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Riders (left to right)
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Riders (left to right)
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(click on picture for more)
Unbound '12 logged in at 1,772 miles and was another great ride -- i.e., great scenery; great roads; and great weather -- albeit a bit HOT. In fact on the last leg of the ride from Four Corners to Page, AZ with temp's over 100 degrees, some of us were actually hoping for a brief shower to cool things down (you know its hot when your on a motorcycle and you're hoping for a shower). We also wrapped-up the ride without any casualties or new nicknames -- although Marv's brief off-road excursion did invoke some ongoing discussion regarding the term "borrow pit"...
I want to welcome two new alumni to the Unbound crew -- Marv and Don. Bill G. enlisted Don from Portland (an old high school buddy from Portland, OR) and Marv (who works for Bill at Rocky Mountain Power). Don added his own special seasoning to the Unbound stew, while Marv's sense-of-humor even made roadside repairs go quickly. I hope both join us again some year -- although I suspect Don has seen enough red rock for a while... If it does, I'm not going to be the one to tell him. A special thanks also goes out to the "Mule Team" of Dave and Erika for Dave's mule services and Erika's photography services.
Although this years ride covered some familiar roads, we took in some new stops like a lunch-stop at Ouray, CO and a "pie-break" in Bicknell, UT at the Sunglow Cafe for some pickle pie -- yup, pickle pie. If you're ever in the Capital Reef area of Utah, I can recommend the Best Western in Torrey, UT with individual guest-room balcony views of Red Rock (sorry Don) and dinner on the patio at Cafe Diablo (thank God the size of the chicken didn't disappoint like the the thimble size margaritas -- sorry Don). This was my third time at the Cafe Diablo but the rattlesnake cakes were a first. The "Mule Team" also took the opportunity to see some of the sites (and trinket stops) at their own pace.
We did have to avoid a couple forest fires, but they didn't keep us from any of the major points of interest. The route took us to Moab UT where we visited Arches N.P. and Canyonlands N.P.. I'd been to Canyonlands a couple time before but this was my first time to Dead Horse Point -- very cool overlook of the Colorado river.
The route from Moab, UT to Durango, CO took us over Red Mountain Pass on the Million Dollar Highway -- one of my favorite roads, with its hairpin curves and no guard-rails (definitely not for rookies). From Durango we made our way to Page, AZ where we made another stop at Mesa Verde N.P. to see the ruins of the Indian cliff dwellers.
On our way from Page, AZ to St. George, UT we stopped at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for Lunch. The Lodge at the North Rim sits right at the edge of the canyon and is just spectacular. The road to the North Rim is a great ride through woods and mountain meadows. From St. George, UT we wound our way through Zion N.P. and stopped at Bryce Canyon, where someone always feels compelled to exhibit S-A-F-E behavior.
I'll continue to update this page with accounts and photos as time permits.