with Penny's Diner and their motel and we left town limits at 11:51.

This is pretty country but there isn't much out here. An occasional ranch off in the distance and in the 80 miles it took us to reach Garrison we saw only eight cars. At 12:37 it had cooled a bit and we pulled over so Dana could get her jacket on then at 12:50 it looked like rain ahead so we stopped and got some raingear on. Again, I just put on my rainpants, knowing that the jacket could be grabbed quickly and zipped on. We passed Pruess Lake and a moment later at 1:21 (now 12:21) we rolled through the small community of Garrison where we hit the Nevada Line and got to roll our clocks back an hour into the Pacific Daylight Time Zone. We went through Baker a few minutes later and I had wanted to ride out to the Stateline outpost a few miles up on US 50 but I missed the turnoff and we ended up joining US 50 several miles west of the outpost. We pulled over into an old parking lot for a ten-minute break where we had some drinks and got rid of our rain clothes. At this point we had only an hour to go before re reached our end-of-day destination, Ely. We pulled back onto US 50, a familiar road, and rode past the Great Basin Rec Area and all the little farms and rolled over several mountain range summits along the way. It was warm but not hot and that made it for a nice ride. Just as we approached Highway 93 cutoff we got POURED on from a clear, bright, blue sky. There were clouds around us but overhead it was clear. The downpour lasted only maybe 90 seconds and I was thinking, "Where the hell did that come from?" and a minute later Dana rolled up next to me and hollered, "Where the hell did that come from????" It was odd. We dried off pretty fast and continued riding in the dry warmth.

We entered Ely at 1:45 and stopped at the hotel three minutes later. The town was bustling and warm and we went inside to register. The clerk was having trouble getting her computer rebooted and I gulped down a couple of cold waters as we waited. We got registered and our room was inside this main casino building just five steps from the desk and one step from the casino. Cool.

On the way out I snagged a baggage cart and we loaded the cart and when Dana was done she pulled her bike around to park by our room's window. As I waited by the cart a woman hotel employee exited the doors, looked at my bike and the loaded cart and stopped in mid-stride as her jaw dropped. "NO! You didn't take ALL that off your bike!!!???" I explained that there was a second bike involved and this seemed to calm her down. It was funny.

We got in, unpacked, set up the air conditioner and cooled off for a bit. Dana wanted to go out and check out the casino and I stayed in and got the computer set up and relaxed. At 2:25 I found Dana at the casino and told her I was going for a putt. I rode up to Ridley's for some snacks, soda and some Clamato and Milk then cruised town and found a small hot rod show in the park. I didn't stop in case Dana wanted to see it later and I rode to the west edge of town then turned back for the hotel. I was back at the room at 3:00 and unloaded the groceries and Dana came back in a few minutes later.

Just before 4:00 we rode my bike downtown and spent about 45 minutes walking the rod show and taking pictures. It was a nice little show with a lot of people hanging out and some very nice cars.

We left and cruised to the west end of town. There wasn't a lot going on but the older casinos were full of bikes. We then cruised out to the east end of town where, despite having stayed in this town a dozen times, we haven't gone before but there was nothing too interesting out there so we came back to the hotel at 4:40 where we locked the bikes together and went in for the rest of the day.

We just relaxed for a while and Dana went back out to visit the slot machines. Later on we walked upstairs to have dinner at Evah's, the casino's restaurant. I had a burger and some good clam chowder and Dana had a French Dip. We went back to the room a while later and I laid down to read "for a minute" and ended up sleeping for two hours. Dana went out to play games and came in later.







DAY 14      SATURDAY        AUGUST 9, 2008          266      2372

Ely, NV to Fallon, NV

Holiday Inn Express,  Fallon, NV

BRKFST      Evah's (Buffet Bar at the hotel)                                        Ely, NV
DINNER      Stockman's Steak House (in the Stockman's Casino)        Fallon, NV

West US 50 to Fallon. NV.

This is The Adventure Day. Almost every trip has one. Remember way back when I mentioned that we had left home without getting a new battery for Dana's bike?

