SlowDown 0 Posted May 22, 2016 Four of us (Slowdown, Hurryup, TSRDave and Patrick) left Temecula and San Diego early on Saturday the 14th headed for Kanab Utah. Yes, that's three bikes in the bed and one all alone in the trailer with our bags and gear. We spent the night at Aiken's Lodge. They have a nice three bedroom hotel room and a large parking lot out back from which to stage rides. DAY ONE The next morning we were all business getting ready to hit the trail on a planned 550 mile route through Utah and Arizona including Johnson Canyon/Dear Springs Road, Bryce Canyon National Park, Cottonwood Canyon Road, Kodachrome State Park, Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Wahweap - Lake Powell), House Rock Road, the Vermilion Cliffs, Burma Road/NFS 213, DeMotte Campground, Kaibab National Forest, North Rim Grand Canyon National Park, and the following Overlooks: Point Sublime, Crazy Jug and Toroweap. We all had GPSs and Radios which was really nice that we all knew where we were going and were in constant voice contact. Two of us had SPOTs. We were loaded down with our own camping gear, food and supplies to stay out of hotels -- and most restaurants. This was my fourth attempt at this ride. The past three attempts were shortened or scrubbed by breakdown/injury, the San Diego fires, and my father's passing. I hoped this time was finally going to be it. My steed all loaded up for an adventure. Let's Ride! On Johnson's Canyon Road we passed by the set from the popular Bonanza TV show. When we turned onto Deer Springs Road, we hit dirt. Equipment adjustment along Deer Springs Road heading to Bryce Canyon NP. A little bit further down Deer Springs road we came across some interesting water carved rock formations near Willis Creek Trailhead. Including a waterfall. Wild flowers. And a water carved ravine. Father and son photo op. Yes we bleed ORANGE too. (Slowdown & Hurryup) TSRDave and Patrick. Brothers in Law. But wait, there were more awesome sights along the way: We made it to Bryce Canyon just fine pulling in around 2pm. We stayed at Ruby's Campground in Tipi #10 which is situated in a very nice location surrounded by water on 180 degrees.. We bought firewood and beer for the night's stay. Instead of going into Bryce Canyon NP though, we spent several hours working on my son's KTM 450 XC carburetor. It had been running rough and had a hard time finding the right idle and fuel mixture combination. We would up removing the jets that were accessible through the float nut at the bottom of the carb and cleaned them out with wire and a dental brush. We got it running as best we could which turned out to be fine for the rest of the trip. The beer was pretty cold throughout this repair activity so noone was complaining. If you do stay in that area be sure to checkout Ruby's Restaurant's All You Care To Eat Dinner buffet. You will not be disappointed. For completeness, here are a few pictures of Bryce Canyon NP from last year's trip just in case you need to see what it is all about. DAY TWO The next day we saddled up again to head toward Wahweap and Lake Powell via Kodachrome State Park and Cottonwood Canyon Road. We first stopped off at a roadside scenic area to see what was up. This is what we saw: And this waterfall. This waterway was carved by settlers to the town of Tropic in the early 1900s to bring water from Tropic Lake to the town of Tropic. On the way out we were hit with rain and sleet. The storms were building throughout that area. We stopped at a Ranger station in Cannonville to check out the day's expected weather. The Ranger discouraged us from attempting Cottonwood Canyon Road due to the rain and the fact that it is "impassable when wet". We decided to venture on and inquire about the status of the road at the nearby Kodachrome State Park. When we arrived we saw cars coming up Cottonwood Canyon Road that were covered in mud, I asked them about their experience and they said it was very muddy and slippery. They had slipped sideways down a steep hill. This news concerned us as the alternative was a whole lot of slab. We went onto the Ranger station at Kodachrome and got more discouragement from those Rangers as well. But they did hold out hope that if we got as far south as the Grosvenor Arch, we should be fine. Jon laid down the challenge to man up and let's go. So we did. And we did not regret it at all. There was a stretch of about half a mile of wet and mud, but noone slipped enough to go down. We easily made it to the Grosvenor Arch. We proceeded down Cottonwood Canyon Road dealing with dust clouds instead of mud...and loving all of the beautiful sights. But weather was still all around us. We made it fine to the end of Cottonwood Canyon Road and onto Highway 89 toward Lake Powell and Wahweap Campground in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. These pictures were taken from our campsite at the Wahweap Campground. Nice view huh? Sorry