Riding the Southwest With Dad
April 29th, 2009 | Filed under: Motorcycles, Ride Reports, Travel | RSS Feed

Note: This is a post that I migrated over from my old thiggins.com website that I wanted to share here on higgyb.com.

As a kid I remember hearing stories of my Dad having ridden motorcycles prior to me being born, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that he took up riding once again. Until recently we’d only managed to spend a single day riding together, but now I’m happy to report that is no longer the case. I just spent the better part of a week and a half with my Dad covering almost 3000 miles riding around the southwestern United States. The ride took us through incredible landscapes and gave us a sample of every type of weather you can imagine, all told it was an awesome trip and here is my ride report to tell the tale of our journey together.

Day 1 – April 18, 2009 : San Francisco, CA to Lone Pine, CA (Map)
I left from home on Saturday morning around 9:00am knowing that I was facing a long day of riding, the longest to be expected on this trip. Oh well, I suppose it’s best to knock that sort of thing out sooner as opposed to later! I left San Francisco and rode down the coast through Pacifica and on to Half Moon Bay, the plan being to take Highway 1 down to Monterey-ish and then cut in and meet up with Highway 101 South in Salinas. Unfortunately the fog on the coast was thick and heavy so I changed plans and rode Skyline down to Alice’s for breakfast, and then down Woodside to 280 and on to 101 South from there.

My KTM loaded up and ready to roll

Once on 101S it was a steady push south until I reached Paso Robles where I turned east and to ride to Bakersfield and beyond. In Bakersfield I opted to ride on Highway 178 by Isabella Reservoir, it turned out to be a great choice. The highway wound it’s way through the hills, offering steady twisty turns and great views all the way until it met up with Highway 14 where I turned north for the last stretch on to the way to Lone Pine.

Highway 178 west of Isabella Reservoir, twisty deliciousness

Highway 14 was an easy ride and soon enough I was pulling into the Best Western in Lone Pine, I’d been on the road for just short of ten hours. I promptly dumped my gear in my room and rode a bit further into town for dinner, a nice fat plate of carne asada and some beer to wash it all down. It had been a long but enjoyable day, I was ready for more, and that’s a good thing as I had ten days on the road left to go!

Carne asada and Pacifico, a great way to end the day!

Day 2 – April 19, 2009 : Lone Pine, CA to Las Vegas, NV (Map)
Once again I was up and ready to roll by 9am, and while it wouldn’t be quite as long a day as yesterday, it would be a long hot day of it’s own. I started the day with a dodgy hotel “breakfast”, but a lovely coffee and map consultation with a great view. After sorting a rough plan I left Lone Pine and rode east towards Death Valley National Park, hoping that an early start would help avoid the heat – not! I rode along on Highway 190 and pulled off on a short dirt road to enjoy the view, and a bit of unexpected wildlife, a few miles west of Panamint Springs.

This lil’ guy took a liking to my KTM

Sure, it’s “Death” Valley, but there were flowers in bloom

After enjoying my first pit stop and chatting with a geology study group out on a field trip I mounted up and rode on, entering the national park and making a stop in Stovepipe Wells to buy a yearly national park pass (the best deal ever if you’re going to visit our national parks on any sort of a regular/recurring basis). Despite my hopes it was hot, the thermometer at the ranger station read 94 degrees, in the shade, and it wasn’t even 11am!

Unfortunately for some, the gas pumps at Stovepipe Wells were out of order, luckily for me I had plenty of gas and rode on to Furnace Creek to top-off the tanks before exploring the area. I didn’t have a coordinated plan together and wound up back-tracking a few times, but no matter, it was all good. I rode through the day’s heat checking out Death Valley, mostly on the pavement, but with a little gravel off-road action just to get a taste. I stopped at Zabriske Point, Dante’s Peak, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, The Devil’s Golf Course, Badwater (naturally) and more.

Looking out over Death Valley from Dante’s Peak

Twenty Mule Team Canyon

Chillin’ in Badwater, the lowest elevation point in North America

Badwater was my next to last stop for the day, I left there and rode through the Artist’s Loop before again topping off the tanks at Furnace Creek. With that done I again turned east and road out of Death Valley, through Pahrump and into lovely Las Vegas, Nevada. Well, actually I rode to the north end of town where I met up with my Dad who had ridden down separately to be there before me. We kicked things off together nicely with a fat steak dinner, knowing that we were about to start over a week of riding together that would take us into Arizona and Utah before looping back across Nevada and home again (South Lake Tahoe for him, San Francisco for me).

