Forth and back TOR '19

[RBMann]

Day 13-Deckers to Paonia, CO 317 miles



What? Another sunny morning. I remember riding up Pikes Peak in 1970 on a Kawasaki Mach I 500cc two stroke triple, terrible touring bike. We attempted to do the same on our modern rides but they stop you three miles from the top and make you go up in a shuttle van. We declined, took some photos and headed down-



No photos getting over to Paonia but we had a good lunch in Woodland Park and a great pizza dinner in Crested Butte. The ride over Kebler Pass was the prettiest I have ever seen it with lots of wildflowers blooming and late afternoon sun-

[RBMann]

Day 14-Paonia to Grand Junction and back to Paonia, CO 182 miles



Off to get a new SIM card since my wife changed our carrier after I got the new phone then lunch with Ralf’s friend.

Funny that I travel to TOR but only took one picture in three day there. It was a shot of Russian Sage for Bill Swartzwelder-

[wswartzwel]

[RBMann]

Day 15-Paonia to Moab 219 miles



Nothing to show just a non-eventful ride to Moab. We took a day off to work on the bikes since Ralf decided he would rather change his tire at 100ºF. than the 80ºF. of Paonia. CKCarr and I tried to replace the fuel filter on his S but it ended up needing some new parts as the fuel had turn to varnish and there was a lot of corrosion on the inside of the access plate-



In the afternoon we went sightseeing to Faux Falls and always picturesque Acrhes Nat. Park-

[RBMann]

Day 15 cont.-

[RBMann]

Day 16-Moab to Bullfrog Marine CG, UT 218 miles



The morning we left Moab was overcast and cool. This was a good thing since it was in the 70’s instead of 90’s. We planned to cross Lake Powell by ferry at Halls Crossing but a sign near Blanding said it was out of service. It has been out of service every time I have been in the area. We continued NW on Hwy 95 and it started warming up. Ralf suggested Butler Wash Ruins, which I had missed in the past-









The bridge across Lake Powell at Hite-





We went down to the marina store for snacks, drinks and the AC. Talked to the bored young woman who was stuck there for the summer. Looking back at the marina from the other side of the river-



After a stop in Ticaboo for more drinks we made it to BullFrog CG. Only about five other campers at a nice camp site with shade, showers, laundry sink and a store nearby but it was 103ºF. It cooled to 88ºF. that night for sweaty bad sleep.




.

[RBMann]

Day 17-Bullfrog to Fruita, UT 153 miles



The morning was overcast again, another blessing as we rode north up the Waterpocket Fold dirt road toward Boulder, Ut-







It was a nice cool morning ride to the Burr Trail switchbacks that climb out of Waterpocket towards Boulder-

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[RBMann]

Day 17 cont.-

I knew there was a view point somewhere at the top of the climb from looking at one CKCarr’s great photos in that area. I had not done any research so we took the first right turn taking us up a sand wash to Strike Valley Overlook. The sun had come out warming thing up, it was a bit of a struggle in the sand/rocks and then after parking the bikes it was a scramble over the sandstone to hike out to the viewpoint. Hot and sweaty-







Great view of an amazing geological feature. You can kind of see the dirt Burr Trail running along the small middle rib of the valley-

[RBMann]

Day 17 cont. 2-

While traveling in this area 15 years ago my daughter spotted a small slot canyon and ever since it is unofficially know as Meleah’s Canyon-





The canyon has everything it needs to impress me. There is a cool shady entrance, beautiful sandstone, a good view back out to the cliffs and an interesting rock feature all in a small package-

[RBMann]

Day17 cont. 3-

After a nice lunch in Boulder we managed to get a camp site at Fruita in Capital Reef. It seems a humming bird convention was in town. Up to eight at a time would be using one feeder while five feet away the other feeder had none. A male would dart out of a tree to chase away any intruders on the second feeder-

[ckcarr]

Don't you hate it when you're trying to take a nice picture and some guy in a bright orange shirt keeps getting in the way!

Those Utah pictures are excellent. Shows the real remoteness and ruggedness of some of these places.

[RBMann]

Yes remote, nice to have someone else along. I always thought Bullfrog to Boulder would be harder but with the cool overcast it was just a ride on a good dirt road. The overcast sucked for photos but so did taking Bessie up the sand wash. That viewpoint is a killer though.

