HOGCDR
06-04-2009, 06:38 PM
ZION-BRYCE CANON-CAPITAL REEF NATIONAL PARKS (NP)
MAY 2009
Day 1 Monday 5/4: I departed 0730 Missoula, MT for a 4-day shakedown trip to workout the bugs from the winter and no riding for 6 months for my 16-day trip scheduled 20 May. The weather was a cool 42 degrees and the sky was overcast. First day is an easy ride on I-90East to I-15South to Hill AFB Layton, Utah. Arrived 1630 and spent the night at the AFB’s Country Lodge.
http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay042009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0864-th.jpg
(http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay042009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0864-vi.jpg)
New Gear: I purchased SPOT a GPS emergency tracking and alert system. This has world coverage where cell phone/laptop coverage is limited based on location. Cost: $150 for GPS device!! The system requires a 1 year contract for $100 and you receive; 24/7 coverage when activated for “OK”, “HELP”, “911”, additional $50 for “tracking”. Go to findmespot.com for more information.
SPOT allows me to active the tracker and it sends a tracking message ever 10-15 minutes. This tracking system can be viewed from their SPOTadventures.com site as you travel. Also at the end of the day/trip you can edit your trip to goggle map and add photos to that trip!!
Day 2 Tuesday 5/5: I departed 0530 to Starbucks for coffee and a cigar. I find that my day starts more enjoyable when I “stop and smell the roses.” Truth be known, Starbucks is downloaded to my Garmin 550 GPS as POI. Departed 0630 down I-15South until exit 40,
I turned off to Kolob Canyon Visitor Center.
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0755-vi.jpg
Zion NP, Utah
First established by President William Howard Taft by presidential proclamation, Mukuntuweap (straight canyon) National Monument in 1909. In 1918 the name was changed to Zion National Monument and then Zion National Park in 1919. Hebrew word used to describe a dry rocky place of holy sanctuary in ancient Israel. In 1930 the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway (Hwy 9) was built, the road s attraction is a 1.1 mile long tunnel with openings or windows in the tunnel wall to reveal the deep canyon below. Zion has two entrances, Kolob Canyon (west entrance) and Zion Canyon (south entrance) with visitor centers. Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is viewed by riding the shuttle system.
After acquiring the National Park brochures I departed the visitor center and headed up the dead-end paved road. This section of Zion NP is less traveled, but Kolob Canyon has a set of five east-west running canyons on the Hurricane Fault of Navajo Sandstone that has been uplifted in dramatic fashion.
http://images49.fotki.com/v1501/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0764-th.jpg
http://images49.fotki.com/v1504/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0773-th.jpg
http://images109.fotki.com/v786/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0779-th.jpg
I met to fellow moto travelers Joe & Bill, Joe had setup camp already at the south entrance Watchman campground and Bill staying at a motel. They invited be down after I ran Kolob Canyon. I spent about an hour in the canyon and headed down I-15 until I turned off onto Hwy 9East and headed to Zion Canyon at the south entrance. I rolled into camp and found Joe & Bill, I stayed and set up camp.
http://images50.fotki.com/v1512/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0853-th.jpg
http://images107.fotki.com/v523/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0789-th.jpg
http://images47.fotki.com/v1475/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0787-th.jpg
After setting up camp, I changed out of my riding into my touring clothes and hoped a shuttle bus to begin my journey up Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0802-th.jpg
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0804-th.jpg
http://images47.fotki.com/v1477/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0827-th.jpg
Day 3 Wednesday 5/6: After breaking camp, coffee and cigar, I departed about 0730 with the temprature gauge at 55 degrees. As I headed to Bryce Canyon NP you pass through Red Rock Canyon. I entered Bryce Canyon NP about 1030 and setup camp in North campgrounds. Eat lunch outside the park at Subway ($5 specials) and reentered the park.
http://images47.fotki.com/v1484/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0668-th.jpg
http://images109.fotki.com/v792/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0679-th.jpg
http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0680-th.jpg
Bryce Canyon NP, Utah
Bryce Canyon is a small national park (56.2 square miles) and is named after the Mormon Pioneer Ebenezer Bryce; Bryce Canyon became a national park in 1924.
http://images109.fotki.com/v796/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0708-th.jpg
http://images47.fotki.com/v1473/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0729-th.jpg
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0741-th.jpg
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0727-th.jpg
Bryce is famous for its worldly unique geology, consisting of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah. The erosional force of frost-wedging and the dissolving power of rainwater have shaped the colorful limestone rock of the Claron Formation into bizarre shapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos." Tinted with colors too numerous and subtle to name, these whimsically arranged rocks create a wondrous landscape of mazes, offering some of the most exciting and memorable walks and hikes imaginable.
