This was our seventh annual ride of a group of friends that get together to enjoy the road, camaraderie, food, and the scenic beauty of this great nation. It is named Dirty Monkey due to one of the rider’s grandsons asking that we take his Dirty Monkey hand puppet wit us . The Monkey has made friends across the Western US, and added a lot of laughs along the way. One of our riders,Terry, is a very talented guy and has created a logo for our rides. This year the ride was 9 days, 2700 miles, seven states and a few beers on the way to Yellowstone National Park and back to Flagstaff. We even had 2 ADV bikes in the group but any bike seems to create its own adventure. Hope you enjoy this report. On my last day of work I ran into Terry practicing his beer drinking in preparation for the up coming ride. He was traveling up from Southern Az, while another part of the group was trailering across from WV & KY. View attachment 1892512 Terry and his first but not last brew of the ride Todd, Dirty Monkey and Bob on their way across country Most of the group is assembled and ready to ride After the traditional huge breakfast at The Place in Flagstaff Day 1- Flagstaff AZ to Cortez CO Back across the Navajo Reservation but a different route this year. We traveled across it to Chinlle and made a stop at the Canyon De Chelly (shay) National Monument. It has a lot of historical and spiritual significance for the Navajos. Spider Rock, home of Spider Woman in the Navajo culture White House cliff dwellings The route then took us through the scenic and twisty sections of the Lukachuka Mountains on the way to Shiprock NM and Cortez CO
Day 2 - Cortez CO to Grand Junction CO We stayed at a little funky hotel in Cortez which is always fun. The ride took us up into the mountains and to Telluride. Cooler here than crossing the Rez. Near Lizard Head Pass Telluride Riding the Gondola And learned that Todd is claustrophobic! Smugglers where the boys had to sample the home brews One of the best roads I have ridden is CO 141 into Grand Junction. Non stop scenery and the only way I will travel to Grand Junction in the future. It should be ranked as one of the best.
Day 3 - Grand Junction CO to Rock Springs Leaving out of Grand Junction we were looking for breakfast in Fruita CO on a Sunday morning. My throttle cable broke a few blocks from our pancake stop. Harley shops are closed on Sunday and Mondays and this threatened to side track our trip for a couple of days. Fortunately a bicycle shop was opening and we were able to rig a brake cable to work. It took about an hour to McGiver the cable to the Harley. It lasted the whole trip, about 2,000 miles, as Harley has more T-shirt shops than service along our intended route. It was the Monkey’s idea to use a bicycle brake cable as my throttle cable. He is the brains of the bunch. Back on schedule we met up with Brian our 6th Rider who rode over from Salt Lake City on his new Africa Twin. Great roads took us up the west side of the Flaming Gorge Rams resting in the shade
Day 4 - Rock Springs WY to Montpelier ID We traveled down the east side of the Flaming Gorge to the dam, and then west for a stop at historic Ft. Bridger. Ft Bridger Not sure how many times in this trip that we went in and out of Utah, but it is such a scenic state that it didn’t matter. Our route then turned north and along Bear Lake near Garden City UT Montpelier ID is a small town who had the misfortune to be robbed by Butch Cassidy and his group of outlaws. There is a museum and historical markers to commemorate the event. A deputy tried to catch the outlaw horsemen on a bicycle but lost that race. I planned on using the bicycle to finish the trip if my patched throttle cable did not hold. Nearest HD service was ID Falls, and would take us off course.
Day 5- Montpelier ID to West Yellowstone Up to Yellowstone took us through Jackson WY, and a stop at the famous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Then it was through the Grand Teton National Park. Road construction halted us but the view made the wait worthwhile. Saw an unusual sign that instructs the proper use of a toilet. Too funny, but true! Made it to Yellowstone and Old Faithful was ready to put on a show! Then it was on to our hotel and a great BBQ dinner at Firehole BBQ
Old Dudes Matter from this site had totaled his HD a few weeks before this trip. He rode his BMW GS, but added his highway pegs from the HD to make it a hybrid BMW/HD ADV bike. We did this a few weeks ago August 23rd to 31st. Weather was good but a warm spell made crossing the Rez hot in both directions.
Day 6 - West Yellowstone MT to Lander WY More of the Park was in store for us on this day. Entering the park, we had not seen any wild life, but today the elk, pronghorn, and bison were more visible as we traveled to the east side of the park. We include a section on the Chief Joseph Highway and it was awesome. Unfortunately we blew past the Dead Indian over look. It was getting to be lunch time and the boys were in search of food and beer. I should have stopped for a few pics, but it is hard to catchup when the guys are in search of beer. Todd and I did take in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. It has several sections to it but the firearms museum is unbelievable. We spent more time there than expected but again it is something not to be missed. This caused us to travel to Lander later into the evening and it was dark when we arrived at the hotel. The front faring of my bike was totally covered in bugs that were thick as we traveled across Wyoming at night
Day 7 - Lander WY to Rifle CO This day was mostly putting in road miles working our way south towards home. The was Monkey was making friends along the way. In Rifle the boys were skeptical about me treating them to dinner at a Polish restaurant, but after some pirogies and kielbasa sausage they agreed it was really good and something different. Day 8 - Rifle CO to Durango CO. More great roads took us to Durango, the last overnight of this trip and several previous ones. Million Dollar Highway is always spectacular and this year the light traffic allowed for us to enjoy the views as well as the twisty curves. We did not realize that the Four Corners Rally was going on in town. The place was full of bikes and bikers. It was a good way to close out our ride. Day 9 - Durango CO to Flagstaff AZ We had to skip our traditional last breakfast at the Durango Diner, thinking it would be too crowded. We grabbed a good breakfast back in Cortez at Pipos. Make sure you order the chocolate milk with the whipped cream, Todd didn’t full appreciate it and comment led on it to the waitress. She was a gem and had heard it all before, she would not take his grumpy attitude that early in the morning and told him to relax. We scooped up the whipped cream for him, and rode him about it the rest of the hone. It was the last day on the road. Where had time gone, and how could a trip we looked forward to be over so quickly? It was a great time with good food, roads, friends, and memories. Temps reached Just over 100 as we crossed the Navajo Reservation. We took a longer fuel break in Cameron just to cool off and hydrate before continuing home to Flagstaff. My makeshift throttle cable had held the entire trip. It was an amazing, and maybe an epic ride, but the Monkey and the guys are already hitting me up to plan next year’s trip. Get out and explore this great country no matter what you ride, or where you live. Life and Adventure go hand in hand on a motorcycle.
I was surprised to see that the latest HOG magazine has a short article on it. To me it deserves to be ranked as one of the most scenic roads around. I thought it was different but just as good as Rt 12 in Utah that is ranked as one of the best in the country. Wish I had taken some pictures while riding through it.
