Road Trip #3, Day 2 - Utah Canyon after Canyon Ride

July 3, 2011
Colorado, USA

Road Trip #3, Day 2 - Utah Canyon after Canyon ride

Panguitch, UT -- We rested well in our room at the Monticello Inn and slept in a little after yesterday's 501 mile ride across Colorado and down scenic Hwy 141. But, the motel fell somewhat short of making the Great Places to Stay list. The room was clean and cozy. We had WIFI, but no cell service (would have been nice to know in advance). The water pressure was really low (the shower ran about as well as a pinched water hose), the blow dryer failed to work this morning and no one could be raised in the office by any means. Hmmmm...

We rolled out around 9 am and my hair dried on the short ride to the gas station just up the street. There, we met a nice couple out of Farmington, NM who were out trying to get the first 1000 miles on a beautiful 2011 Ultra in a color called dark candy rootbeer/merlot sunglow I believe. So, by the time we hit the road (Hwy 191 S) it was near 10 am. We had clear blue skies and warm weather.

As we rode away from Monticello we had a good look at the Abajo "Blue" Mountains. Both the motel manager and the waitress said it was beautiful drive up there. It was tempting. Between Monticello and Blanding we rode along the edge of Recapture Reservoir.

After only a few miles, breakfast started dominating the conversation. We found chicken fried steak and eggs at the Old Tymer Restaurant in Blanding, UT. It is a nice restaurant, with fast, friendly service. We had the special priced at $6.99 and both the food and coffee were good. Every plate that whizzed by looked great! It is where the locals eat. YUM! We are thinking Blanding might be a better place to spend the night in this neck of the woods.

After brunch, we continued south out of Blanding on Hwy 191 for about four miles until the junction at Hwy 95 which is known as the Bicentennial Highway (it was paved in 1976) and it is also designated as part of the Trail of the Ancients National Scenic Byway. Highway 95 runs 122 miles between the cutoff at Blanding to the town of Hanksville where it junctions with Hwy 24. It crosses Cottonwood Wash almost immediately then follows and crosses White Canyon and a little over 50 miles out travels through Fry Canyon. Fry's Canyon (also known as Fry's Gulch) is a small community (all we saw was a small motel and what might have been a gas pump some distance off the road) that was allegedly a uranium mining boom town in the 1950s. The road eventually crosses the Colorado River and the northeast end of Lake Powell at Hite Crossing Bridge, near the confluence of the Dirty Devil River which it crosses just two miles later.

This was an amazingly scenic ride, through some desert-like terrain but mostly through canyons and around rock outcroppings one could see from miles away. One looked like a yurt Tim said, another looked like a gloved hand, still another sat atop a butte and looked like a chair which we discovered later was named Jacob's Butte Chair. We stopped for a stretch on the north end of Lake Powell just after crossing the Hite Bridge, hot and thirsty. A look at the thermometer on the bike along the way indicated the temp around the bike was 100 degrees. Now we are not complaining. We set out to ride in a warmer/dryer climate. At the risk of ridicule (considering how many TX/OK people read this blog), I'll say it was HOT!

Note: Let us digress. The difference between Hot there (Texas) and Hot here (the arid southwest) is: In Texas during triple digit weather you can crack an egg on the sidewalk and fry it. In Utah during triple digit weather, you can whip the egg, add a little cheese, sit it on the sidewalk in a cup and have quiche. Ha!

Riding Scenic Hwy 95 Utah

Video under revision 8/2018

Slide show (part 1 = 72 photos):

Scenic Highway 95, Utah

Hite Crossing Bridge - In 1880 a prospector named Cass Hite established a ford near the mouth of the Dirty Devil River, 2 miles downstream from the present-day bridge location. This ford, named "Dandy Crossing", served as one of the few locations in the region where travelers could cross the Colorado River. The settlement which formed at the crossing location took the name of its founder, Hite.

The Ride at the north end of Lake Powell - Hwy 95, Utah. Lake Powell is 186 miles long and has 1960 miles of shoreline. It is the second largest reservoir in North America.

Tim at the north end of Lake Powell - Hwy 95, Utah

Vik at the north end of Lake Powell - Hwy 95, Utah

Anyway, by the time we reached Hanksville (now about 75 miles along this stretch of road), we were hot, dry and ready for an ice cream break... and so was everyone else in the area. Since housing was almost non-existent along the highway, we were thinking the area is sparsely populated - these people had to be from the lake. Stan's Burger Shak was at the convenience store where we stopped. The line to place an order was about thirty people deep and seating was near capacity. We opted for ice cream now - a couple of ice cream sandwiches from the freezer suited us just fine. I believe there was one other cafe and gas station in this busy little town and a small motel, not much more. Considering the distance between towns thus far and the fact that it was a Sunday, we topped off the tank before rolling out again.

Slide show (part 2 = 73 photos):

Refreshed, we began the second leg of today's 300+ mile journey about 2:30 pm, traveling Highway 24 west which took us through the Glen Canyon area and across Capitol Reef National Park before reaching the next turn on our journey. It was hard to tell where one canyon ended and the next began. Photos will not do justice to the scope and grandeur of it.

We stopped at one point alongside a point of interest called the Behunin Cabin. It is a stone cabin built by Elijah Cutler Behunin and his family of ten in 1882 when they settled on the narrow floodplain of the Fremont River in southern Utah. They lived near Fruita, where Mormons were settled and established orchards that gave the area its name. A family of ten! The cabin might be large enough to adequately house the Harley and little more. We stopped briefly again at a rest stop with a little stream of water running through it called Muddy Creek and then continued on our way.

