Day 4 Continued
I left Dead Horse State Park and made progress towards the day's destination, Moab, UT. The entire region is dirt biker's heaven. Three out of four vehicles are transporting some sort of ATV or dirtbike. Coming from VA where off road riding places are all but extinct, Moab is a place I could easily relocate to.
I crossed over the Colorado River,
and entered Moab. My mission was to find a place to stay. The criteria was simple: find a one level motel with parking directly in front of the room. I rode through town, to the edge of town, mad a u-turn, and rode back through. My selection was easy.
I found the perfect place, The Adventur Inn at Moab.
The parking met the criteria.
The blurs in the photos are bugs on the lense
I secure the room. Chris, the proprietor :evil , said I was welcomed to use their laundry machines. She was very kind, and told me to let her know if I needed anything. I told her I was low maintenance, and asked for a restaurant recommendation. She gave me several options.
I checked into the room, unloaded the bike, took a drink of water, and left. I was heading back out of town toward Arches National Park. It was 4:10 in the afternoon, and I wanted to see as much as possible before the sun went down. I left without bringing any water. That was a mistake.
I arrived at the Park entrance and asked the ranger what to expect inside the park. It's basically a drive in park, about 23 miles, with turn outs every so often at the major sights.
I rode into the park, bugs on the bike mounted camera lense, and all
this could be interesting.
Inside the park looking back toward Moab
Hey look. A photo without bugs.
The view looking North toward Dead Horse State Park.
The view looking straight down. Notice the cars and people at the bottom. When I initially rode past, there were people climbing half way up the sand hill. They were way up there.
The first of many photos I was about to shoot.
Soon, I stopped at the first turn out. I removed the helmet, and walked up a hill toward this sign.
I was reading the sign, trying to decide whether to continue hiking up to see the sight, when an older gentleman comes hobbling down the trail and tells me emphatically, "Get your ass up there young man. It's beautiful!" I smiled and said "Okay."
Here's looking left:
and looking right
I shot another
and noticed a guy walking towards me. He saw my camera, handed me his camera, and asked if I would take a photo of him. I obliged, shot a photo, then told him to go stand in front of a different rock formation, and took another.
We were pretty amazed at the sights. The conversation just flowed naturally. The guys name was Jason. I asked hime if he was from Wisconsin, based on his accent. He said no, he was from MA. Whoops
. He had been in the area all week for the Speed Trials. I still don't know what speed trial he was there for. He had flown in, rented a convertible, accomplished everything on his agenda, and decided to come visit Arches. It was late in the afternoon, Labor Day. He commented on how nice it was to basically have the park all to ourselves. I told him my rap, hopped on the bike, and said "I'll see you at the next turn out."
I didn't have to travel far to find something to shoot.
Those Rockies are getting closer
On the way to the next turn out, and the next conversation with Jason
I told Jason about ADVRider. At the next stop, he said he was planning to check out the site, and look for the ride report. Jason was the kind of guy I found terribly easy to get along with. It was surreal. Here we are, a couple of east coasters, out in the middle of a Utah national park, talking and laughing, and basically being blown away by the sights.
Petrified sand dunes leading to the Rockies :deal
It was nice being on the bike. I kept the Nikon in the tank bag. It was easy to pull over, grab a shot, and continue.
At the next turn out, I shot this photo,
and noticed Jason coming toward me as I was walking back to the bike. I finally learned my lesson of regret for not catching photos of the people I'd met along the way, so I spun around, and CLICK
ladies and gentlemen, meet Jason
WASSUP JASON???!!!
He wanted me to tell everyone he was wishing he was in one of his two BMW's back home, but the GT Convertible was the next best rental he could find to explore Utah
.
I hope you find this thread Jason:freaky If so, send me an email at
zrex1100@adelphia.net . I'd love to hear from you.
After I shot the photo, I looked down inside his car and he was drinking from a huge cup, something iced cold. I was so thirsty. I didn't have anything wet to quench my thirst. I didn't say anything. There was a tour bus parked nearby. I almost asked the driver if there was anyway I could get a bottle of water from someone on the bus. I didn't. I kept going seeper into the park.
The ADV Salute
A terrible shot of a famous rormation. By this time, I was starting to get concerned about heat exhaustion, and didn't want to expend the energy necessary to get a better shot. It would have required a hike, and I didn't want my body to lose any more water.
I walked back down the short path to find everyone checking out the wacky Uly. Practially dead from thirst, I'm always willing to talk bikes. These guys were from the NW,,,,,maybe Oregon, honestly I forget. We talked bikes, then I split. I think I saw the same bikes the next evening in Durango at the motel next to mine, not sure. One of them said he frequents ADVRider, so if you happen to read this, please post up and set me straight on my shady details
.
The road kept going and going. My thirst kept growing and growing. There was one way in, one way out. I got so thirsty, I limited my shooting to easy shots.
I finally reached the end of the park.
I was starting becoming seriously concerned about heat exhaustion. The week before I suffured a serious bout of heat exhaustion while working, so I knew the symptoms well. On the way into the park, I missed the two most famous sights, "Windows" and "Delicate Rock." I wanted so bad to photograph them on the way out, but both require a hike, and I didn't have the energy.
I was 26 miles from the park entrance, the sun was setting, and I knew the visitor's center would be closed before I could get back. It was an effort just trying to focus on the road. I started picking up the pace where I could. The speed limit was 35mph. I was hitting 65-70 trying to get back. Of course, the sun was casting angle light on the rock studies during this time, so I missed the best photo opportunities. I didn't care.
Finally, I reached the visitor's center. In the parking lot was an Irish gentleman preparing for departure on his BMW 1150GS. I asked if the center was open, and he said in a strong Irish accent, "sorry, they closed at half past." I asked if there was water available, and he told me there were machines by the front door. I walked over as fast as I could, fearing I wouldn't have the proper change. I had enough to buy 2 iced cold 16 oz waters. :clap
I took the first one and guzzeled it. As I was walking back to the bike, I saw an older couple in the parking lot. The man was obviously checking out the Uly. I came closer, and he asked me if that was my Buell. Having just been given a new lease on life from a simple drink of water, I was ready to talk bikes
. I said "sure is, do you ride?" He followed me over to the Uly for a closer inspection. He was amazed the bike sported 1203cc's. We talked for at least 20 minutes.
It turns out I was standing there talking to Stan from Red Rock (I think) Iowa. Stan raced motorcycles for 23 years. Boy oh boy, I could have stayed and talked to Stan all night. He rides a Yamaha V-Max. We just had a wonderful conversation. I felt like he was a long lost friend. He was genuinely interested in hearing all about my trip. And damnit to hell, I didn't get Stan's photo. One day soon, I'm going to see if I can look Stan up, and say hello.
Before leaving, Stan told me if I ever make it to Iowa, I have a place to stay. Stan, you are the man! As we were talking, his wife just waited over near their car. I got the sense this scenerio has been played out many times throught their years together. Stan, talking bikes, and the wife content that her husband is enjoying a conversation. Good Stuff.
I headed back to Moab, riding right past the restaurant that Chris highly recommended. After the thirts episode, I didn't feel like eating a heavy meal. I rode past my motel, straight to Burger King. Ordered up a chicken sammich, a large fry, and a HUGE pink lemonade. After my gourmet meal, I went back to the motel and started uploading photos. I called Julie and told her about my epic day. She was excited I was having the trip of a life time.
Day four was coming to an end. The sum total of roads, sights, miles, photos, and most importantly people I met, made this one of the best days of my life. I want to thank everyone I met for adding to my experience.
Tomorrow, I'd leave Moab, UT and head straight for the Colorado Rockies.