Dana woke up at 7:00 and I somehow slept in until 8:00. She showered and primped and around 9:00 we went up to the café where we had the free breakfast buffet. Dana seldom takes advantage of this but sometimes it is just too inviting to pass up. It was pretty good with a good assortment of grub - waffles, egg, taters, etc. - and it was busy as well. The 2008 Olympics were playing in the restaurant and we watched the US girls Volleyball team whoopin' on China's team for a bit. We went back to the room and packed up, grabbed the baggage cart and loaded the bikes at their spot around the side of the hotel and rolled out of the lot at 10:25. We gassed up at the east side of town - the old 76 station where we have gassed up many times is no longer a gas station so we had to go a bit farther out. It was warm already and very clear (The first truly clear sky in many days), signaling the end of any rain woes we may have had. The car show was still in the park but was bigger and busier today, I suppose since it was Saturday.

We left town at 10:37 and found traffic very light in both directions with the occasional hot rod being driven or trailed towards Ely. We made a stop in Eureka for gas and a bathroom and split a big Gatorade. On the way out of town we saw a big horse function at the arena, maybe a rodeo or some such thing, with loads of cowboys riding around.

Six miles out of Eureka we were rolling up a slight grade and I had my cruise control set at 55 when suddenly the bike's speed increased just as if I had twisted the throttle wide open. I waited to see what would happen and just for a few seconds it accelerated then at between 65 and 70 it just let go - no throttle at all. The manual throttle worked okay but the cruise control was gone for the rest of the trip.

At 1:04, about 2/3 the way between Eureka and Austin, we had to stop at a construction zone and wait for a pilot car. We were the first in line so we talked to the flag girl about her new boots, her husband's boots, her father's boots, overtime, the joys and grief of working the flag job and the overtime involved, etc. The pilot car showed up, Dana turned her key on, hit the start button, and…. Click....... It was all about that battery we had thought about replacing a couple of weeks ago. We could not have been in a worse place for a breakdown - no cell service, no towns within 200 miles with a battery, etc. We pushed the bike off the road as the other cars came around us and we had to work fast because after the string of cars passed, we'd have to wait for the next pilot car. I jumped on and we tried to push start the bike but it wouldn't even cough. Ah - turn the KEY on, Dana. We rolled it again, Dana pushing and me walking it from the seat and this time the bike fired. I got off, told her to get on and get rolling. I ran back to my bike and caught up and we caught up to the car line.

There is much to consider when this happens. First off, a Harley, unlike other bikes and cars, will not keep running on the alternator power if the battery is truly dead so depending on the condition of the battery, the length of the remaining ride can be a few miles or the rest of the day. I was hoping for the latter but the whole thing was a crap shoot at this point. I got in front of Dana so I could monitor her headlamp's brightness - if I saw it going dim I'd know we had better find a place to stop. The light stayed bright but unless we could get at least as far as Fallon, another 130 miles, we would be in trouble, having to deal with how and where to leave the bike and luggage while one of both of us went for parts, etc. We also had to worry about getting gas without allowing the bike's motor to stop. I'm glad Dana had an uncharacteristic breakfast buffet this morning because there will be no lunch stops today. We rode on, having to run at a slow pace due to the long tine of cars and trucks from the construction stop and I was pleased to see the headlamp had not dimmed.

A half hour later we entered Austin and since I wasn't sure we had enough fuel to hit Fallon we stopped at the gas station where we had stopped two weeks ago. I had Dana pull to the pump and sit on her running bike while I got the gas hose then she pulled up and let me fill up and we rolled out onto the highway after an unprecedented four-minute NASCAR gas stop. Once we cleared town and were free of all those construction cars we done a Pony Express run, traveling at between 65 and 70, higher than our typical 50-55 sightseeing speeds. There was no looking around or joy-joy riding, just doing a "get there" run, speeding along US 50 hoping that the battery would stay fit for another two hours or 125 miles. I was getting thirsty and I know Dana was too but we couldn't just stop and relax so we burned down the road while I was keeping a close eye on her headlight. About the last fifty miles before Fallon there were a ton of bicyclists riding in our direction, some singles and some in small clumps but this caused me to slow to a more typical speed. It was still warm and clear and Dana pointed out smoke from what must have been a pretty big fire behind the hills near Fallon. Dana's bike performed well and we rolled into Fallon at 3:41 and pulled into the hotel lot at 3:47. Safe. We'll figure out the logistics of getting the bike a new battery later.

