Back From the Camping Trip

Arrived back home from my motorcycle camping trip Tuesday evening.

Had a great time seeing a lot of country, riding some 1,500 miles, and having a good time with my friends. Here's a recap of what attractions we rode through...

Zion National Park, UT
Dixie National Forest, UT
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Grand Staircase Escalante State Park, UT
Capitol Reef National Park, UT
Lake Powell, UT
Natural Bridges National Monument, UT
Monument Valley, UT
Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Grand Canyon Caverns, AZ

Here's where we camped...

Day 1, Zion National Park
Day 2, Natural Bridges National Monument
Day 3, Grand Canyon Caverns

The trip was largely based around one stretch of road, Highway 12 through Utah. It's regarded as one of the top most scenic roads in the United States. As it turned out, it was exactly so. Miles and miles of open country, forest, mountains, desert, and lots twisty roads for a motorcyclist like myself to enjoy.

Highway 24, which runs through Capitol Reef National Park is perhaps as equally spectacular as Highway 12. It runs through tall columns of red rock.

Highway 95 running south along Lake Powell is another beautiful road, filled with sweeping curves through canyons that you can fly through at 80mph, and nary any law enforcement to give you trouble.

Hwy 261, Utah, winding down from Cedar Mesa

Highway 261, running from Natural Bridges National Monument to Mexican Hat, UT offers a breathtaking view of Southern Utah. There's a stretch of about 3 miles of dirt road that winds its way from atop Cedar Mesa, with 5mph switchbacks and a 10% downgrade. The view of the valley below is just awesome!!

It was mostly cold the whole time. The coldest it got during the ride was on Day 2, riding along Highway 12 towards Lion Mountain, where it got into the 20s. The coldest it got during the night was while we camped at Natural Bridges, where it also got into the 20s.

But the weather turned out to be great. Sunny most of the time, and no rain. It was just cold. But when we got back into the California desert, temperatures warmed up to the 90s, and we were riding with just t-shirts on.

Anyways, take a look at my photo album for all the pics...
http://picasaweb.google.com/cleardigital/20090404EasterVacationRide

Here's Larry's photos...
http://picasaweb.google.com/scarencelarence/UtahArizonaTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCI2O1_ywke3KAQ&feat=directlink#

And here's Brian's photos...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brobrian1925/sets/72157616417722421/