I Wanna Sleep with You in the Desert Tonight with a Billion Stars All Around

It has been a year since our 10,000 mile trip to the Arctic Ocean & back to Arizona.
I was a little surprised when Helen asked if we could do another ride together.





With only 5 days for the trip, I planned a much shorter route.
Taking it easy is not normal for me. What will we do with ourselves with short riding days?





Helen loves to hike, and I can tag along for the photo opportunities.





I know a few places, not to far away...





...where we can enjoy a laid back trip.











Stick around while I share a few photos and tales from...

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I'll bet Helen was waaay impressed climbing up the Mokee Dugway.....I did it last year on my DL1000 pulling the new Bushtec trailer and was puckered a little most of the trip up......having seen all this country you are riding in color, your black and white photography is striking, as usual. Tell us again what you are shooting with.....I'm in the market for a new digital camera and could use the consult....

I'm in.

Mike

It took all morning to get the bike loaded and ready to go.




It was afternoon and in the triple digits when we finally head north out of town.











The heat and Interstate boredom has me playing around with the camera already.










We had lunch in Flagstaff and...





head north across the Navajo Nation.





Passing Elephants Feet


















Approaching Agathla Peak north of Kayenta, Hel captures me fumbling with my camera.





Agathla Peak



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Oh yeah!

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We blast through Monument Valley.​

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This is the spot Forrest Gump ended his cross-country run.​

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I get busy taking pictures for the Motorcycles in HDR thread.​

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Helen takes pictures of me taking pictures.:huh​

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She's a little excited.​

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Very nice.
I am hoping to have the money saved for a 990 by Christmas.
Until then I must live vicariously through posts such as yours and satisfy my riding lust with my Husky 449.
Great pics

Awesome pics!

I recall riding the same road north out of Kayenta, Az. and seeing the picture in my head of Hanks stopping his run. ! kept checking my rearview til I knew I was close to the spot. Kinda cool to find it. After a brief respite we carried on up to Twin Rocks, Ut. Gawd how I love riding out west!!!

We roll into Southern Utah and down the hill...​

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...where we cross the San Juan River into Mexican Hat.​

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The scenery just keeps improving.​

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I've been here many times, but it is still stunning.​

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We turn down Valley of the Gods Road and encounter our first and only water crossing.
(It is really just a puddle, but water crossing sounds more adventurous.)​

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I have to keep stopping for photos.​

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I probably take to many photos. I hope you don't mind.​

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Thank you, and have a great time!

Some times I think I know you;
As a lover and a friend.
Then I get this whispering in my other ear;
I may never see you again...

Great song for the roads we ride. Great lesson too, on the women we love. Cause we're already standin'... on the ground

Really nice photography, look forward to more.

ldr, I'm shooting with an Olympus PEN EPL-1 Micro Four Thirds mirrorless for the riding shots and much of the daytime stuff. I am also using a Pentax K-5 DSLR with four lenses. Helen is shooting with an old Panasonic TZ5 point-n-shoot. The batteries for that ran out after 1.5 days, so we shared the Olympus. Haven given you the rundown, I would also say the camera doesn't matter much (Except for some of the night sky shots that were captured at ISO 10,000!). It is hard to buy a bad digital camera nowadays. The post-processing is the big difference.


I'm so happy to see larryboy, klaviator, Pantah and iDave have joined me for another one!

flya172, Thanks for waiting 3 years to give me your first post ever!

Thanks for coming along, Way Far, bemiiten, RTODAHL01 (I was an RTO in a past life), & lrgart

There will be more, PacificPT.

Thanks Everyone!

"I probably take to many photos. I hope you don't mind."

too many pictures!! I am in heaven right now!! I have got to do this ride one day!! who knows when!?? really enjoying your pictures and ride report.. keep it coming!

Great photos, as always. Looking forward to more.

We find a nice spot for the tent. Helen goes to work...





...while I walk around in circles with the camera.





It looks like she could use some help...





Monument Valley is visible in the distance.





Easy





I crawl out of the tent around midnight to a perfect night sky. The moon had set. There were only the stars.





I did not add the green and purple streaks. I'm wondering if it was created by Northern Lights this far south?










I've got a peaceful easy feeling...







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Another EPIC dave report! AWESOME!!

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360 Degree View​

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Up at sunrise, we pack quickly and are on the road early.​

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We get to ride the rest of Valley of Gods Road.​

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The idea for this photo was shamelessly stolen from Questor, who did it years ago. It's not even the first time I copied it.
We were riding along when I saw Helen had the camera out, so I flipped her off.​

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A little washboarded at times, but nothing like we'll see later today.​

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We rode down the hill to the extreme left side of the photo and have all of the fun stuff to the right to ride still.​

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