Part 7 of 9
Monday October 22. I packed up early. Decision time.. would I head to the Grand Canyon South Rim or the North Rim? Either way was a major commitment and would define my final journey back home. At the last minute I decided to go North. I hadn't made it to Canyonlands NP earlier in the trip, and being able to ride thru Utah again was gona be great fun. From Vegas I rode out to
Grand Canyon National Park (#9 on this trip). The North Rim was a ghost town tho, everything was closed, only a few tourists were there like me. Apparently they shut down all services in Mid Oct. It was weird, but I liked it being empty. Quite beautiful, an American treasure! What a view...
I'm hoping to return there Summer 2008 and backpack across the Canyon with my older son. I learned that I'll want to start down on the North Rim and hike back up the South.. since the North is a much higher elevation. Just beautiful, words can describe how epic GC is. After that I rode thru Navajo country in Northern Arizona. Again, incredible vistas! That night I camped at Lake Powell. It had been a long day as I pulled into camp right at sunset. Slept great! The next day I made my way back into SE Utah, then visited
Canyonland National Park (#10). It was worth the ride getting back there, just like our Durango friends said it would be several weeks before. Some of the best motorcycle roads in the country.
That night I stayed in Monticello UT, not exactly sure which way I'd head in the morning. I loved having a plan each day that said "ride where you want, have fun". A great way to travel!
Wednesday Oct 24. I decide to make my way SE towards
Mesa Verde National Park (#11 and counting). I had been there before but it had been like 20 years. Its a great place to visit, seeing the cliff dweller houses where the Anasazi people lived some 800 years before. Quite historic, a very unique national park..
When I was leaving Mesa Verde that afternoon, I was originally thinking that I would head back to my uncle/aunt's house in Albuquerque. I knew that Colorado had gotten some snow the week before. But looking North the mountains were so beautiful, my GPS weather said the high temp in Ouray was 63 degrees. Surely the roads would be clear. I decided to head up the West side of the San Juan mountains, check out Telluride, and maybe make it back to Ouray before it got too dark. This turned out to be a great ride, crisp blue skies, incredible mountains. I loved it!
It was dark when I got to Ouray. I ended up staying at the Cascade Falls Inn again, the same place Jeff and I visited some 3 weeks previously. The nice lady running the place was glad to see me again and amazed at the adventures I had had. If you are in the area I highly recommend staying here. That night I returned to the bar for dinner and drinks, and Game 1 of the World Series had started. The locals tho were not happy when the Red Sox stomped on their Rockies. As a Houston Astros fan, I could certainly relate.
There were piles of snow beside the roads, it got Very cold that night... but it was great being back in Colorado one last time on this adventure.
to be continued....