I drove the 18 miles of the two lane paved road to the dead end at Rainbow Point and then drove back stopping to take pictures and sight-see (2.5 hours).
Day 4 Thursday 5/7: I departed 0630 after my normal routine and headed toward Capital Reef NP 3.5 hours away. The temp started out 33 degrees, but by 0900 it’s 55 degrees when I past through Grand Staircase-Escalante and 75 degrees when I entered Capital Reef NP.
http://images44.fotki.com/v1490/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0581-th.jpg
http://images49.fotki.com/v1509/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0583-th.jpg
http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0607-th.jpg
Capital
Reef NP, Utah
Called "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s by local boosters Ephraim Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman. Capitol Reef National Park comprises 378 square miles of colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths. About 75 miles of the long up-thrust called the Waterpocket Fold, extending like a rugged spine from Thousand Lake Plateau southward to Lake Powell, is preserved within the park boundary. Capitol Reef is the name of an especially rugged and spectacular part of the Waterpocket Fold near the Fremont River.
On August 2, 1937, in Proclamation 2246, President Roosevelt set aside 37,711 acres of the Capitol Reef area, making it a National Monument. This comprised an area extending about two miles north of present Utah Hwy 24 and about ten miles south, just past Capitol Gorge. More highly protective federal regulations now applied in "Wayne Wonderland".
I head down the 12-mile dead-end scenic drive.
http://images36.fotki.com/v1183/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0629-th.jpg
http://images49.fotki.com/v1510/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0613-th.jpg
http://images50.fotki.com/v1512/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0635-th.jpg
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0639-th.jpg
By 1100 I’m heading out of the park and down the road to Salt Lake City. By 1200 it’s 90 degrees and I’m cooking!! I arrive at Hill AFB again for the night.
Day 5 Friday 5/8: Another 0530 Starbucks and cigar, then I-15 to I-90 and home. Another 40 degree start but it dropped to 32 degree and the no greater than 45 until Missoula.
MAY 2009
Day 1 Monday 5/4: I departed 0730 Missoula, MT for a 4-day shakedown trip to workout the bugs from the winter and no riding for 6 months for my 16-day trip scheduled 20 May. The weather was a cool 42 degrees and the sky was overcast. First day is an easy ride on I-90East to I-15South to Hill AFB Layton, Utah. Arrived 1630 and spent the night at the AFB’s Country Lodge.
http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay042009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0864-th.jpg
(http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay042009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0864-vi.jpg)
New Gear: I purchased SPOT a GPS emergency tracking and alert system. This has world coverage where cell phone/laptop coverage is limited based on location. Cost: $150 for GPS device!! The system requires a 1 year contract for $100 and you receive; 24/7 coverage when activated for “OK”, “HELP”, “911”, additional $50 for “tracking”. Go to findmespot.com for more information.
SPOT allows me to active the tracker and it sends a tracking message ever 10-15 minutes. This tracking system can be viewed from their SPOTadventures.com site as you travel. Also at the end of the day/trip you can edit your trip to goggle map and add photos to that trip!!
Day 2 Tuesday 5/5: I departed 0530 to Starbucks for coffee and a cigar. I find that my day starts more enjoyable when I “stop and smell the roses.” Truth be known, Starbucks is downloaded to my Garmin 550 GPS as POI. Departed 0630 down I-15South until exit 40,
I turned off to Kolob Canyon Visitor Center.
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0755-vi.jpg
Zion NP, Utah
First established by President William Howard Taft by presidential proclamation, Mukuntuweap (straight canyon) National Monument in 1909. In 1918 the name was changed to Zion National Monument and then Zion National Park in 1919. Hebrew word used to describe a dry rocky place of holy sanctuary in ancient Israel. In 1930 the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway (Hwy 9) was built, the road s attraction is a 1.1 mile long tunnel with openings or windows in the tunnel wall to reveal the deep canyon below. Zion has two entrances, Kolob Canyon (west entrance) and Zion Canyon (south entrance) with visitor centers. Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is viewed by riding the shuttle system.