taking pictures of my ORANGE steed never gets old for me. Here was our campsite at Wahweap Campground. DAY THREE On the morning of Day Three we had to retrace our steps back along Highway 89 to the beginning of House Rock Road. This time even the signage screamed out "dirt bikes only"! House Rock Road was full of free range cattle. We had to stop or slow down 20-25 times to avoid collisions or angry bulls... There were many opportunities for some great pictures. The end of House Rock Road is the start of the Vermilion Cliffs. These were spectacular. We took lots of pictures. Next we turned left off of 89A onto Burma Road. This stretch was very sweet ride! Here's Patrick making a statement that life does not suck today. Is that a smile? We spent the night at DeMotte Campground. We bought food for grilling at the North Rim Country Store. Patrick cooked us up a storm. It rained for hours, but the food was great! The way you know a good cook is when he brings along a zippered bag full of his own smoked peppers and other spices...! DAY FOUR We saddled up again and took back roads to Point Sublime. What an awesome sight! These pictures do it an injustice. Sorry Dave, this is the best one I had for you. I was moving my bike... We must have spent a lot of time taking pictures and snacking because it got late. We mounted up and headed to the North Rim overlook. Along the way we came upon a car that had become stranded by trying to go around a large road pond without 4WD. The French tourists seemed clueless, so we tried to help. You ask how I determined that they were clueless. Why just one look at the two strands of twine holding the front bumper onto the car and voila! Clueless. They were eventually pulled to safety by this Tacoma driver, his wife and their infant daughter. The kid was driving. We wanted to get to Crazy Jug to set up camp by 6 pm and it was already 4:30, so we skipped going to the North Rim overlook. Ouch. We quickly slabbed it up 67 to the North Rim Country Store and bought more fresh provisions for dinner at Crazy Jug. We made it in fine time to Crazy Jug but the shadows were getting long. Upon arrival we met another solo rider Ralph who drove his heavy laden KTM 690 out from Santa Barbara. We invited him to the fire that night and traded stories of our adventure. Here are the pictures I took at Crazy Jug. We set up camp and started a nice fire. There was no rain in sight. Dinner that night was again prepared by Chef Patrick. Awesome flavor and heat. Ron's Campsite: Jon's Campsite among the trees! Patrick's Campsite: Dave's campsite. We decided that night by the fire to end our adventure a day early and head home. Three of us had already seen Toroweap and frankly, after seeing Point Sublime and Crazy Jug, it may never compare. This and the fact that fires are not allowed there, we passed on one more night. We gave the reservation to Ralph so at least the Back Country Permit did not go to waste. I since learned that he arrived there to a group displaced by the lack of a permit but funds were taken. He shared the site and was deemed a hero. DAY FIVE The next morning we woke up to this: Our ride out through the forest was great fun. The dirt roads were in great condition. Some stretches were at 55 mph+. We quickly hit pavement south of Fredonia and then back to our waiting truck at Kanab. The trip home was long but we had lots of stories to tell. Next year this trip will look further North toward more of the National Parks and Monuments that Utah has to offer. THE END Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bp619 104 Posted May 22, 2016 Wow looks like an awesome trip and those views and sights are out of control Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ADV Bum 205 Posted May 22, 2016 Looks like a good time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted May 23, 2016 Epic trip. Keep it coming. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honda90 0 Posted May 24, 2016 Dude. That was mucho righteous. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
danrider 5 Posted May 24, 2016 Nice ride boys! Enjoyed the pics too! You guys have the spirit, to go north and explore! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 559 Posted May 24, 2016 Looks like a great adventure! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkug 146 Posted May 24, 2016 Thanks for the detailed report ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dress4Less 162 Posted May 24, 2016 What an adventure...glad you were able to finish the trip this year with no mechanicals or injuries, etc. Thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crawdaddy 96 Posted May 24, 2016 Glad you guys were successful this year! Beautiful area. Thanks for report/pics Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wierdrider 187 Posted May 24, 2016 Thanks for sharing, those views were spectacular! ?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
