Another day, another early start. It's easy for us because -
A. - We are still very excited to get out and see things we have never seen
B. - Our internal clocks are still on Central time, which buys us an extra hour
Well maybe not that easy. Cheryl is in bad need of some coffee!
This is day 4 of our 12 day (at least) adventure. In some ways it feels longer because we are so far from home and in surroundings so different from what we are used to. In other ways, it seems like just yesterday that we left.
Today I am especially excited to visit 2 places - Monument Valley, and the Grand Canyon. I've seen pictures of Monument Valley and know that it is often visited by traveling riders such as Neil Pert of Rush who wrote the book Ghost Rider.
I've had a fascination with the Grand Canyon since I was a kid. My family really didn't travel too much. As I get older, I feel a need to explore and see the planet that I inhabit. I am fully aware that I am preaching to the choir here. I have been a lot of places around the world, but I thought it foolish to not visit amazing places right in my own back yard. I was once humbled by a client from Africa who was amazed that I had never been to New Jersey. He said I live in such an amazing country. Why on earth have I traveled to Argentina, but not New Jersey?? At the time I thought, hell, I think I can live my entire life without seeing New Jersey. But, after awhile his words and meaning sunk in. New Jersey Is now on my list as well as every other state that I have not been to. In fact, by the end of next summer I intend to have all 50 under my belt. But, not before really cool stuff like the Grand Canyon!
Many travelers showed up after we arrived. The motel was booked weeks ago, so book early if you want to stay in Mexican Hat. These probably belonged to folks heading to Sturgis -
The sun rises over the mountains behind us -
Sunrise is a perfect time to enter Monument Valley from the east. There were many people pulled alongside the road taking pictures. This is Hwy 163 -
There are a few travelers on the road (It is Saturday after all), but not many. An early morning photo op -
And time for an homage to Ghost Rider. (Ok....so he took his pick coming in from the other direction.....)
Back on the road. It's an amazing area. You want to ride here -
Lots of critters that can wreck your day if you aren't careful. We saw wild horses everywhere -
The sun is getting a little higher and the temps warming quickly - but still not hot.
I'm glad for the lazy curves in the road. I want to look at the scenery. The buildings are a small town in the middle of nowhere.
The red earth gives way to more subdued tones as we move west out of Monument Valley -
The white pillars were a hint to the color change we would experience as we rode into the day -
We followed a giant cursive signature off black on a sheet of white desert -
Looking back, it seemed like we were on that road for days. But all of the sights pictured above were seen by 9 a.m. When you're in the moment it flies by. But in memory, it lasts forever. These are the things that someday, when we're old, sitting in a chair and staring out the window, we will be thinking of. Our grand children will think we're having some sort of fugue state. But, maybe one of them, who shares our spirit of adventure, will ask - "What are you thinking about?" And maybe they will even listen to how we roamed the earth.
We stopped in Arrowhead to gas up the bike and ourselves. We pulled into a McDonalds where there was a line of 7 or 8 CVO Harleys all lined up. Our dirty, plain Jane Ultra looked like a 5 dollar ***** parked next to a line of high end call girls in custom paint and chrome. They had all the CVO doo-dads (yeah, and that big motor which I would be wishing I had the very next day) that add about 13k on top of what I paid for my bike. Nice, but not my bag. We noticed, to our surprise, that they were sporting Wisconsin manufacturers plates. It was an easy guess that some Harley big shots were out for a ride, again, probably on their way to Sturgis. We grabbed some coffee and a cinnamon roll and ate outside. Soon, the Moco guys strolled out and went to their bikes. Cheryl, an extrovert, walked over and chatted. I was more interested in getting the much needed caffeine in my blood stream, the lack of which, probably didn't make me the bubbly, "Howdy Pardner" kind at that particular time. Turns out they flew into AZ and picked up their decked out rides, which would explain how clean they were. And they were, as guessed, on their way to Sturgis. They were a friendly group of guys. Two of them worked for HD, and the other guys were on a rolling holiday provided by HD. Nice to have the right friends! Chery mentioned the beauty of the CVO paint jobs (they were pretty damned impressive) to which the head guy responded to me that I should buy one. Yeah.....right. I said I would, but then I would have to hire someone to keep it as squeeky clean as his was. I was hoping it came off as a friendly poke, but truth be told, I thought he was a bit of a dick for saying that vs thanking me for buying the, not at all inexpensive, 2011 Ultra that we were on. Again, lack of caffeine makes me a bit cranky. I somewhat recovered with a laugh and a smile, as well as some praise for their rides. They rolled out and we all wished each other safe trips. I'm not sure what route they were taking, but I hope it was through Monument Valley. It would be a shame to miss that.
We fueled up the bike and headed west on Hwy 160 again. If you look at 160 on a map, it covers a lot of ground. After the spectacular Monument Valley, we were not so much inspired to snap off a lot more pics. We were saving that for the next big milestone of the ride that day - the Grand Canyon.
Love the pics!!!!! Keep posting!!! This keeps me going in the winter, when the ice and snow are piled up. I LOVE that trip! One more thing: I appreciate that you bought the bike you did. Ride on!
Beautiful pics! Can't wait to see more! My husband and I were out west from mid-June until Mid-August. Hit the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Four Corners, Shiprock, among others. We may have passed you on the road!
09-03-2011, 10:37 PM
