The excitement of such an adventure takes hold as one begins packing a week in advance. Planning what clothes to wear with minimum storage afforded by motorcycle travel. As the days approached a high pressure appeared over the western United States. The California and Nevada desert routes we would be traveling would be hot. Utah would be warm and any travel before sun up would be chilly. There’s not enough room for multiple riding suits. A week before the trip we purchased new summer riding pants for Juanita to compliment her versatile Marsee all weather jacket. The pants came with insulated liners so we were sure we had all the bases covered. Packing our needs for a five-day ride didn’t turn out to be a big deal. Having a motel makes a difference because camping gear would have made our shiny BMW R1200RT look like Jed Clampet’s flatbed truck.
Good friends Martha and Leon graciously offered to watch after our three cats early in the planning stages. Then another wonderful friend, Henrietta, who lives in Los Angeles County, asked if we needed her to watch the cats. Henrietta would be more than cat sitting, she would also stay in the house, she loves cats and all animals, and she could also visit Yosemite and enjoy the rural life we live here in our corner of Coarsegold. Martha lives close by and has done this for us in the past. We are fortunate to such wonderful friends help make vacations worry free.
Wednesday May 14th sidestand up at 5:30am for a two and a half hour ride for breakfast in Bakersfield. Air temp on this morning was a normal 41F. We stopped short of Bakersfield as we were getting hungry. After breakfast we removed a layer of warm clothes in anticipation of continued upward temps. In Krammer Junction located on Hwy 58 east of Tehachapi we stopped so that Juanita could remove her insulated liners. Things were heating up.
After refueling in the small wide spot east of North Edwards called Boron our next stop would be Primm, NV. Speeds across this part of California are adjusted upward for covering vast numbers of miles in short order. Nevada patrols see it the same. At the Micky D’s in Primm we ate a light lunch, removed another top layer and refueled. Next stop would be our last for the day in Cedar City, Utah. The usual slowing through Las Vegas was actually stop and go freeway reminiscent of Los Angeles’ I-405.
Our evening in Cedar City was uneventful, dining at a home-style restaurant just up the street from our Comfort Inn room 11. Later that evening we caught a couple of weather reports on the news and fell asleep knowing tomorrow would be another great day. Up at 8:00am we leisurely repacked and returned to last night’s dinner establishment for breakfast. Sometime after 10am we were again on our way via Scenic Byway 14 east out of Cedar City.
The twisty Byway climbs a mountain road lined with snow and decreasing air temperatures dipping to 34F in the shaded areas. At Long Valley Junction were turned north on Hwy 88 to join another glorious road, Scenic Byway 12. At this point the color Utah is noted for begins to present itself. I’ll return again for sure.
All morning our ride was mostly under gray clouds and an occasional spritz of rain. The thick stands of aspen trees were still leafless as spring had yet to unfold in the higher altitudes of the Dixie National Forest. Low cloud cover prevented us from seeing the vistas we knew were out there. Hwy 12 has great sweeping radius turns. Several tar snakes in the corners to keep riders vigilant especially during the heat of the day. For now it was just a mental note for later. A marmot ran out onto the road only to be scarred back.
We rolled into the parking lot of the Bolder View Inn at 3:00pm and were promptly greeted by Carl Williams. Carl and I met a few times previously on Southern California pick-up rides. He said he has just arrived about an hour before us. His BMW was in for low side repairs so he rode his Honda VFR. Later that evening we ate at an overwhelmed pizza restaurant as the BMW riders crammed into the small indoor space. Killer provided free door-to-door shuttle service. That being the case copious amounts of beer softened the pizza on the way down. What a guy. And to think he has to live in all this landscape.
Day three of our adventure was to begin with a ride lead by veteran Torrey goer “Whip”. Unfortunately my bike suffered cold start fever and I was brain dead about starting it. 10Over showed me the embarrassingly simple procedure but it was too late. We missed the parade. 10Over caught up to them later. Juanita was already eardrum deep in silicone. Arizona Al was making her a set of sound system earplugs. He also remade one for me. Then we were off with a ride plan in hand to see the Burr Trail landscape.
As you can see from the pictures nature out does herself in resplendent beauty. We ate at a small restaurant on the trail outside of Boulder. Then we backtracked our route from the day before on Hwy 12 because today it was clear as glass. Distant colors bathed the eye in every direction. I’ll be back for sure.
Saturday was to be a laid back day for us. We would only take in Capitol Reef National Park. The park has a slow winding self-guided tour. This ribbon of asphalt goes deep into the landscape. One can look in any direction and see several photographs to take. Awesome. Since the pre-noon sun was casting shadows I decided to return later in the day for another view. I stopped off at the Petroglyphs.
Our homeward plans were to leave at 5:00am PST Sunday but our next room over neighbors were being fairly loud and disturbed our sleep so I reset the alarm to give us another hour of rest. The previous night’s dinner doubled for breakfast shortly after the alarm sounded. I heard 10Over idle and slowly pull away. I wanted to make lots of noise but the BMW is quiet. We departed under the cover of darkness with an air temperature of 27F at 5:40pm PST. The roads were deserted for the most part. Occasionally I would pass a fellow BMW rider getting an early start to the day so we waved hello as I made my pass. Today’s morning goal was to get to I-15 as quickly as possible. In fact my goal was to cover as many miles as I could before the desert heat took hold. Before we got to Cedar City we pulled over to remove a layer. It was already in the 90s when we rode through a remarkably free flowing Vegas traffic. 10Over spoke highly of the Mad Greek restaurant in Baker so that would be our lunch stop and of course liquid replenishment. I was soaking my “cool vest” at every opportunity. Baker was 106F degrees.
