Go West Old Man 2012

That may just be my favorite road in the world. Just a nice, easy ride through some jaw-droppingly ridiculously gorgeous scenery.

John

Looks like you had great times out west.

I did, for sure. Technical problems aside, there are no bad times on the motorcycle out west.

John

The road calls and I heed it.



Nice squiggles of gravel..



john

:huh ??

Truly seven, if not the whole of fourteen. Nearby is as nearby does, Qu'est Que C'est? Finale, left hand drinking.

Static bags.

john

OK, WTF??? :huh

DOUBLE WTF??? :huh. :huh

Is this some kinda code, scarysharkface, or are you simply mocking the oddball n00b???

Pls explain...




BTW, Awesome RR!!!

Im IN!

Hey John...hows everything...seems the jeep is still kickin....BTW...if your buddy ever wants to sell that lovely barely used strat...call me!

ha ha!

Jeep's still kicking. In spite of the issues of it being a Jeep, I still love it.

Dicky's poured his soul into that instrument. I imagine there will be nothing left of it if he keeps at it!



On the I-70 end of Buckhorn Draw Road, the signage is pretty darn good..



Nice map with plenty of suggestions for getting lost..



Useful info..



I putz around a bit then hop on the highway and head back toward Green River for lunch and fuel...



John

Great ride report John!

Thanks!



So I heads me outs down the highway toward Hanksville, thinking Little Wild Horse Canyon would be a neat thing to see. I go straight instead of making the turn (people familiar with the area will know what I'm talking about) and head unknowingly back toward I-70 and the same road that eventually becomes Buckhorn Draw Road. Small world. Such as it is, I don't go too far beyond pavement when I encounter an old townsite from the uranium mine days. I look around, drink some water, take a few pics then head on down the road..







It's actually a dashingly-scenic road, but after about 8 miles I realize I'm not where I think I am and turn around.

Finally I navigate my way to Little Wild Horse Canyon, or at least to the parking area..



And head out for a walk..



John

The desert is just, well, awesome. It's its own thing and you either love it or hate it I reckon.







I love this stuff. Caves in Southern Indiana are like this, but underground (duh). So it's pretty neat to experience in broad daylight..



Early on there's blockage, so I have to climb around to proceed..



And proceed I do.





So much to take-in. I wish I knew more about geology..





john

For reasons that escape me, I didn't wear my camelbak and only brought a small bottle of Gatorade with me. I figured I would scope it out, head to Goblin Valley State Park to make my camp for the night (and grab a shower) then come back either later today or early tomorrow. I still should have brought more water than I did, because it's hot and dry and the canyon is not unlike an oven..

I encounter my first significant narrow..



Imagine this slot being blasted with water, debris being blasted through, flying everywhere. Yeah, it's a dry-weather hike..



The canyon turns to this..



and this..





Yeah, right!? Pretty cool to see what sandy water has done to the rock...





I take a sip of water, holding some of it in my mouth (as that seems to help quench my thirst more than if I simply swallow) and am at half-a-bottle. Time to turn around for now. When I come back, I'll bring plenty of water and some food as well.









It is good to be right here, on this day, right now. There is everything to smile about..



John

that's a great line John. I also had a technical issue in Washington this summer but I refused to let it ruin my trip

love your report

thank you

Thank you. Sometimes it's the interruptions that steer the plot, isn't it? It's great to know how it feels to ride a motorcycle through the countryside. People who don't get it, sadly never will.

John

In. I love this quote: "Technical problems aside, there are no bad times on the motorcycle out west"

John

You understand.



Other than the fact that, in this case, it's just one long canyon (not entirely true, as there is an intersection), it's easy to understand how quickly one could become disoriented. It all looks the same, but you move six feet and turn around and it's all new.



Bigfoot was here..



Some familiar sights..



The sun's a little bit lower, shadows a little bit longer...



The first blockage that I came to earlier and had to climb around..





Seems to be a shorter hike on the way out. I guess that's because I know the way..



It's a short ride to Goblin Valley State Park.. I find a spot at the Visitors Center and register a campsite for the night..



John

Camp is setup. They gave me the most remote site in the campground, which while not being very remote is at least in an interesting area and has both shade and some wind protection..



It's nap time and the shadows are getting long, so I'll save my hike of Little Wild Horse Canyon for the morning when it's cool. For now, I'll check out the dirt around the camp site.



Kind of neat. I can only imagine what a complete mess this is when it gets wet..



Looking back the couple hundred feet or less to my camp shelter..





Huh. This doesn't look so good..



I wake up and it's not so good at all. Traipsing back and forth between my shelter and my bike in the rain and through the mud is treacherous. It's slick and sticks to the bottoms of my sandals just like the clay mud we've got in Indiana.



I persevere, get the bike packed and beat feet to Hanksville for a hot breakfast..



John

Thanks!



Breakfast is good and I have a bit of a chat with four guys on big boxers who are headed West. I decide the road to Hite is in my future and depart..

The rain, which had slacked off considerably during breakfast, has practically stopped, so I do as well..



If I thought there was any chance that these roads weren't pure mud...



Mostly light sprinkles right now, but it doesn't look like it's going to clear up anytime soon..





I get going, only to slow down for a gaggle of motorcyclists stopped in the middle of the road to put on their rain gear. They're traveling with a van and an empty trailer. I ask the leader if everything's copacetic and from under his leather he looks at me like I'm from Mars. Given the landscape, I could be..

John

I think I'll tag a long. Lookin' good. Maybe we could hear a little jam
when you get bored?