It’s funny, I couldn’t help but spend the day thinking of Clint Eastwood and old western movies, then more so of the real people that pushed through Death Valley “back then”, or the native people of the area and how hardy and tough they must have been to survive. It’s a place that tickles the imagination for sure, one that I would love to revisit as there’s so much more to see!

Day 3 – April 20, 2009 : Las Vegas, NV to Springdale, UT (Map)
My Dad and I woke up early and were both excited to get going, we choked down a crappy IHOP breakfast and hit the road, our first stop was to be the Hoover Dam. I’d been there before, and my Dad had just revisited it the day before my arrival, but with the new roadway/bridge under construction I had to make another new visit for myself. It’s hard for photos to capture how high and how amazing the new roadway is shaping up to be.

The new bridge being built, incredible!

Good ol’ Hoover Dam (originally called Boulder Dam)

After our visit to the Hoover Dam we backtracked a bit and then took Highway 167 north towards Overton where we were going to stop for lunch. The ride along Highway 167 was awesome, it was once again hot but the good roads chock full of sweeping curves and fantastic views had us both grinning all the way.

Note: there were a few sections of the road under construction and in those areas the road was gravel, but it couldn’t have been more than ten miles all told.

Highway 167 winds its way north

Following lunch in Overton we would backtrack a bit and then head through Valley of Fire State Park to reach Highway 15 for some slab work to reach Springdale, Utah. My Dad had already had a good taste of red rocks before I’d arrived in Las Vegas, but Valley of Fire was my first on this ride and I’m always surprised by how deep the reds can be and how pretty it all is. Unfortunately Valley of Fire just isn’t that long of a ride and soon enough we were on Highway 15 cruising our way north east, skirting briefly into Arizona before entering Utah and the lovely town of Springdale.

Entering Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada

My Dad and I enjoying the day

Following my Dad into Utah

Springdale sits at the entrance to Zion National Park and it would serve as our base of operations for the next few days as we wanted to not only spend time in the park but explore the area on our bikes as well.

Day 4 – April 21, 2009 : Zion National Park
Our second day together wasn’t a riding day, instead we chose to spend the day in Zion National Park. I must say that both my Dad and I were quite impressed with how well oiled a machine they have there, you can’t drive into the park, instead they have a great free shuttle running through Springdale that takes you to the park entrance, and from there another free shuttle that runs up into the park letting you hop on and off as you like at a number of stops along the way. Our first stop early in the day was to take in the Court of the Patriarchs.

The sun was just poking over the cliff behind us

While in front of us a jet’s contrails break the pure blue sky

Our next stop was at the Zion Lodge where we took the trail off to the Emerald Pools. Once we arrived at the pools we were a little disappointed in that we didn’t find them exactly “emerald” in nature, but we were still impressed as they’re rather pretty areas none the less. After that, we hung out at Zion Lodge for a break from the heat and some ice cream before moving on to the Big Bend shuttle stop. There we were treated to more great views, including some brave rock climbers and the Great White Throne.

Me and my Dad at the first emerald pool

The Great White Throne rises high above the canyon floor

Our next and final stop was the Temple of Sinawava stop, the end of the line. From this stop the canyon quickly narrows and if open, you can hike up stream (in the water, ankle to knee high) to where the canyon is extremely narrow and closing in overhead. Unfortunately for us the river’s flow is still a bit high and the trail is officially closed where the path ends (meaning, no hiking up river). I pushed on a bit none the less, just to get a peek up river after walking up a good 10-20 yards or so (knee deep). I figured it was wise to heed the closure in general and turned back so my Dad and I could call it a day.

The path heading deeper in the narrowing canyon

The path ends here, rangers wouldn’t let us walk any further upstream

Zion National Park was incredible and really reminded us of just how small we, as humans, really are. The strength and power of a simple river that can carve such an incredible canyon and environment is awe inspiring to say the least. Awesome stuff there.

Funny story: we ate dinner at the Bit & Spur, a restaurant in town and while eating I overheard our waitress telling the table next to us she’s initially from San Francisco. When she next came by our table I asked here about her SF roots and it turns out she just moved from San Francisco to Springdale not two years ago, and when last here she lived not half a block away from me, hah, small world!