We registered, gulped waters, got into the room where we unpacked and relaxed. There was a Sears farm store next door and they have batteries for bikes, ride-on lawn mowers, etc., and there was a possibility that we could simply walk over for a Die Hard battery but it is always good to check the charging system when this kind of thing happens because in trying to charge a "bad" battery all day in the heat, an alternator of regulator can get fried. Dana called H-D Reno to see if they were open tomorrow (Sunday) and if they had a battery for her bike (of course) so we were set for tomorrow. IF Dana's bike would start in the ayem and make it to Reno things would be great. Otherwise I'd ride to Reno and return with a battery. We'll see.

With all that figured out we could now have Sum Fun. I relaxed and cooled off while Dana walked over to Stockman's Casino for a break. Around 6:00 I walked over and collected her for a dinner at the Stockman's Steak House, which was closed when we were here two weeks ago (closed Sundays.) We had a pretty good dinner - she had prime rib and I had a ribeye. After dinner I watcher her play some slots for a bit then I went back to the room, relaxed, checked the email, watched TV and read. She came back in around 7:40 and we stayed in and hung out. What a day, huh?




DAY 15      SUNDAY        AUGUST 10, 2008          68      2440

Fallon, NV to Reno, NV.

Eldorado Hotel/Casino,  Reno, NV

BRKFST      Breakfast Bar at the Hotel                       Fallon, NV
LUNCH       Tivoli Gardens (in the Eldorado)              Reno, NV
DINNER      Brew Brothers Pub (In the Eldorado)       Reno, NV.

West US 50 then West US 50-Alt to Fernley; West I-80 to Reno; South US 395 to Mill Street Exit into Reno at H-D shop; West on Mill and 2nd Streets to Downtown Reno.

We were up at 7:00 - pretty early due to the unknown condition of Dana's battery. I got some food and drinks and coffee from the breakfast bar and took it all back to the room. We had to plan our escape but didn't know how it would play out. We couldn't try to start the bike without packing it first because if it DID start we couldn't very well let it run and overheat while we packed, and there was no guarantee that it would start again. We couldn't check out because if it did NOT start then Dana would have no place to wait while I took the trip to Reno for the battery. What we ended up planning was to pack both bikes but not wait to check out then try to start the bike with the starter. If that failed we'd try to push start it again (more difficult to do when the bike had cooled off overnight.)

Dana got on and hit the starter and the bike groaned for a couple of turns of the starter but then burst into life. YAY!!! She then ran in and checked out and we were on the way. The bike ran fine through town and the headlamp was bright so I figured we'd be okay for the hour to Reno. But because of yesterday's run we were low on gas so we had to stop a half-hour later before getting onto I-80 and do another Pony Express gas-up, letting Dana's bike run while I fed the tank. A minute later we were on the freeway and heading towards the repair. It was a nice ride but traffic was heavier than we had seen all week. It was a warm day.

We rolled into Reno at 10:54 exited I-80 at 11:01 and pulled into Reno Harley-Davidson three minutes later. Since the breakdown yesterday it was a matter of a little more relief and a little brighter outlook for each step we got closer to town but now it was all relief. The H-D store was busy and the lot was full of bikes but the shop was not too busy and the service tech got Dana's bike in for the paperwork. He told her they would install a new battery and check the charging system. We could wait over in the store or lounge and he'd let us know what was up soon. We visited the store, looked at stuff, sat in the lounge with free popcorn, read magazines and just hung out. We hadn't been in the store for maybe 20 minutes when the service guy found us and said that Dana's battery was okay and the problem was a loose battery cable connection. They cleaned and tightened that and all is good. BUT - the battery is five years old and we have never had a battery last more than three years on any of our other bikes. The tech said these "new" batteries are better and he has had the same battery as Dana's in his bike for seven years without a hitch. Dana opted for a new battery anyway just so she could feel safe for a few more years.

We had only been at the shop for an hour and were soon on the way to the Eldorado Hotel where Dana had called and found that she could get a room for $60 with her club card. Today was the last day of the annual Hot August Nights Street Rod affair and many downtown streets were still blocked off from this morning's parade. Even though, it took just over ten minutes to get to the Eldorado's valet check-in area where we loaded our luggage onto a cart and gave it to the bell guy and then rode across the street to the casino's new bike parking area in the garage. A few minutes later we were back and checking in then were in the room where the bell guy delivered our baggage. Dana was missing a bungee cord from the cart but the bell guys found it and brought it up a few minutes later. Safe and sound and we don't really have to be home for another week, although we had always planned on getting home a few days early. But for now we were set to relax for a couple of nights. We would not see the bikes until we would check out a few mornings later.

We got settled in, relaxed and cooled off. This fancy hotel has a good wireless Internet connect but it cost $10 per day. I'd be sitting here a lot so I bought the connection and checked mail. Dana ran right off to the casinos (The Eldorado, the Circus Circus and the Silver Legacy properties are all linked by an indoor walkway in which you can walk several city blocks in all three casinos and never know when you pass into another and never see the streets outside.) I was hungry so a while later I walked to the Tivoli Gardens Café and had a lunch of Chinese sampler items and Chinese soup. Good stuff. I walked the length of the three casinos looking for the food court for a later visit. But the court was elusive enough to make me give up for a while. Once at the end I exited the casino and walked up to the B of A Versateller then another block to the Walgreens where I bought drinks and snacks for the next couple of days. It was warm and clear and loads of hot rods were still cruising and leaving town. When I was done I walked back through the complex, this time finding the food court downstairs in the Silver Legacy - it didn't look special enough to try later. I was back in the room at 4:00 and I relaxed and fell asleep until 6:00.

Dana came in a few minutes later and we walked down to the Brew Brothers Pub for dinner - she had a good meat loaf and I had a Vietnamese salad. After that she became interested in some slot machines and also led me to the player's club desk where I got a replacement player's card - this was NOT on our original itinerary so I had not brought my cards along. We should have been down in Caliente or elsewhere this evening but the rain had scared us off. I stayed around for a bit but soon walked out to get a look at the dwindling crowd. I walked down past Harrah's where I got stopped by three couples of drunk middle-aged Texans who asked me to take their picture at the Arch. We were in the middle of the street doing this and after a few attempts we finally got it right. I was back at the room at 8:15. I hung out, watched TV and just relaxed.




DAY 16      MONDAY        AUGUST 11, 2008          0      2440

Eldorado Hotel/Casino,  Reno, NV

BRKFST      Tivoli Gardens (in the Eldorado)              Reno, NV.
DINNER      Tivoli Gardens (in the Eldorado)               Reno, NV.

No Riding Today I woke up at 7:20 - don't know why since no alarm was set. I showered and then Dana woke up and while she was in the shower I walked down to the coffee outlet and brought back coffee and hot chocolate. Before we had left for this trip Dana had gotten a notice that she would lose a couple hundred comp dollars if she didn't use them so the coffee and a lot of other stuff was kinda free - one good reason for detouring through Reno on the way home. When Dana was ready we walked down to Tivoli and had breakfast on the comp, too. I bought a couple of Keno tickets that lasted through the breakfast. I won only $5 but Dana won a fat $52 so the $20 ticket was worthwhile.

After dining we walked the interior over to the Silver Legacy so Dana could get a bead on the spa/salon where she planned to go later. We returned to the players rewards counter where I had some prize on my players card - oooo, a small tin of mints! We walked outside and strolled down to Harrah's casino so Dana could use her Harrah's card in a few games there to keep the account alive. We stopped at a hole-in-the-wall market on the way back for some smokes and sodas and were back in the room by 11:45.

