Story: 21 Days in June
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Via SR 9, SR 24, SR 95, SR 261, SR 163 with excursion thru Bridges NM
| Terrain: Desert, canyons, curves, elevation changes Date: June 2014 Roads: Paved highway, Curves Technical: Easy, to intermediate, bring water, long stretches no service Elevation: 3,704 ft. to 6,890 ft  |
Space people? Ancestors? Fingerpainting? Some of these were about 30 or 40 ft above the floor. Took some effort to create if you ask me.
The Moki Dugway dirt road to Mexican Hat is the reason for this route. Having said that, we are starting our day in Torrey Utah. There is lots of green here, but not many golf courses. We wake up late so have little choices for breakfast. We get a recommendation to go to the Capital Reef Inn & Café. It turns out that this is an upscale café with fantastic breakfast. You know the kind where the eggs are cooked really to perfection and over medium really means over medium. Wow, what a treat. But the bacon is crispy as can be and melts in your mouth, the bread is homemade and fresh, the food is served with grapefruit and orange slices, the potatoes are round cut home fries and I get to order a buckwheat pancake on the side. I am in heaven. Oh, and the coffee was great too. That says a lot for an Oregonian that hand brews his coffee by the cup at home. Ok, enough about that. The Inn looks a little bit smallish, and homey, but the prices are right at $54 for a single and 59 for a double occupancy.
We head out for the first point of interest, which happens to be the Capital Reef Monument. There are so many Anasazi petroglyphs there that you can almost get tired of seeing them! The sights are beautiful too. The cliffs and hills here are varied in color with many shades of red to a deep purple. We are welcomed all day with lots of clouds and slight raindrops, but try to keep ahead of them. The clouds are on the edge of our route all day and turned out to be a most welcome addition to our day. It actually kept the heat range very comfortable. We still needed to be drinking multiple liters of water, but that is always a healthy thing anyway. We ride with a water backpack and drink lots of water as we ride. I believe it keeps us more alert.
Its out through Hanksville, hang a right on Hwy 95, and down and across the upper Lake Powell and the Colorado River. The ferry is down for regular maintenance so the direct route is out of the question. Hwy 95 takes us over the Colorado at Hite. Hite is midway to our destination and the ONLY alternate gas / rest stop / civilization anywhere. We gas up in Hanksville and Lamont tells us about the area and how to see the sights. Nice guy.
We stop at Bridges National Monument. I’ve always wanted to stop there. It seems a little out of the way for anyone to visit and a little lonely there between Zion to the West and Arches and Canyonlands to the North. We are in the area and stop to have a looksee. There is a nice ranger station with very helpful rangers stationed there. We talk for quite awhile, then take the 9 mile driving tour and see a couple of natural bridges. Bridges differ from Arches because they typically have water beneath them. They are cut by water-ways and create a natural bridge. Arches are very similar without the water.
As we head south to Mexican Hat, we are seeing the scenery change ever more toward cliffs, towers and vast green expanse with hills or mountains cropping up in the distance. The towers are getting very high and the cliffs are too. Red is the color du jour. 10 miles from Mexican Hat is the 3 mile dirt road that goes down the cliff with over 1000 ft decline, 10% grade, tight switchbacks and narrow single pass areas. This is the Moki Dugway. Said to be the oldest road in north America. The ancient Indians put stones and wood in the cracks to make this a navigable road. Modern times blasted the cliffs and made the road permanent. This is a rite of passage for Moto enthusiasts. Linda and I are initiated as we traverse the downhill direction with the sun at our backs is a wonderful view and memorable trip. Mexican Hat is a relief to see. We talk into the San Juan Inn and find they just had a cancellation so we get welcome pillows tonight. Thank you, Moki Gods.
Capital Reef for Breakfast in Torrey Utah. If in the area, is a must. We met a guy on an FJ going to Los Angeles, he plans on riding thru the night and arriving tomorrow morning!
BTW, we met three people from Germany that rented Harley’s in San Francisco and are riding all over America. Pretty cool.
Petroglyphs in Capital Reef Monument
We head out of Capital Reef and head for the hills. These tar snakes are not that bad, but some are pretty heavy. You need to watch out riding a bike over these. On hot days, they can get kind of scary. I keep the speeds low just in case.
Last gas with Lamont at Hanksville. He’s full of great stories and advice for seeing the area
The green lower lands are a stark contrast to the dry red hills and cliffs behind
This bridge crosses the Colorado River. If you make it this far, you will find that gas does indeed exist beyond Hanksville J
Stop across the bridge at Hite for restrooms, gas, visitors area. No trees, it gets pretty hot here.
Now we head for the Canyons. So much to see, so much variety… and the roads keep twisting. That spells fun if you are following.
Glen Canyon is deep cliffs, twisty roads, great views
One of the natural bridges are visible from the paved auto tour
How are these hills with their horizontal and vertical lines created? I want to know.
You are warned as you approach the Moki Dugway
We are heading in. It looks like we just drop off the cliff over there.
Heading down the Moki Dugway
We are treated to the Moki wave.
Here is the Moki God making sure everyone is safe
We made it! The Mexican Hat is a welcome sight and 4 miles from our Inn and rest for the night.
Tomorrow is Monument Valley in Navaho and Hopi territories.