Day 5 – April 22, 2009 : Loop Ride in Utah and Northern Arizona (Map)
It was time to get back on the road and we planned on visiting the Navajo Bridge near Lee’s Ferry along the Colorado river in Arizona, then to double-back a bit and check out the north rim of the Grand Canyon before returning to Springdale for the night. Things started great as Highway 9 through the southern end of Zion National Park is ultra-twisty and ultra-gorgeous, the only “glitch” being the tunnel you have to wait to slowly ride through. After you leave the park and get on Highway 89 the road opens up nicely and we were enjoying the ride at a nice pace on our way out to Navajo Bridge.

Highway 89 was a great ride

We arrived at the Navajo Bridge only to realize that it really ought to be “bridges”. The original bridge was built near Lee’s Ferry, the only crossing of the Colorado River for many years, and it was built earlier last century. The problem was that the old bridge wasn’t up to snuff for today’s heavier traffic (both in terms of volume and vehicle size) so a new one was built next to the original as a replacement. Now the new bridge handles cars, the old one pedestrians. We left Navajo Bridge heading back on Highway 89 but soon stopped to grab a burger at Lee’s Ferry Lodge just a few miles to the west. The burgers were fantastic and the guy who served us was chock full of good road and trail tips!

Navajo Bridge(s)

Looking north from the bridges, up the Colorado River

Lee’s Ferry Lodge, tasty burgers and great riding tips

Unfortunately for us the guy at Lee’s Ferry Lodge confirmed what we’d seen on a few road signs already, Highway 67 to the north rim of the Grand Canyon doesn’t open until May 15th. Apparently the road is closed until that date no matter what and so we were out of luck. Oh well, we enjoyed the ride home anyway and closed out the day with some grub and a beer.

Me rollin’ back on Highway 89

Panoramic shot of Utah’s Highway 9 in the southern end of Zion National Park (click the image to view a high resolution version)

Day 6 – April 23, 2009 : Springdale, UT to Escalante, UT (Map)
We woke up and packed our gear in full as it was time to move on to another town. The plan for the day was to again head east on Highway 9, but this time turn north at Highway 89 and make our way to Escalante, stopping to see Bryce Canyon National Park along the way. The ride out of Springdale was again awesome, then Highway 89 led north through rural country full of ranches and great scenery all along the way, of note was Red Canyon a bit west of Bryce Canyon on Highway 12.

Red Valley at the west end of Highway 12 in Utah

After Red Valley we soon arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park, talk about a bizarre and wonderful place! Bryce Canyon is so strange and fantastic that it boggles the mind, it’s almost like a movie set on steroids than a real place. I took lots of pictures, some of them half good but none of them anywhere near capable of showing just how neat a place it really is. My Dad and I spent some time at two viewpoints in particular, first at Sunset Point and then out at Bryce Point, both of which offered incredible sweeping views.

Me at the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park

Stunning view of Bryce Canyon from Sunset Point

An equally incredible view of Bryce Canyon from Bryce Point

Following the brain noodling dealt by Bryce Canyon we grabbed lunch on the way back out to Highway 12 and then pushed on to the town of Escalante, our new home for the next three nights. There we checked in to the Canyon’s Bed & Breakfast, an awesome little spot in town run by Cate who couldn’t have been a better host. We took the restaurant tip offered by Cate and ate at Georgie’s for some mexican food. Georgie’s was a great restaurant with a wicked mural painted on two walls and part of the ceiling (soon to cover all walls and the entire ceiling!). Following dinner we retired to our porch with a cold beer or two.

Canyon’s B&B in Escalante, Utah

Cheers!

I have to say that both my Dad and I were amazed with the fact that we were continually impressed with the terrain we’d been seeing. We both worried about getting overdone with the red rocks and all, but luckily it just didn’t happen! Sure the dirt was still red but the shapes, forms and combinations were ever changing and it was incredible to see. It’s all well worth the time and effort to get out there for another visit!

Day 7 – April 24, 2009 : Loop Ride #1 in Utah (Map)
If you look on a road map of Utah there’s a big scenic loop that you can take that covers Highways 12, 24 and 89, we set out with the plan of running that big loop while adding a few side trips in along the way. Unlike every prior day, we found this morning a bit more overcast with forecasts for rain north of where we were and our ride plans. We dressed a bit warming and left Escalante heading northeast on Highway 12, bound for Boulder a bit up the road.

Highway 12, another great twisty ride

In Boulder we watched for an turned on to Burr Trail, which wasn’t really a trail so much as a paved road for the first long while. The plan was to ride roughly 10-11 miles back and stop at a bit of a box canyon that we were told was back there. We quickly ran into an interesting situation, apparently Boulder’s version of a traffic jam. I’ll let the photo below explain what I’m talking about. We found a bit of a canyon, but it turned out to not be the one we were directed to by our B&B host. It didn’t matter, we had fun riding the bikes back a bit of a dirt road and scrambling our way around.

