Day 8 - Evanston to Twin Falls - Part 1

Another early start for Suz - this is getting to be a habit! We left the motel at 7:15am for Twin Falls. Of course, I got sidetracked because I didn't have the audio on for the Garmin and missed the turn. The Garmin then attempted to get us back on track, but instead we went up a dead end road to a farmers yard. But, all was not lost. In the process, we ran across a herd of 20 to 30 Pronghorn Antelope - adults and juveniles, plus rabbits, ground squirrels and even prairie dogs. Suzanne was in heaven - "they were so adorable!"

We finally got straightened out and headed up Hwy 89 toward Randolf, UT. the route took us up an isolated valley into the Wasach - Cache National Forest. Halfway to Randolph, we turned onto Hwy 39 to Ogden, UT. the road is only passable during the summer months (pictures). The road was largely deserted, had many smooth curves and some "twisties," and when we stopped, the silence was "deafening" - and very pleasant.

Day 8 - Evanston to Twin Falls - Part 2

Going done into Ogden presented much more challenging "twisties", but still manageable in the 25 to 45 mph range. As we descended, we came upon a beautiful lake formed by a dam on the river that ran down through the canyon. A popular recreation spot for those living in Ogden.

Past the dam, the canyon became increasingly narrow and we came upon a beautiful little restaurant perched between the river and the road (pictures). The "brunch" was great and reasonable. As we approached Ogden, the canyon narrowed to no more than 50 - 70 yards with only the river and the road (picture). A waterfall cascaded down the canyon wall (picture).

Once into Ogden, the fun was largely over for the day. We picked up I-84 and headed to Twin Falls. The countryside was rolling hills, with wheat and other grain fields amongst the vast expanses of sage brush and desert. Pretty in its own way.

We arrived in Twin Falls around 2:30pm, unloaded and headed for the Harley shop - closed on Sunday. I was able to get some Locktite at an auto shop to save my highway pegs from falling off.

We are now off to dinner and then a leisurely evening, doing what I don't know!

Talk to you tomorrow.

Day 7 - Montrose to Evanston - Part 1

We left Montrose at 7:15am and headed to Loma, CO, passing through Grand Junction, on US 50 West. In Loma we turned North on CO 139 and headed through the mountains. The scenery was breathtaking (pictures) as was the road. Lots of switchbacks and "twisties." We climbed to 8,268 feet at Douglass Pass and headed down to Rangley, CO.

At Rangley, we turned onto US 64 to Dinosaur, CO, the South entrance to Dinosaur National Monument. Having seen all the old bones I want at the Country Club, we skipped the tour and headed to Vernal, Utah where we had lunch at the 7 11 Ranch Restaurant - good and lots of it for little money.

Day 7 - Montrose, CO to Evanston, WY - Part 2

From there we headed North on US 191 to the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Very beautiful (pictures). Lots more "twisties" and ups and downs. We then left 191 and turned on to UT 44 and WY 414 on the way to Mountain View, WY. On the way, we saw miles and miles of the most beautiful light blue/green buttes and sand outcroppings. Apparently, the sand contains copper oxide that makes it turn greenish. Very striking and unique. Unfortunately, there was virtually no shoulder on the road and no pull offs - so no pictures.

Mountain View gave us a bit of a jolt as they were repaving 10 miles of WY 414, Most of it returned to dirt and sand in the process! What fun - so much for the wash job the car and the bike got in Montrose! From Mountain View we took I-80 right into Evanston. We arrived at 3:30 pm and are safely ensconced in the Comfort Inn. "Goldie" (the Harley) is under her cover for the night!

Day 6 - Over the mountains - Part 1

Suzanne and I enjoyed a great evening with my cousin Susan. Had dinner at a super local restaurant with country music then went to Susan's house (very "adobe" style as are most in the area) to meet the great little two dogs. We left Bernalillo early in the morning (local time), around 6:30am and headed up US 55 to Montrose, Colorado.

The route took us up to the high desert through beautiful sandstone outcroppings and buttes to a maximum elevation of 7,000 feet where we crossed the Continental Divide. We then continued North to Durango, Colorado where we stopped at the Harley Davidson dealership for the mandatory T-shirts.

Day 6 - Over the mountains - Part 2

From Durango, we continued up (literally) US550 into the San Juan Mountains, where the highest peak is Mt. Wilson at 14,246 feet, the highest one we saw was Engineer Mountain at 12,780 feet. Quite a change from Florida where the average elevation is perhaps 15 feet! We traversed four passes. The first was the Coal Bank Pass at 10,640 feet. The second was Molas Pass at 10,899 feet, the third was Lizard Head Pass at 10,242 and the last was Red Mountain Pass at 11, 075.

All the approaches and descents became increasingly more difficult and twisty as we progressed from one to the next. The descent from Red Mountain Pass was the most harrowing. It was extremely "twisty" with some hairpins requiring a speed of no more than 10 miles per hour and a "peg scraping" lean angle. Virtually all the turns kept you under 25 mph. I think this four pass stretch could give the famous "Tail of the Dragon" in the East a run for its money. All the while, we were passing abandoned mining sites. In the middle was Silverton, which is being rejuvenated as a tourist and ski area.

Day 6 - Over the Mountains - Part 3

At the end of the Red Mountain descent was the beautiful little town of Ouray, which is a very active tourist and ski destination. Suzanne and I stopped for lunch and took a break to let us get our breath back. This was Suzanne's first car trip through very twisty mountain passes - and it was truly a "trial by fire." There were NO guard rails and the drop offs were several hundred and in some cases many hundreds of feet down. If you lose it, you REALLY lose it. She came through with flying colors - albeit PALE was the dominant one.

There were many bikes making the trip over the San Juans in both directions. The sport bikes had a much easier time of it than did the big cruisers, but the Harleys held their own (with a bit less chrome on the pegs).

The road from Ouray to Montrose was more gentle, but with its share of what I would have termed "twisties" before riding the San Juans. We arrived at 2:30 pm Mountain time, checked in and took the car and bike for a well deserved washing. We are now relaxing with a drink and doing a load of wash - the end to a perfect day!!