Laid Off? Utah Here We Come!

[WoodsChick]

The last time Eric got laid off it was 1994. We'd been fantasizing ever since about heading to the desert if it ever happened again. Eric got the word that he'd be off for a few weeks so I scrambled to get whatever I could...leave of absence, vacation, off without pay...whatever, I didn't care...I just wanted to go. So go we did...

We started in Nevada...

The view from camp...

This angry little guy followed us around for quite some time...

The elixir of life...

Someone's happy...

Travertine mound out in the middle of the desert with a giant hole in it. Bubbly-hot water fills the bottom...

A different view with the rain chasing us...

These hardy little flowers were everywhere on the mound and did a good job of withstanding the howling winds...

The super-hot water leaks out into a creek...

We got hammered on the way back to camp, but the downpour made the desert smell exactly like heaven...

Due to some camping weirdness, we loaded up the bikes and headed up the hill in order to get some cell coverage. I had no idea how much time off I had, and needed to call my boss to find out what my immediate future would hold. Good news...I had another 10 days off! We immediately whipped a u-turn and headed east, not stopping til we got to Ely. We'd trek across Utah the next morning, Capitol Reef National Park on the menu. Wanna come along?

 

[WoodsChick]

No trip to Utah is complete without a trip to Mom's for breakfast...

Welcome to Utah...

We found a nice little spot to camp right outside Capitol Reef National Park and immediately yanked my TKC80 off the rear and replaced it with a gnarly Utah-worthy knobby...

Played in the creek...

Spent the rest of the daylight hours packing our camping gear and loading it onto the bikes. The nighttime belonged to the maps


Scrambled out of bed the next morning in time to catch the sunrise lighting up the very features that gave Capitol Reef National Park its name...

I just love water in the desert...

Our campsite looks almost tropical in the early morning sun...

We headed south and entered the park via some nice dirt...

Unfortunately our side trip ended all too soon when we came upon a sign indicating that only hikers could continue on our trail. We turned around and continued on our way...

Eric is standing on a 65 million year old fold in the earth's crust...

Eric followed me up the switchbacks...

The world looks crooked here...

Looking down from near the top...

Okay, now we're at the top!

More on the way...

 

[ray_ray]

Nice pics of the western states ... ESP that giant hot water pool ....

The west has its own type of beauty ... How did the settlers of the west ever make it without a Husky to ride across there?

The last time I got laid off from work was a very good thing ... It set me on the path I'm still riding today ... So, I'd say, enjoy it all

 

[WHITEROCKET5.9]

great pics as always, im curious about the camping weirdness though lol ghostly encounters or just some encounters with freaks??

 

[TROFFER88]

Temporary unemloyment is nice

 

[56on449]

Thanks for sharing, I hope to get there some day.

 

[HUSKYnXJnWI]

When I saw the title- I was thinking "sorry and that's the spirit!" after seeing the post I have to adjust that to "congratulations and amazing"

 

[WoodsChick]

Nice pics of the western states ... ESP that giant hot water pool ....

The west has its own type of beauty ... How did the settlers of the west ever make it without a Husky to ride across there?

The last time I got laid off from work was a very good thing ... It set me on the path I'm still riding today ... So, I'd say, enjoy it all

Yeah, getting laid off is cool when you know it's only temporary. I'm sure we wouldn't have spent the gas money to go if we hadn't known there was more money coming in at some point. And you're right about the west. The desert was an acquired taste for me. Now I can't live without it.

great pics as always, im curious about the camping weirdness though lol ghostly encounters or just some encounters with freaks??

Well, we camped at some hot springs and there were 3 vehicles with folks all traveling together. Each one of them was parked right on top of one of the springs...bad etiquette. At best they should have just all commandeered one tub and left the 2 other tubs for others to enjoy. We did the polite thing and respected their privacy and parked over a knoll a little bit away from the spring. They left the next morning so we moved a little closer. When we got back from our ride later that day they were camped 3 feet away from our van! 3 feet!
I had no intention of camping like that out in the wide open desert with nothing but space available so we loaded up and left. Good thing, too, as we found out I was off for another ten days and chewed off quite a bit of miles that night. I wasn't supposed to find out til the next day. Everything always works out

Temporary unemloyment is nice

It sure is! We were pretty stoked to be able to take advantage of the opportunity. Usually we're really prepared for a trip of this magnitude and I do all kinds of research and map gathering and such. This time we didn't really know where we were going to go til the last minute. We wanted to bring the 2-strokes, too, but just didn't have time to get it all together. No biggie...we had a great time on the 610's

 

[WoodsChick]

Thanks for sharing, I hope to get there some day.