Old schoolhouse, Fruita historical area

Scenic Hwy 12 and 24

Slide show (part 3 = 74 photos):

In the small town of Torrey we took Highway 12 toward Escalante, traveling south through the Dixie National Forest, over what is known as Boulder Mountain (Summit elevation 9600) and The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. It was cooler! At the busy Larb Hollow Overlook, a few miles south of Grover, UT we spoke with another biker couple (from Utah) who asked which direction we were heading. When we told them and said how much we had enjoyed the ride so far - the guy just grinned and said - it gets better. They were right - I could not snap pictures quick enough. At one point the road travels over a hogback and falls away to reveal canyons on both sides. I believe the drop is about 1000 feet to the canyon floor in some areas. I read something that said mail was delivered in this area by mule until the 1970s. The road ascends and descends drastically along the way from 4000 feet to 9600 feet to 6000 feet. I believe I remember seeing at least two 14% downhill grade signs. The topography changes around every curve...

Grand Staircase Escalante Utah

Slide show (part 4 = 100+ photos):

We stopped in the small town of Escalante to stretch and get something to drink, both of us eager to talk about what we had just seen. The only convenience store in town was closed, so we helped ourselves to a cold drink out of a vending machine and got out the animal crackers. We talked with a couple of young guys on dirt (off-road) bikes who had stopped for fuel and were trying to get their bearings. They were dirty, hot, hungry and SMILING. I forget where they were from (northern Idaho I think). They were headed to Phoenix, AZ across country (stopping only in towns long enough to get gas and food). One laughed and said they couldn't travel highways much as the bikes were not licensed for the road. They asked us about the area behind us and looked at our map. They were trying to find food before riding into the hills and finding a place to camp for the night. I gotta tell you - thinking about the terrain we just skirted - I think they are crazy - but, I also think they are having the summer of a lifetime. We wished them well, told them to ride safe (although I hardly think that was the idea) and rode out as they were packing their stuff back on their bikes.

We were still on Hwy 12 riding in and out of and along the Grand Staircase heading southwest toward Henrieville. Before Henrieville we reached a summit labeled 7600. Like the Boulder Mountain summit we crossed earlier, this actually indicates the summit of a high plateau. I discovered later that this is the summit of Kaiparowits (kye-pah-ro-its) Plateau. The road descended into an area known as the Kodachrome Basin, would turn north at this point and eventually intersect with Highway 89 which would take us to the small town of Panguitch, our destination. We picked up more clouds than sun on this part of the ride so the pics are not as clear as we would have them. Red Canyon must be spectacular in the sunlight. We plan to ride back that way tomorrow on our way to Bryce Canyon National Park.

We are delighted with our cozy motel room at the Color Country Motel in Panguitch, UT. The owner, Lance greeted us with a smile and pointed us to a room on the back side of the office area. It is out of sight of the street and so far, quiet. The room is immaculate and has a good a/c and a ceiling fan. We are already talking about extending our stay here another night.

It being Sunday night and a holiday weekend, just about everything is closed in town. The restaurant that Lance recommended downtown is not open on Sunday. The other options were a pizza place on the far end of town (too far to walk), an Arby's in a gas station downtown, a Subway in a gas station a couple of blocks away and one cafe/restaurant. So we walked a few more blocks to the latter which we saw on our ride-by earlier.

Now, it was about 7 pm or so and we discovered the rest of the tourists in town had the same dilemma. No place to eat. We ended up standing in line forever for a seat at the Flying M Restaurant. I am thinking we would have been better off with a sandwich from Arby's or the Subway and convenience store beer. The dining area looked a little dingy and dirty. Half of the tables were not bussed, the other half were filled with what appeared to be hungry, disgruntled tourists and ornery, loud children. When we finally got seated by a grumpy hostess/waitress we were informed by Ms Grumpy they were working short-handed and that someone (not her - thank goodness) would see to our needs as soon as they were able. That someone waited on at least three other tables (seated after us) before she got to us just to take our drink order. We ordered beer and water before she could disappear again. With a couple of beers on the table we thought we were in no rush to order, although had we waited much longer we might have been able to squeak in Thanksgiving dinner. As it is, we did not get to order what we wanted. They were out of any kind of steak that could be broiled or grilled, they were out of turkey pot pie, they were out of spaghetti and they were out of BBQ. We managed to get chicken fried steak ordered with potatoes but the other veggie would be a surprise we were told (whatever they had in the kitchen). The waitress asked soup or salad and seemed puzzled when Tim informed her that the salad bar was empty (he had just checked it). So, our option was vegetable soup, the likes of which I haven't tasted since I was in Jr High School. It was about 8:30 before we got the second beer. It was about 9 pm before we got bread and butter. The bread was good, but I am thinking cardboard and butter would have tasted good by then. It was about 9:20 pm before we got our over-priced meal and a third beer (for Tim). Tim ordered a 4th beer but Utah liquor laws are funky so they would not serve him a 4th beer. I ordered a third beer and slid it across the table as soon as the waitress turned her back. Yep - we regretted not going to Subway. It was after 10 pm before we got back to our motel.

Slide show (part 5 = 40 photos):

The amazing ride today was about 335 miles or so. Tim and I agree - the best thing about two days of riding in both Colorado and Utah's canyon country is that we traveled seemingly deserted highways with a jaw-dropping view around just about every curve. Yep! We had the roads and the views almost to ourselves and loved every mile of it.

What follows are just a few photos of the mind-boggling sights we saw along the road today.