Boulder traffic jam – lol!

After that, we mounted up and rode back out to Highway 12 to continue on our way, unfortunately we soon ran into that interesting situation again. Apparently the ranchers were moving the herd to new grazing territory and the highway was the best route! This time we didn’t have to wait and they waved us through the herd, we rode slowly, letting the cows give us room, it was quite a twist on good ol’ lane splitting. After passing the cows the road climbed high but stayed fun, twisty and flowing. It’s also worth noting that as we climbed to the highest pass at 9600 feet it was growing cloudy and cold, but no rain nor snow fell, yet.

The ride was chilly but the road uncluttered and fun

We rode northeast to Torrey where we had lunch at Slackers, the burgers were awesome! With our bellies full we rode into Capitol Reef National Park where we were treated with some incredible sites. On the way in we stopped to check out Chimney Rock, some ancient petroglyphs and a brief tour of the town of Fruita. On the way back out we made a stop at Twin Rocks, a spot we’d passed over on our way in.

Petroglyphs in Capitol Reef National Park

My Dad rides past Twin Rocks in Capitol Reef National Park

After leaving Capitol Reef we began heading west on Highway 24, as mentioned before the plan was to make our way out to Highway 89 South and then to close the loop by taking Highway 12 back to Escalante. Well, the plan soon started to change, and it all began with some rather hellish winds between Torrey and the the town of Loa. Both my Dad and I were struggling to keep the bikes in a straight line as the wind was howling around us, mostly going from left to right across the road. In Loa we stopped for gas and opted for a different route home. The plan switched to taking Highway 62 south through Koosharem and on to Highway 22 south, a road we expected to be county maintained dirt based on the map we had. It turned out to be a long, lonely paved road through ranch lands. We blasted south thoroughly enjoying ourselves all the way, first riding through some fun twisty parts and then some long fast straights.

Blasting down Highway 22 behind my Dad

We closed the loop by heading back to Escalante in time to get some prime rib at Cowboys & Blues. Apparently prime rib is the Friday night special and they only cook up two of them, so if you’re late you’re out of luck. I was craving prime rib and we weren’t late, which was of course a good thing. Another long day had come to an end, awesome!

Day 8 – April 25, 2009 : Loop Ride #2 in Utah (Map)
We’d been in Escalante for a day and a half and hadn’t yet met Desert Doc, the local mechanic and bike guru, so we started the day with a visit by his shop. Our visit actually had two purposes, the first was to meet the man and say hi, the second was to pick his brains about our ride plans, to ride Hell’s Backbone. The ride plan posed questions as it’s a 30 mile loop on a dirt road and the weather was lookin’ a bit surly and cold (my Dad rides a Yamaha VStar). He was confident as were we so off we went heading towards our first target of the day, Posey Lake.

My Dad chats with the Desert Doc

Panoramic view of Posey Lake (click the image to view a high resolution version)

After our stop at Posey Lake we continued on our way to the Hell’s Backbone bridge. Along the way we were lucky enough to skirt the really bad weather, although we did have light snow showers! Along the way we stopped by a curious sign announcing that we’d come across Upper Death Access (is there a lower death?), then we pushed on to the bridge for a few photos and then down and out of the hills to Highway 12 somewhere south of Boulder. It was a solid 30 mile ride on dirt roads, while graded gravel was easy enough for me on the KTM my Dad was a champ on his VStar!

Upper Death Access

Hell’s Backbone Bridge

Me cruising along Posey Lake Road back towards Highway 12

The weather was steadily getting colder and neight my dad nor I were wearing our warm unders, so we turned back towards Escalante, stopped at Kiva Coffee House (amazing food and views!) along the way. Once back at the B&B we properly suited ourselves for the colder weather and soon took off in search of more. It was getting late in the day but it was our last in the area so we rode west to go (briefly) visit Kodachrome Basin State Park. Once there we really only enjoyed the short hike to the Shakespeare Arch and a brief ride around the few roads in the park, everything else was really hiking distance and the day and weather were looking to conspire against us so off we went headed back to our B&B.

