Day 3 - Saturday May 31 - Centerville to Moab

I had enjoyed my stay in Centerville.  Bret makes a good pot of joe, so while I normally don't drink coffee in the mornings because it just makes you want to pee 30 minutes later, I broke that rule to enjoy a cup.  Since I had already gone to Timpanogos Cave, I delayed a bit from my planned 7:00 departure and left at 7:45 instead.  Had bought a new pair of socks at Galyan's in SLC, and I had them on.  I had been using a very old pair of wick-dri socks that I probably had bought over 20 years ago, along with a normal sport sock worn over the wick-dris.  I went into Galyans looking for more wick-dri type liners.  Instead a bought a pair of Thorlo LTH-13, a lightweight hiking sock with a wicking layer built in.  While I would need a thicker sock in cold weather, these socks seem to be great for the warmer months.

I went south on I-15, stopping for gas in Provo (and losing the coffee).  I was back on schedule.  I got off of I-15 and continued east on US-6.  I passed through Helper.  I like trains, so I had gone to Helper on a previous business trip to SLC.  There is a great mining and railroad museum in Helper, UT.  US-191, which I traveled on in AZ through Monument Valley joins US-6 just west of Helper.  US-6 continues on through Price and eventually reached I-70 just west of Green River, UT.  From here US-6 and I-70 share the roadway, along with US-50 and US-191.  At exit 180, US-191 turned south towards Moab.  I continued on I-70/US-6/US-50 and entered Colorado.  About 20 miles into Colorado I got off of the freeway and went to Colorado National Monument.  The NM is on the cliffs on the south side of the Colorado River, between Fruita and Grand Junction.  The road leading up to the VC, which is on top of the cliffs, was a fun road after the mostly straight freeway.  The picture is taken from an overlook near the VC, looking down at Fruita, CO.  You can see the road winding it's way up.  The unseasonably warm temperatures, combined with a fairly good snowfall in Colorado, had the river near flood levels.  The night before on the news in SLC, they had mentioned that 5 of the last 7 days were record high temps.  It was 12:19, and it was already over 90.  I had covered 292 miles so far today.  I was lucky to have arrived on the day that they were celebrating the building of the road by the CCC, which was started 70 years ago.  Four of the builders were there, telling stories about the road.  10 men had died in an accident during the construction of one of the tunnels.  I made my way back down the road and then headed west on I-70.

I got off just before Cisco to ride on an old stretch of US-6.  The road is no longer maintained by the state, but it was in great shape.  Cisco was a highway stop an one time, but now it is several miles off of the freeway and it looked completely abandoned.  (See Cisco in Ghosttowns.com)  There was a railroad siding and some unusual looking cars were being loaded or unloaded, I couldn't tell which.  I turned south on UT-128.  At first this highway speeds along some tableland with an occasional twist and drop.  I was enjoying cruising at a comfortable 80, dropping to 70 for the sweeping turns (marked 45 by the little yellow signs).  I came upon one car whose driver was paying too much attention to the scenery.  I don't think he even know I was there until I blew past him.  As I was looking in the mirrors, he did a bit of a swerve after I passed.  Oh well, I don't really like catching people unaware like that.  Soon the road reached the Colorado river and followed the river the rest of the way into Moab.  You had to share the road with bicyclists, so I had to be a bit careful.  There also were rafters both entering and exiting the river at the various landings.  Still, you could make good time.  At one point the river, traveling through a steep walled canyon, doubles back on itself.  Just riding along, you wouldn't have even known that you were heading away from Moab, but the GPS sure was having a fit, thinking I needed to do a u-turn and go back.

I reached Moab and went north on US-191 to the Arches NP Visitor's center.  I got my stamp, went up the road into the park for a bit, came back out and then continued North on US-191, turning left onto UT-313 after about 10 miles.  UT-313 lead up onto the top of the plateaus overlooking Moab.  Canyonlands NP has 3 major areas, I was heading toward the 'Island in the Sky' district, named for the way the tops of the mesas look.  I had a bit of a ass-puckering moment when, on a 20mph hairpin turn, the rear tire caught an uneven seam in the road and threw the tire into a tar snake.  (A tar snake is that awful sealant that they like to use on asphalt cracks.  On hot days, this sealant oozes and is very slippery.)  The back end stepped out a bit.  It was about 100 in Moab and the tar snakes on the climb up were quite slippery.  For the most part they were running across the road, but the occasional one running in the direction of travel meant that I had to keep vigilant.  As the road climbed, the number of snakes decreased and the road straightened out for a nice ride.  I didn't catch up to a cage until I reached the entrance station.  Flashed the pass, glad I got it, and sped on my way.  Got the stamp at the visitor's center.  The picture is looking east from a point across the road from the VC.  There were scattered thunderstorms and sometimes a flash of lighting.  Moab would be down at the river in this photo.  Some famous biking and off road trails are here.  Sometime I need to come back with either my Trooper or the KLR to explore some more.  The ride down was fine.  I was ready for the tar snakes.  I did have some cars to pass, but once around them it was clear sailing.

I returned to Moab, checked into the Super 8, got some gas, and then went south to hang out at Arrowhead Motorsports.  Fred Hink, the proprietor, organizes a dual sport rally each year.  As luck would have it, the final night of the rally was tonight!  So I hung out with some other KLRistas for a while.  The closing dinner would be at a local park at 6:00.  It was 4:15 now, so I went back up to the motel to relax and freshen up (and unload the bike).

I made it to the ceremonies.  There were mostly KLR's there, a few Beemers, a V-Strom, a KTM (or two), and a DRZ.  I bonded with the others, enjoyed a great meal catered by a local barbeque place, and even won a raffle prize - a replacement set of nuts and bolts for the tank shrouds.  I needed these, I had lost a few of the OEMs ones a while ago.

Later it was back to the motel.  I caught the Ducks game and watched the last few minutes (they won in overtime).

Total for the day was 459 miles, 7 hours and 6 minutes in the saddle, 64.7 mph average when in motion.

On to day 4

Back to day 1