[RBMann]

Day 18-Fruita to Escalante back to Fruita 173 miles



The idea was to ride down Hwy 12(Devils Backbone) to Escalante where we would split up. Ralf heading south and me heading north. I said I didn’t want to ride any more dirt as my ribs still hurt. Just outside Boulder, Ralf turned off onto Hells Backbone, the dirt road which was the original reason I came this far south. Inside my helmet it was ‘Damn it Ralf, I said no more dirt’ then it was ‘What the hell we are already here’. At about the half way point there is narrow finger of rock that extends out from the mountain then a bridge that takes you over to the main mountain. Big dropoffs all around and I did thank Ralf for forcing me to come to this fantastic spot-









Of course in the middle of nowhere who gets a call from work-



It also appeared we were going to get rained on so we needed to get moving. We made the mistake of not suiting up thinking the rain would be short lived. It seemed to rain buckets for about 30 minute to the point we were totally soaked, the helmet visors were fogging up and I wondered when the mud would turn to snot followed by a slide/crash. It did stop raining and we finally made it to Escalante. Probably half dry by the time we got there. We had some snacks and drinks then Ralfie quickly disappeared down the road. Kind of an odd feeling stand there alone after riding together for three weeks.



I headed back north on Hwy 12 and the weather soon matched my mood. This time the rain suit went on-

[RBMann]

Day 18 cont.-

I passed our turn off for Hells Backbone and then headed over the mountain for Fruita-





The weather was nice back at Fruita and I had a dinner guest-



I saw people coming down the trail across from camp and decided to go for a hike after dinner. The Cohab Canyon trail switchbacks up the mountain for some incredible views over camp and along the Capital Reef-

[RBMann]

Day 18 cont. 2-

Back at camp I was sad that we had not gone for the hike yesterday as I am sure Ralf would have enjoyed it. Also he would be jealous of my new fame. At the top of the trail I met a woman who had a 360º camera strapped to her back and was recording her hike. She gave me her card with web site info and I looked up the videos when I got home. I appeared in two she recorded that day for exactly two seconds in each one-

[RBMann]

Day 19-Fruita to Rockport Dam, UT 252 miles



Another disappointment for Ralf, I found out the farm house next to the campground makes fresh cinnamon rolls every morning-



Another great panorama leaving Capital Reef-





Of course, rain again near near Burrville, UT-



I liked the Star Theater/Casino in Gunnison, Ut and a church in Manti City but the hilltop position of the Manti Utah Temple takes the prize-







I arrived at Jordanelle Reservoir early in the afternoon hoping I had beat the crowd only to find the campground full since it was Utah’s Pioneer Day and everyone got there yesterday. I ventured another 10 miles north and found Rockport Damn CG full also but the host let me camp at a picnic table in the field under some trees for $10, sold-



Oops! Looks like rain again-

[RBMann]

Day 20-Rockport to Maple Grove Hot Springs, ID 193 miles



Backtracked on I-80 to Hwy 65 through East Canyon State Park then NW on 66 to Morgan, UT. It must be a popular bicyclist area as many were on the road-











I worked my way north past Huntsville, Eden, Liberty and then North Ogden. In Brigham City I revisited the spot where I tore my achilles tendon in 2015 trying to run across the street for photos-





County Clerk Office & Historic house-

[RBMann]

Day 20 cont.-

Logan Tabernacle-



I picked up dinner in Preston and made my way out Hwy 36 to the cutoff for Maple Grove Hot Springs. The new owners have converted most of their tent site to you-rent-a-tent from them. Only one left since it was still the Pioneer Holiday weekend, damn. $80 cash because they didn’t have showers or running water during remodeling or drive up the road for cell coverage and pay the standard $130 rate. A little spendy but I didn’t want to drive more just to find other full campgrounds. Glad I had the cash as five minutes later a couple came up and wanted to rent it, too late, sorry, it is mine. At least it was more comfortable than my regular setup. All the license plates there were from Utah-











Lazy afternoon soaking in the hot springs and shooting pics. My carp friends were still there too-

[RBMann]

Day 21-Maple Grove to Lake Walcott State Park, ID 260 miles



Absolutely unexpected, I woke up this morning and no longer had rib pain. There had been one morning where I got my shoes on in the tent but it took me five minutes to figure out how to move so I could get out without too much pain. This was a great morning-



Hot water-







Took a side road to the Treasureton Cemetery-





Old Shell station in Weston, UT-

[RBMann]

Day 21 cont.-

Damn-



Someone has a sense of humor-





Pony naps-



I don’t know how the local people knew I was passing through their area but I appreciate them putting my initial on the hillside-



Next it was uphill to see Cleveland Lake at 8285’ on Mt. Harrison near Albion, ID. Beautiful setting absolutely packed with people camping and boating-





A repeat of a photo from a previous trip through this area-