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ADVENTUREMOTO

"Life Should Be An Adventure"

Once Ain't Enough! Return to Utah June 2009

Spring 2009 had finally arrived and after a long Winter I was bound and determined to get in some long adventure rides this Summer. Just a few weeks before, I had done a 900 mile round trip ride down to the Four Corners area, but it was cut way too short and I was still looking for adventure. Riding with others has it's advantages and disadvantages. It's nice to have a partner along in case of accident or injury, but there has always been an idea in the back of my mind that I wanted to do a really long ride with no schedules or rush to get back home.

So I loaded up the DR650 with plenty of supplies and gear for a long haul back over into Southern Utah. This time I would be exploring the Blanding-Lake Powell areas.

While I normally like to take as many of the unpaved routes as possible, this trip would require that I take IH-70 from Loveland to Glenwood Springs where I would take some secondary highways Southwest. While highway riding can be very boring, the sights

crossing the mountains were great. Here is the stop on the West side of the Eisenhower

Tunnel.

Even with snow still on the mountains, the temperatures were ideal for riding.

The ride up to Glenwood Springs was uneventful. With the long interstate drive out of the way, it immediately turned into a real adventure ride when I got off onto highway 133 towards Redstone.

The views were awesome and the weather perfect. What a great place to live and ride.

I took plenty of time to stop and see the sights. There was almost no traffic and with the long Spring days I was in absolutley no hurry.

McClure Pass 8,750 ft.

Top of the pass. I had only seen 3-4 vehicles in the last 80 miles or so.

Paonia Reservoir. No boats, no people...just peace and quiet.

I stopped in Hotchkiss for fuel and an ice cream bar, and then headed for Delta. Just outside of town I ran into about 20 miles of eating dust as this section of road was under construction. Thank goodness for my full cover helmet with visor. ..cough, cough!

While the scenery from the road was beautiful, I was looking for something more challenging. If I wanted to do all pavement, I would own a Harley...OK, probably not! Anyway, I found what looked like an interesting route across the Uncompahgre Plateau that would provide me with some unpaved forest service roads to explore.

This section of Old Highway 90 was fun to ride, but recent heavy rains made many sections almost impassable. This is one of the better sections as I didn't want to stop for photos in the deep water sections.

After over 80 miles of mud and standing water, I came to this overlook and for the first time realized how really out the middle of nowhere I was. I wanted to get to Monticello Utah before dark, so I pressed on.

While I had maps and a GPS, they can be a little misleading, and it took me a lot longer to get across the plateau and back onto hard pavement.

By the time I got over the plateau to the next highway, the sun was quickly sinking in the sky. I was glad to be on the big 650 as it will run highway speeds all day with no effort, and I had time to make up.

In hindsight, I should have camped in the Uncompagre Forest, but figured I could still make it to Monticello before dark.

By the time I got into Utah, I was beginning to get tired. I stopped just long enough to take a few pictures of Wilson Arch. I was right at half-way between Moab and Monticello. Since I was planning on exploring Southern Utah, I choose to head South to Monticello.

The Scenery in Utah is just amazing!

After 470 miles of riding, I finally made it into Monticello Utah. I was greeted by a large deer that jumped in front of my motorcycle while I was still travelling at about 45 miles an hour. Talk about close call...whew! I stopped at the ONLY place open in town and asked about local motels. I was beat and ready for a warm shower and soft bed. No camping tonight.

After a good nights rest, I got up early and loaded the bike. I went looking for some coffee and breakfast, but Monticello is not much of a tourist mecca, so I had to settle for a power bar and water.

I headed down to Blanding and then turned off highway 191 and onto 95 heading towards Halls Landing. Even though it was only 8:00 AM, the temperatures were quickly approaching the mid 90's.

While not as scenic as the Moab area, the views were still amazing.

The further I rode, the hotter it got. I stopped and took several breaks and was really wishing I had eaten a good breakfast before starting out into the middle of nowhere.. Power bars and dehydrated food was not going to hit the spot.

The heat and the long ride from the day before was beginning to take it's toll.

Fortunately there were some small trees that offered some relief from the heat.

There's nothing like the wide open spaces to clear your head and make you appreciate the freedom that riding a motorcycle gives you. Wow!

After taking in many miles of beautiful scenery, I decided to loop back around to Moab for some real food and refreshment.

These two Harley riders were the only other people that I saw in more than 2 hours.

Even though I prefer a better mix of dirt and pavement, Utah has some amazing scenic highways.

The famous "Hole in the Rock" shop. I rarely stop at the local tourist traps and continued on towards Moab.

I love to ride, and there's no better scenery than the Southwest.

Arriving in downtown Moab.

I thought about getting a room and spending the night, but I had come to ride and decided to jump on I-70 and head home.

The trip turned out to be about 1130 miles . I could have taken many more photos along the way, but on this trip I just wanted to focus mainly on the ride. There are still many places in this area that I want to do some off road riding on my lighter XR250. The ride home was uneventful except for some heavy rain showers in the mountains and the usual horrible traffic trying to get through Denver. I never get enough of the Moab area and will be back next year.

www.ronpetitt.com

Colorado highway 133 is one of the most scenic paved rides in the state.

Nothing left of the Paonia Drive-In but the sign. The land is now being developed into a residential neighborhood. Another part of history being dismantled due to lack of interest...how sad. When I was a kid, I loved going to the drive-in.