Nevada - Utah - Colorado - Arizona
July 2015
July 2015
After attending a conference in Las Vegas, a couple of my friends and I decided to take a cruise around the southwest. Pete, and Todd (and his son Jeff) rented Harleys in Vegas, and I rode my BMW GS.
Day 1: We left Las Vegas on July 1 headed to Escalante in Utah, with brief stops at Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. We got an early start, and ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel in St. George, then on to see the majesty of Zion National Park. From there, we headed to see some of the incredible natural beauty of Bryce Canyon. As we continued east, just a few miles before Escalante there was a sudden downpour that drenched us before we could stop and put on our rain suits. We were pretty wet by the time we arrived in Escalante for the night.
Day 1: We left Las Vegas on July 1 headed to Escalante in Utah, with brief stops at Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. We got an early start, and ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel in St. George, then on to see the majesty of Zion National Park. From there, we headed to see some of the incredible natural beauty of Bryce Canyon. As we continued east, just a few miles before Escalante there was a sudden downpour that drenched us before we could stop and put on our rain suits. We were pretty wet by the time we arrived in Escalante for the night.
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Day 2: We left Escalante heading for Capitol Reef National Park. These are absolutely wonderful roads on a motorcycle - flowing curves, and beautiful scenery. Another stop to see the some of the views in Capitol Reef, and then it was on to take a quick tour of Arches National Park before settling in Moab for the night.
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Day 3: We would leave Moab for Colorado and the Million Dollar Highway. Highway 550 in Colorado, and especially between Ouray and Silverton (heading south) is a motorcyclist's dream road. Another road that is pure fun to ride - lots of curves and amazing scenery. We would finish in Cortez, CO for the night. All of us are music fans, and the Grateful Dead were streaming their last concert from Chicago, with Trey Anastasio filling in for Jerry Garcia. We got some brews and listened to the Dead out in the motel parking lot on a nice evening.
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Day 4: We left Cortez and headed toward Four Corners (Utah/Colorado/Arizona/New Mexico). And then on to the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, we hit some rain on the way, but it wasn't too bad. We stayed in Williams, AZ for the night.
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Day 5: The last day would have us riding from Williams, AZ back to Las Vegas. We took just a small detour to ride part of historic Route 66!
It was a perfect ride with fantastic scenery, great roads, and good friends!
It was a perfect ride with fantastic scenery, great roads, and good friends!
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