Entering Kodachrome Basin State Park

Shakespeare Arch was reached after a relatively short and easy hike

I think we made the right departure call as on the way home we again just skirted around the nasty weather, we were again snowed on but only briefly as the road to Escalante took us just around the worst of it. Either way we pulled back into town chilly and happy to have not gotten wet so we rewarded ourselves with a tasty pizza and some beer at Escalante Outfitters before retiring to the B&B for the night. Unfortunately the end of this day signaled the end of our main line ride in Utah, the coming days were all going to involve heading west in big chunks to make our way home. Bummer…

Day 9 – April 26, 2009 : Escalante, UT to Ely, NV (Map)
The day had come to start the long ride home, we had our last breakfast at Canyon’s Bed & Breakfast, said goodbye to Cate and her awesome dog Nellie and hit the road headed west. In case I haven’t made it clear, Canyon’s B&B was awesome, Cate was extremely nice and she served up wicked breakfasts every day. It’s a small town so she’s well hooked into everything and can offer tips on everything from roads to ride, food to eat, guides to hire and more. If you’re heading to Escalante then give Cate and Canyon’s a look!

Me and my Dad posed up out front of the B&B

The ride out of Escalante was cold, very cold, but it was also for the most part dry. As had been the case for the last few days we managed to skirt the wet weather as we followed a route involving smaller highways that eventually took us into Nevada and the find, ahem, town of Ely. The majority of that ride was spent crossing vast empty areas with little more than open cattle grazing territory, but it was still fun as my Dad and I zipped along, enjoying the curves of the mountain passes and blasting across the valley floors, wheeeeee! The day’s ride took us into Ely where we had a room at the Best Western for the night. The evening wasn’t all that remarkable, although I did down another healthy (?) serving of prime rib (16oz!) at the Cell Block Steakhouse. Delicious!

It was a chilly ride heading west out of Utah and into Nevada

Day 10 – April 27, 2009 : Ely, NV to South Lake Tahoe, CA (Map)
It had been cold coming in to Ely the day before and this day started on the same track, we actually found ice on my Dad’s seat! We started the day by filling our bellies with breakfast and coffee and our bikes with gas as we were in for a long, cold day on the bikes. The plan for today was to make the long, mostly boring trek across Nevada and into South Lake Tahoe (where my Dad lives) in one shot. I was actually surprised to find that Nevada, at least along Highway 50, isn’t one flat plain but rather a series of ranges separated by plains. I was also surprised that it was cold most of the way as well, not really warming up at all until we reached Fallon where we stopped for lunch.

Highway 50, the loneliest road in America

We thought it was funny that this old timer parked his lark in the spot next to us

After a few low fly-bys from Navy jets operating in the area and some so-so diner food we were again on the move continuing west on Highway 50, bound for South Lake Tahoe. The final pause along the way being a short stop in Carson City for my Dad to call my Mom and let her know we were soon to arrive. We rode up and over the hills into South Lake Tahoe, all in time to meet up with my Mom, and my oldest brother Kevin and his youngest son, my nephew Cody, for a well earned Mexican meal and time with family.

Highway 50 dropping us into the Lake Tahoe basin

For my Dad the ride had come to a close, although he did start a day or two before me so the total days and mileage for each of us overall are almost the same. We spent the night telling my Mom about our ride, showing her pictures and videos and generally reliving the highlights of the ride once again.

Day 11 – April 28, 2009 : South Lake Tahoe, CA to San Francisco, CA (Map)
And so here it was, the last day of my ride, booo! I wanted to finish the trip right and continue to avoid the major highways in freeways by sticking to smaller and less traveled, or so I thought, options. As with the prior days it was once again a cold start, the temperature was barely above freezing when I left South Lake Tahoe and it got colder as I rode southwest on Highways 89 and 88 towards Jackson.

Caples Lake along Highway 88, brrr!

By the time I’d reached Jackson the temperature was still cool but quite a bit more reasonable and I slowly made my way from there into the east bay, trying (and failing) to avoid traffic and hassles. Unfortunately my brilliant plan to use Highway 12 was thwarted by heavy traffic, my even smarter change of plans to veer south on Highway 160 in the delta was then also thwarted, this time by a slow RV plodding along at the front of us with lots of traffic coming the other way. Oh well, at this point I wasn’t in too big of a rush as the ride was coming to an end so I sat back and enjoyed the ride as best as I could. I did find it a bit of an annoyance to have to deal with the traffic through the east bay, on to the Bay Bridge and of course back in San Francisco. I’d become so used to enjoying easier rides on smaller highways and backcountry roads, but so it goes.

My final stop somewhere along Highway 12 before the last leg back to SF

Four states, numerous state and national parks, eleven days and almost 3000 miles. I had an awesome time and it was great to be able do it with my Dad. Thanks Dad, ride on!

Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS)