Snowy mountains and lush farmland

 I put on all of my warm liners plus raingear before we left Kemmerer, WY this morning due to cool weather (temperature in the low 50's) and high chance of rain/thunderstorms. We started off under clear blue skies, riding west on US 30.

We passed herds of sheep and cattle as we rode straight west, then turned north on US 89.

We watched the snow-capped mountains get closer, and then the wide-open valley narrowed as we climbed up the Salt River Pass, one of the routes used by the California, Oregon, and Mormon wagon trains.

We continued on 89 north through Star Valley, bordered by the Salt River mountain range in western Wyoming, and the Webster range in eastern Idaho. The 2-lane road sweeps and turns along the Snake River, which eventually dumps into the Columbia River. Due to the high amounts of snow this past winter and rainier than usual Spring, the Snake was churning brown water and often over its banks as we rode past.

We picked up US 191 north into Jackson, WY. The traffic increased as we rode north through several small towns and outlying ranches. One of our favorites is Afton, home to the largest elk antler bridge in the world.

Much of this route goes through the Bridger-Teton National Forest, 3.4 million acres of protected land.

We stopped for lunch in Jackson, and then turned west onto WY 22 over the Teton Pass. Even with 10% grades, it was one of the lower and tamer passes of our trip and definitely had a lot more traffic than we've seen so far on this trip.

The west side of the pass is in Idaho, the 4th state on this trip. We continued on ID 33 north, riding through rollercoaster hills in the lush farmland with views of the Grand Tetons to the east.

We had been watching dark rain clouds, and had a few miles of light rain before we rode out of the clouds and back into the sunshine. We turned north onto US 20 into Island Park, our stop for the night. There are less than 400 people who live in Island Park, which is one of the gateways into Yellowstone National Park.

We rode 269 miles today and were wowed by the landscape each mile: snowy mountains, green pastures, brown tilled fields, rolling hills, and overflowing rivers and streams. Tomorrow we have a shorter ride into Bozeman, MT where we'll stop for the Memorial Day weekend to visit our youngest son and his girlfriend before we continue on our trip back into Colorado.

3 states: Colorado, Utah and Wyoming

 We started off our day in Grand Junction, Colorado, riding west on CO 340 into Fruita along the Colorado National Monument's towering red rocks.

Once in Fruita we headed west on US 50 for just a few miles until turning north on CO 139 toward Rangely. This 134 mile stretch of road from Fruita to Dinosaur is the Dinosaur Diamond scenic byway, home to several dinosaur and fossil museums. We started riding through irrigated green farmland toward the Book Cliffs. We were at about 5500' in the north desert shrub zone, and as we steadily climbed we rode through stands of aspens and firs as we crested Douglas Pass at 8205'.

It was a gorgeous day for a motorcycle ride as we zoomed along straight sections of the 2-lane highway, then wound around long sweepers, and twisted our way up and down the pass. 

15 miles of CO 139 goes through the Canyon Pintado National Historic District, named by Spanish Fathers Dominguez and Escalante as they traveled through this area in 1776. People have lived in this area for over 11,000 years, and there are numerous places to stop and learn more, plus view pictographs. We stopped at the White Birds Interpretive site and hiked up the steep, short trail to view pictographs of birds and corn.

Back on the road we turned onto CO 64 in Rangely to Dinosaur (originally it was named Artesia and changed its name when Dinosaur National Monument came into existence). In Dinosaur we turned west onto US 40 and soon crossed into Utah.

Heading north on US 191 we enjoyed more twisting roads that climbed up and down, through large stands of aspens, and with views of snowy mountains. We also surprised a few deer who bounded across the road in front of us.

Turning west onto UT 44 we rode through some of the most stunning scenery of the day along the Green River and the Flaming Gorge. John Wesley Powell and his intrepid crew started their exploration of the Green and Colorado rivers here in 1869. They named the area Flaming Gorge when they saw the sun setting on the red rocks of the canyon.

There was almost no traffic, so we were able to pull over and stop at the side of the road a few times to take in more of the amazing scenery.

We stopped in Manila, UT at Browning's for lunch with thick and delicious chocolate marshmallow malts along with our sandwiches. 

Heading west on CO 43, which became WY 414, the landscape changed again to a high plateau with distant views of mountains - and also several dark and threatening storm clouds.

Our luck held out and made it to Kemmerer, WY without getting soaked. We had 298 miles of motorcycle fun through three western states as we continue to head toward Montana.

First ride of 2023

 A lot has happened since we last were on a BMW trip: we moved from Arizona to Colorado! We live in the San Juan Mountains in southern Colorado, and are thrilled to watch the deer, elk, chipmunks and birds all around our home.

Today we started a 2-week trip, first heading to Bozeman, Montana to visit our youngest son. We rode 255 miles for the day, first riding west on US 160 out of Pagosa Springs to Durango. 

                                     

Pagosa Springs

In Durango we picked up US 550 north, one of our favorite rides through the San Juan and Uncompahgre national forests. I've never ridden south to north, and this is the earliest in the year we've been on this route. There's still a lot of snow after one of the snowiest years on record, and the aspens at the higher elevations haven't yet started to leaf out.

