After our trek down the "lost highway", we had our only interstate part of the trip, a 60 mile stretch of I-70 to the Moab turnoff. Most of this stretch was uneventful, and we only got passed by a handful of semis (my technique---duck behind the windscreen, move to the right side of the lane, and pucker up while you get buffeted around as they pass). Tractor-trailers are the main reason beside high speeds that I don't like going on the interstate on the motorcycle.
Crosswinds returned on US 191 south into Moab, and our slow speeds drew lots of angry honks from the SUVs and mommy wagons that passed us in a huff. Oh well, screw 'em.
We had lunch at an eclectic place in town (I think all places in Moab are eclectic), and checked into our hotel. Since it was only early afternoon we decided to drop the luggage and ride the La Sal Mountain Loop Road. It was a featured route on the Butler maps, and did not disappoint.
We saw the La Sal Mountains coming into town, still snow-capped in late May, with multiple peaks over 12,000 feet, and their green and white tops making a great contrast to the red desert around us.
We started out following the Colorado River to the east through a canyon, which opened up after a few miles at the base of Castle Valley...
Castle Valley from the north end. This valley was surprisingly verdant coming from the river canyon.
At the south end of the valley, we turned off onto a very narrow, very steep forest road. It was paved, but in most places it was only one lane wide, and so tight and steep most of the ascent was in first gear.
Great views of the valley from about 9,000 feet.
Who is this masked, neon-clad man?
The road wound up and over the peaks, and back down to the highway south of town. The whole loop took us about 3 hours, and was one of the best rides of the trip. Highly recommended!
After some brews and pizza, we turned in. The next day we had reserved a guided mountain bike ride. Moab is sort of a mountain bike mecca, with lots of trails and slickrock suitable for riding. Astro and I aren't usually for guided anything--we like striking off on our own--but this allowed for transport of us and the bikes, so we weren't restricted to trails that starting in town.
We were the only two who had reserved a ride on that particular day, so it was just us and our guide, Jenna. After factoring in our fitness level and lack of experience, she picked a perfect ride around the north border of Arches NP. It was a grueling ascent up the slick rock, with some challenges but nothing that put us in fear for our lives.
Alleged dinosaur footprint in the rock. I'm always skeptical...
Little slot canyon on the way up.
Great views from the top!
Our guide Jenna. She was a machine on the bike.
Sarah negotiating the descent.
The descent was scary and exhilarating, but we were handling it well. I had just commented that I was really getting the hang of it when my front wheel hit a patch of sand, and I went over the handlebars. I was able to tuck and roll on impact, and escaped with only some scrapes and a bruised ego.
The ride itself was only about 2.5 hours, but we were thoroughly bushed by the end. We were both using muscles we hadn't used much, and the heat was up in the 90s. We headed back to town to Milt's a local burger and shake joint we had passed the day before, and which came highly recommended. We downed about 3,000 calories each in burgers, fries, and milkshakes, and felt this fine culinary reward was well deserved.
Due to my lack of pre-planning and the fact that it was the start of Memorial Day weekend, we had to switch hotels, and then headed up to Arches National Park. Though there were a lot of people to contend with, we did a couple of short hikes, and got to see most of the better known arches in the park.
Delicate Arch, one of the most photographed arches. The La Sal Mountains are in the background.
Sweaty and hot, but happy. We each went through about 9 liters of water that day, between the biking and hiking.
Astro and I under Landscape Arch, my favorite.
Sarah likes taking pictures of dead trees.
After a great dinner at Buck's Grill House, which specialized in game meats (I enjoyed the buffalo meatloaf), and a very long shower, we crashed and slept like the dead.
Next up was Canyonlands...