My mistake, but glad we can put that out there

 

It rained during the night and was still cloudy. We took our time getting ready to go downstairs to breakfast in the hotel here in Page, AZ. It was a great breakfast and there were tons of folks enjoying it since this is a holiday weekend. Throughout this trip we have really enjoyed chatting with people from other states and countries. Many of us have traveled long distances from home....... We dried the bikes off and packed, then headed out, stopping briefly to get photos of Glen Canyon Dam and then again to get fuel. We hit highway 98, a rough road with lots of hills and sweeps. I was already cold and we would get a spit of rain here and there. After about 55 miles we turned onto 160 and then another turn after that onto 163 and the "monuments" began to appear. The clouds were becoming more ominous now and rain began to hit us hard. My hands and feet had frozen long ago. Finally we came to the turn for the Monument Valley visitor center. It was a tricky turn across the wet cattle gap and David told me he just about dropped J. Otis (his bike). We slowly crept forward in the line to pay the entrance fee. Our national park decals were not honored here since this is a Native American park. We found a parking place and covered the bikes with some plastic bags. Inside I was able to warm up some. Got some shopping done and I was able to get some good photos of the "Mittens." Most photos I see are taken on sunny days. These with the clouds were unique. When we departed, it was raining pretty steady. David led us the 20 something miles to Mexican hat. It was miserable, but I had to smile at one point when I looked in my rear view and saw the famous Monument Pass. I had put the camera away because of the rain, so that shot will have to wait until a return trip. We climbed and descended, turned right and left over and over. We couldn't find the restaurant that I wanted to eat at in Mexican Hat, so we pressed on to Blanding, Utah. When I was planning this trip, I had considered doing Moki Dugway, but we decided even before the rain that we would skip that. The rain really sealed that decision. We were truly miserable when we reached Blanding and fueled up. We found a convenience store/bowling alley/fast food place to grab a bite and warm up. I didn't think I would ever thaw. I even almost dropped Clyde in the parking lot because the cold made me make a spastic move. The rain subsided and we headed back out feeling much better. The sun even peaked out, but I was starting to get chilly again as we started climbing. The road, 95, was great with lots of curves. I had my cold weather gloves on, so I had left the camera packed away. We climbed to 7110 feet and I wanted to cry. I want to be warm!!! I'm from Mississippi!! Eventually we came down and I pulled over to change gloves and get the camera. We were in some gorgeous canyon country and the sun and clouds were perfect with the colorful landscape. We continued towards Hanksville, in awe of the beautiful scenery. Wonderful sweeping road through the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It was starting to rain again as we reached Hanksville at the Whispering Sands Motel. We got in our nice little cabin and turned on the heat. After relaxing a bit, we walked next door to Stan's Burger Shack for a bite. Nothing to rave about there for sure, but at least we were full. It was a tiring day, but so worth it to see all of that beautiful scenery. God is good!!! Day 8 mileage was 336 miles.

 

Glen Canyon Dam at Page, Arizona.




We were passed by a large group.




More European tourists.

 

 

Highway 95 west of Blanding

 

Near Glen Canyon Recreation area.

 

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.




Colorado River




Took this one over my shoulder!!!

 

What did you use to take pictures while riding?

 

Here's the pic of Monument Valley you missed. You can tell folks it's yours.

 

I had my Nikon point-and-shoot hanging around my neck. When cruise control is on, it's easy to just.......point and shoot😊 Take a lot of pics and some are bound to turn out okay.