This narrow, 2-lane highway is famous for tight hairpin turns and sheer drop-offs with no guardrails. There wasn't much traffic and we had a lot of fun zooming down the road.

550 goes through Silverton, one of the highest towns in the US at 9,318' and our entrance today to the Million Dollar Highway that runs between Silverton and Ouray. These were originally gold and silver mining towns and today are more famous for the astounding scenery and remote backcountry adventures. 

I had on my raingear from the beginning of the trip to stay warm (temperatures in the 50's and low 60's) but when we spotted rain clouds ahead, we stopped so Mike could put on his rain gear.

I love how small the BMW and Mike look in this photo against the huge mountains!

It was raining as we rode through Ouray, and then the sun came out as the valley opened up. We stopped in Montrose for lunch, and then continued on US 50 west and north toward Grand Junction. It's amazing how quickly the landscape changes in Colorado. We were out of the snow-capped mountains and at lower elevations riding through the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area. 

We rode through the Uncompahgre Plateau where red-rock canyons and sandstone bluffs dominate the landscape.

As we headed into Grand Junction, Mike had some fun at a stoplight with a guy on a Ninja. They both did wheelies, and Mike accelerated ahead. The power of the BMW!

We're spending the night in Grand Junction on the Western Slope of the Rockies and looking forward to sunny skies and fun riding tomorrow as we continue north toward Montana.

Back on the road in 2021

We started our first long-distance motorcycle trip in almost a year today, and it felt fantastic to pack up the BMW and ride 376 miles from our home in Prescott, Arizona to Farmington, New Mexico. It's the first day of a 2-week trip that will take us to the Denver area to visit our sons, South Dakota, and then - well, we're not exactly sure where we'll head next. 

We headed north from home on AZ 89, picking up I-40E for a few miles to Flagstaff where we once again turned the BMW north on US 89. We were a bit surprised to see snow at the north-facing top of the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff. Named for the Franciscan friars who were doing missionary work in this area in the early 1600's, the San Francisco Peaks are a volcanic mountain range with the highest point in Arizona - Mt. Humphrey's at 12,633'.

We rode through the Navajo Nation the majority of the day, turning east on US 160 and stopping at a Subway in Kayenta for lunch. Due to COVID-19 restrictions there is no in-person dining, so we found a spot of shade outside and enjoyed our lunch.

We can't remember the last time we rode on 160E past Kayenta, and enjoyed watching the changing scenery and the far-off distant vistas.

We picked up US 64E and then just a few miles further crossed the state line into New Mexico. We're still in the Navajo Nation, which covers over 27,000 square miles in four states:  Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. 

 There was almost no traffic on this stretch of asphalt, and we were excited to see the odometer turn over to 30,000 miles. We've had the BMW for a bit over 3 years and are looking forward to many thousands more miles.

We passed a few herds of cattle and saw a small herd of horses off to the side of the highway taking shelter from the mid-day sun under the rock overhang in a wash. There weren't as many motorcycles as we expected, and much of the time we enjoyed the road to ourselves. Riding through the Southwest is a lesson in vast spaces, long distances between often very tiny towns, and lots of open road. Tomorrow we'll head into Colorado and are looking forward to the Rockies.

US Route 89 north to Hatch, Utah

We're excited to finally be on an overnight motorcycle trip to Hatch, Utah so I can run the Vacation Races Bryce 60k on Saturday. The race starts only about 4 miles outside Hatch, which according to the 2010 census has a population of 133. Luckily there are a couple of motels and restaurants. 

We left home just before 8am, knowing this would be the hottest day so far this year. It was 71 degrees at home, mid-80's in Flagstaff, and in the mid-90's in Page. Once we got to Flagstaff, we rode north on highway 89 all the way to Hatch, 360 total miles for the day. 

The San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff still have snow on the top, but just a few miles further north on 89 we had to stop for road construction for 9 minutes and the temperature was 94 degrees. I counted 68 cars heading south before it was our turn to get back on the road.

The landscape changed to a high, dry, barren desert with eroded rock piles lining the road.

As we continued north on 2-lane 89 through the Navajo Nation, sandstone cliffs rose up to the east. 

We came to a "Y" intersection where 89A heads west toward the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and we stayed on 89 up through a mountain pass toward Page. The original highway is 89A; 89 toward Page was constructed in the 1960's to serve building the Glen Canyon Dam in Page.

89 goes over the Glen Canyon Dam and as we headed north we could see Lake Powell to the east.

Just a few miles north of Page we entered Utah and the landscape changed again to hot, dry, barren high desert.

We steadily gained elevation the further north we rode. Instead of washed-out colors and rocky cliffs, we started to see green grass, trees, and even water in the creeks.

We pulled into the Hatch Station motel about 6 hours after we left home in Prescott, AZ after a beautiful ride on US Route 89. Tomorrow we plan to ride through Bryce National Park and enjoy some twisty riding through this stunning part of the country.