I laid down "for a minute" and slept until 1:30. I renewed the wireless access for another day and at 2:00 Dana left for her hair and nails appointment. I hung around relaxing and watching the TV and reading and Dana was back from the salon at 5:10 but ran off to the slots again at 5:30. I walked down to the rewards counter again and got another prize on my card then walked the end of the casinos near Ramada then returned, stopping at another mart for drinks and M&Ms. I walked over to the parking lot to check on our bikes and recorded yesterday's mileage for the log then I was back in the room by 6:00. Dana called fifteen minutes later and said she was coming up to collect me for dinner. We went back to the Tivoli Gardens - all meals have been free so far as we were using up her about-to-expire credits - and found they did not have the pork chops I wanted so I had a chicken-fried steak and Dana got spinach benedict eggs. We played Keno again but had no winners.

We returned to the treasure cove to collect the small prizes on our tickets (more mints!!!) and when Dana sat to play some Dean Martin slot machine I went back to the room. After midnight Dana called up and told me she had just won $1,300 on a slot then she sent up a picture of the winning row of sevens from her cell phone camera. Cool thing!




DAY 17      TUESDAY        AUGUST 12, 2008          219      2659

Reno, NV to Home

LUNCH      Logan's Roadhouse                         Sacramento, CA.

West on I-80 to near Emigrant Gap; West on CA 20 to near Nevada City then north CA 49 to Wayne Brown Center; back south on CA 49 then west CA 20 through Nevada City and Grass Valley then south CA 49 to Auburn; West I-80 to Home. End of vacation.

I woke with the alarm at 8:00 and went down for coffee for Dana. We were moving slow. We left the room at 10:30 and strolled through the casino to check our cards for more prizes and stuff. Normally we would stop for lunch and slide in towards home non-stop, but Dana wanted to visit one of her sons in Nevada City. We got a baggage cart loaded and on the way down with the bell guy then we walked over to the garage to collect our bikes when Dana discovered she had packed her bike keys away in the luggage. She went back to the lobby and I stayed by the bike talking first to a rider from Oregon who was on a ride with his buddy then when he left I spoke with the security guard. Dana showed up a while later with her keys and we rode over to the registration driveway and packed up and left at 11:52.

It was a straight ride to Nevada City with some slowing on I-80 for lane closures and traffic. It was hot at Nevada City and I sat in the shade at a table, snacking and talking to a gal that worked at the county offices next door while Dana went to see Brent. We were soon off again and stopped next for gas just prior to hitting I-80 again. From there it was a fast ride in fairly heavy traffic and we had discussed lunch - Dana is a fan of Logan's so we stopped for a good meal and a cool-down there for over and hour. We burned on in non-stop and found it was cooler at home. The bikes were filthy and we were pooped out when we rolled up the driveway at 6:02.

It was a great trip despite the few changes we made in regards to our route and places to stay. The rain and storms frequently dictate the route this time of year which is usually when our out-of-California rides occur. Sometimes at night we watch The Weather Channel in order to adjust the next day's route. This year was no exception.

I still would like to stay in Caliente, Nevada, and even after seeing it I still wouldn't mind staying in Ticaboo, Utah just for the Spartan experience. Some other time perhaps even though Bullfrog Marina was a great place to hang out for the night.

And my bike's mileage has improved greatly after the last tweaking to the ignition module - up to almost 48 MPG, close to what my older before-twin-cam bikes were getting. That makes a cool difference in vacationing.

I will never know for sure what took hold of my stomach and wrenched it all to hell back on the second night / third morning but the timing makes me believe it was the pasta I had for dinner in Carlin. It was just luck that the third day's travel could be adjusted to a straight and fast run to Wendover and also good timing that Dana had us relaxing there in a great resort hotel for TWO nights, which gave me a chance to recuperate without having to overdo things.

Speaking of luck, Dana's battery problem turned out to be hardly bad at all - it was the worry that was the ass-tightener, not the actual mechanical problem. And now she has a new battery and we won't have to worry about that for a few more years.

So, I'm ready to go again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!