After acquiring the National Park brochures I departed the visitor center and headed up the dead-end paved road. This section of Zion NP is less traveled, but Kolob Canyon has a set of five east-west running canyons on the Hurricane Fault of Navajo Sandstone that has been uplifted in dramatic fashion.
http://images49.fotki.com/v1501/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0764-th.jpg
http://images49.fotki.com/v1504/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0773-th.jpg
http://images109.fotki.com/v786/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0779-th.jpg
I met to fellow moto travelers Joe & Bill, Joe had setup camp already at the south entrance Watchman campground and Bill staying at a motel. They invited be down after I ran Kolob Canyon. I spent about an hour in the canyon and headed down I-15 until I turned off onto Hwy 9East and headed to Zion Canyon at the south entrance. I rolled into camp and found Joe & Bill, I stayed and set up camp.
http://images50.fotki.com/v1512/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0853-th.jpg
http://images107.fotki.com/v523/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0789-th.jpg
http://images47.fotki.com/v1475/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0787-th.jpg
After setting up camp, I changed out of my riding into my touring clothes and hoped a shuttle bus to begin my journey up Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0802-th.jpg
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0804-th.jpg
http://images47.fotki.com/v1477/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay052009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0827-th.jpg
Day 3 Wednesday 5/6: After breaking camp, coffee and cigar, I departed about 0730 with the temprature gauge at 55 degrees. As I headed to Bryce Canyon NP you pass through Red Rock Canyon. I entered Bryce Canyon NP about 1030 and setup camp in North campgrounds. Eat lunch outside the park at Subway ($5 specials) and reentered the park.
http://images47.fotki.com/v1484/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0668-th.jpg
http://images109.fotki.com/v792/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0679-th.jpg
http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0680-th.jpg
Bryce Canyon NP, Utah
Bryce Canyon is a small national park (56.2 square miles) and is named after the Mormon Pioneer Ebenezer Bryce; Bryce Canyon became a national park in 1924.
http://images109.fotki.com/v796/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0708-th.jpg
http://images47.fotki.com/v1473/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0729-th.jpg
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0741-th.jpg
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay062009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0727-th.jpg
Bryce is famous for its worldly unique geology, consisting of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah. The erosional force of frost-wedging and the dissolving power of rainwater have shaped the colorful limestone rock of the Claron Formation into bizarre shapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos." Tinted with colors too numerous and subtle to name, these whimsically arranged rocks create a wondrous landscape of mazes, offering some of the most exciting and memorable walks and hikes imaginable.
I drove the 18 miles of the two lane paved road to the dead end at Rainbow Point and then drove back stopping to take pictures and sight-see (2.5 hours).
Day 4 Thursday 5/7: I departed 0630 after my normal routine and headed toward Capital Reef NP 3.5 hours away. The temp started out 33 degrees, but by 0900 it’s 55 degrees when I past through Grand Staircase-Escalante and 75 degrees when I entered Capital Reef NP.
http://images44.fotki.com/v1490/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0581-th.jpg
http://images49.fotki.com/v1509/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0583-th.jpg
http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0607-th.jpg
Capital
Reef NP, Utah
Called "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s by local boosters Ephraim Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman. Capitol Reef National Park comprises 378 square miles of colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths. About 75 miles of the long up-thrust called the Waterpocket Fold, extending like a rugged spine from Thousand Lake Plateau southward to Lake Powell, is preserved within the park boundary. Capitol Reef is the name of an especially rugged and spectacular part of the Waterpocket Fold near the Fremont River.
On August 2, 1937, in Proclamation 2246, President Roosevelt set aside 37,711 acres of the Capitol Reef area, making it a National Monument. This comprised an area extending about two miles north of present Utah Hwy 24 and about ten miles south, just past Capitol Gorge. More highly protective federal regulations now applied in "Wayne Wonderland".
I head down the 12-mile dead-end scenic drive.
http://images36.fotki.com/v1183/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0629-th.jpg
http://images49.fotki.com/v1510/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0613-th.jpg
http://images50.fotki.com/v1512/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0635-th.jpg
http://images46.fotki.com/v1506/photos/7/1485527/7542300/ay072009_ZIONBRYCECAPITAL_0639-th.jpg
By 1100 I’m heading out of the park and down the road to Salt Lake City. By 1200 it’s 90 degrees and I’m cooking!! I arrive at Hill AFB again for the night.
Day 5 Friday 5/8: Another 0530 Starbucks and cigar, then I-15 to I-90 and home. Another 40 degree start but it dropped to 32 degree and the no greater than 45 until Missoula.