Ogden to Sedona, 8/30/08

I decided to head back home to Arizona during labor day weekend. I didn't want to be on the road on friday, but i thought Saturday wouldn't be too bad for traffic. I got loaded up the night before, & was on the road by 6:30. There wasn't a lot of traffic through salt lake city, & after i got into spanish fork i turned off onto a state hiway, getting off of I-15. I followed 89 south for a while, then took a smaller road that went toward bryce canyon again. This road was desolate. I saw very few cars. Part of it went along a river canyon, where i stopped for a short break.

From rides

I washed off the bugs from my goggles in the river, & had some jerky & water. I made a new friend, who accepted some jerky.

From rides

I continued along this road.. hours went by without seeing a car. The road was paved & decent, & looked to be a shortcut to bryce.

From rides

I had stopped for breakfast in a small town on us89, & was hoping to take a dirt road past bryce canyon back to 89 near page, az.


I stopped for gas & an ice cream in Tropic, where i met a group of sport bikes. They were from the san francisco area, & were riding through utah. They also rode dirt bikes, & were intrigued by my trip... they had hot babes on the back, so weren't really into riding off road. Most of the harley guys also had hot babes on the back of their bikes.. what happened to solo adventure riding? Why bother going if you're going to pack all the baggage.. the whining, always hungry, constant bathroom stops.. & that's just me! Add to that the woman & her talking nonstop, shouting in your ear, & complaining about the wind messing up her hair... why would anyone want to take a woman along on a long interstate bike ride?

..oh..

i guess it does get lonesome..

they are warm & soft & nice to snuggle with..

Ok.. i get it. Next time i'm bringing my own hot babe!

From rides

This is a great road from tropic to near bigwater. It's a lot shorter, too than going all the way to kanab & then cutting over. Somebody put a big hole in the ground so you can't drive straight down to Flagstaff, but have to cut over to Page. But this is a great road. Very little traffic.. i think i saw 2 or 3 vehicles the whole distance, about 55 miles.

From rides

The road is called Cottonwood Canyon, & it follows a canyon, then comes out along the pariah river. It winds it's way along the canyon with some nice views, as well as fun riding. Much of the road was washed out from the rains, so the going was interesting.




This is the view back toward bryce & the central canyons.







There were some turnoffs. This is grosvener's arch (the english pronounce this 'grove-ner's. I don't know how the utahans say it).




The road was nice & twisty.. i was glad there was not a lot of traffic. In a truck or dirt bike, this is a nice short cut to Bryce coming from the south east.






By now it was getting late. When i reached Page, i would still have 3 hours of riding to do. I decided to stop taking pictures & twist the throttle.





Ok, maybe just a couple more..






It was near 6 when i got into Page, Az. I called my wife, who said it was raining. It was clear in Page, but i figured i better get going. I had a coffee & hit the road.

I didn't run into rain until just getting into flagstaff. Fortunately, it was ending. The roads were wet, but it wasn't raining real hard..just enough to sting you while riding. I missed my full face helmet. I had my rain jacket & pants which kept me warm & dry.. mostly. I decided to take the freeway from flag, rather than come down the canyon switchbacks in the rain. By the time i hit the downhill grades into the Verde Valley, the rain was ending, the air was warming considerably, & i was ready for home. I had ridden for about 14 hours, 560 miles, & was beat. It was almost 9, dark, & an empty house.

But i was glad to be off the bike & off the road.