Day 10

Miles driven 423 – Total Miles 3390 – Escalante, UT to Marcos, CO – 10 hours on the bike

I’m getting into the habit of waking up with the sun or fairly close to it now. As I broke down my camp and loaded up my bike again, I was thinking how similar some of my traveling is to the old time cowboys out on the range. Sleeping where the end of the day finds you; only you and your horse, which in my case is a steel horse that goes 200 mph; eating basic rations each morning as it’s easy to carry; and being saddle sore after days of riding.

Up through hwy 12 heading towards Capital Reef National Park is in some parts straight empty spaces and some parts beautiful winding canyons again. It leads me up over a mountain that summits at 10,000 feet. I wasn’t quite dressed for it but pushed through anyway. Cold, cold, cold!!! After the mountain, the wind started in. It blew hard and gusty all day long. On a motorcycle the head and tail winds aren’t bad, but throw in some huge gusts from the side and it can be a bit nerve racking.

Capitol Reef National Park is amazing, just like all the other parks, but I’m starting to tire of all the various shapes and sizes and cutouts a rock can make. I’m into amazement overload with doing so many parks back to back. The things I found most interesting here was the old town of Fruita. In particular there was an old one room school house built right next to the canyon wall. Just imagine the life the early settlers would have had in such a harsh but beautiful place.

Driving on from Capitol Reef to Canyonlands and Arches was a straight, hot, windy ride. The rock formations went from incredible to downright dull, and I was getting tired.

When I reached Canyonlands I only got maybe 10 miles in and stopped at a viewpoint where after a few pictures, I decided not to continue all the way into the park. I’m sure there is fantastic scenery awaiting me in there, but I just can’t muster up the gumption to drive 50 miles in and just see more canyons, only to have to drive the same route back out again. Combined with the fact that I really didn’t know what awaited me at the end of the road, there was nothing pulling me onward.

On to Arches National Park, where I knew more of what to expect. Seeing hundreds if not thousands of tons of rock hanging delicately in mid air is such a treat. The shear number of arches in the park is amazing. One after another they vary in size and shape, but always are impressive. Here is another park where much can be seen from the roadway or short hikes, but there are a few places that can only be seen by hiking for a few miles, and I just couldn’t do it in my riding boots and leaving my gear behind on the bike.

I now drove down to Cortez, CO to find a place to camp for the night as it is right next to Mesa Verde National Park. I located the nearest National Forest on the map and drove towards it on the highway. As I’m cruising along the highway at 75 mph out of nowhere appears a deer in my lane. It’s just standing there dumbfounded. I have to make a choice, go in front or go in back of it, knowing full well it can move at any time. I choose in back and make my juke around it, just in time to see it panic and turn around quickly. I brace myself hard on the bike and hold on for the possible impact, but… I narrowly miss it and feel something hit my boot. With my heart in my throat and my butt cheeks puckered up, I start to relax a bit from the huge adrenaline shot and slow way the hell down!!

Up into the forest it’s getting very cold (forecast to be 32 degrees that night), and I find a spot to bed down. But not before seeing about 15 more deer on the gravel road, and dropping my bike in the gravel dust when I am pausing to check out a possible side road. I forget how heavy the bike is, and with all my gear strapped on there it was a challenge to heave it back up. But no damage (Thank you frame sliders!!).

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