I'd do it sooner rather than later if I were you; the place is littered with Wilderness Study Area markers. Ride it while you can.

When I saw the title- I was thinking "sorry and that's the spirit!" after seeing the post I have to adjust that to "congratulations and amazing"

Thanks.

 

[wallybean]

Cool stuff as usual. You have another care package headed your way.

 

[WoodsChick]

Cool stuff as usual. You have another care package headed your way.

Yay!! What now? A 184 motor? A 196? If we keep this madness up, Walt, I'm going to be riding a 300 before too long

 

[WoodsChick]

Just another note on not being prepared for this trip: We stopped at a sporting goods store in Nevada and got a Benchmark Road and Rec atlas for Utah. I spent the next few hundred miles studying it and plotting some routes for us just in case I got some extra time off. It paid off
Climbing the switchbacks put us up on a high plateau. We wanted to see the view from above so we took a short 4WD road...

And climbed this trail...

These flowering cacti were everywhere...

As were these pretty little gems...

We had to hike a ways in full gear but the views were worth it. This is the Waterpocket Fold...pretty much the whole reason for Capitol Reef National Park's existence. It was designated to protect this 100-mile long monocline, a 65 million year old wrinkle in the earth's crust. The view to the north...

And the south...

The hike back out was easier, but moto boots kinda suck in the sand...

We headed west across the plateau, not making very good time because we kept having to stop and admire the views...

The road eventually turned to pavement, which was sort of a bummer, but it was so stunningly beautiful it was hard to complain. Wish I'd gotten some photos from down in the canyon, but this is after we climbed out...

After a quick stop in Boulder for lunch we headed out onto an ATV trail...

Don't believe anyone if they tell you there's no water in the desert...

We explored the sandy shores on the other side...

But it got a little too deep for Eric's wimpy Dunlop 606 knobby...

The sun was getting low in the sky and we weren't sure how far we had to go, but we couldn't help ourselves from stopping to take in the views...

More in a few...

 

[WoodsChick]

Lo! What's that down below? More water?

The secrets hidden in the desert never fail to amaze me...

This section was waaay fun! My big fat 17" knobby was totally kicking ass on Eric's wimpy dirt tire in the sand...

It just never stops...

Damn, this stuff is fun...

It's always a good idea to have wet boots as the sun is going down...

These high canyon walls have a way of making one feel extremely humble and insignificant...

Heading towards the Golden Throne...

It's getting dark...time to shut the bikes off for the night...

More on the way...

 

[WoodsChick]

We were up and out early the next morning...

Evidence of mining was not as prevalent as we would have thought...

We retraced our steps on the ATV trail. These little chips of stone had fallen off the canyon wall and landed rather gracefully...

They had a lovely texture...

Back up the hill we'd gone down the day before...

It looked steeper going up than it did going down...

I love these red rock "road" sections...

Out of the park...

And down through the sandy two-track...

Lunchtime!

I thought this was sandy at the time I rode it. Later in the week I would laugh at the thought...

A bridge in the middle of nowhere...

More soon...

 

[WoodsChick]

Some of the rocky uphill switchbacks were a little more technical than I would have thought on my SM610...

Heh...Rosebud...

After a quick stop in Boulder for an espresso and some wi-fi we headed southwest towards Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument...mind-blowing stuff!

We gassed up in Escalante, our destination Hole In The Rock down near Lake Powell. We didn't make it that night, but we had a blast trying to get there. This was a beautiful little canyon, damp and cool...

We explored the side canyons...

We headed back out to the main canyon...

And it was here that Eric realized he wasn't wearing his fanny pack. He'd taken it off at a cow-infested intersection and must have left it there before we entered the canyon. Visions of cows eating $500 worth of tools and jets was more than we could bear so we bombed back through the canyon at unsafe speeds to retrieve it. That ride was the highlight of the day for both of us
And there it was...unmolested thanks to our speedy return...

Of course, this meant that we had to ride the canyon yet again. Oh, darn...

Next up: dinosaur tracks in our campsite

 

[56on449]

WOW!!! What incredible photos, have you guys ever thought about photography as more than a hobby?

 

[pingwin]

Great riding, sometimes looking like the other planet.

 

[krieg]

HOLY SMOKES! What great pics! Fantastic.

 

[PALMER84ONE]

Another EPIC story and RR. Have you thought about writing a book?

 

[Xcuvator]

You two really do have all the fun. Looks like you hit the season and weather just right.
Travertine mound?