Author: Oliver

Home to Lake Mead, NV

After our good friends Chad and Jenna saw us off, we started heading west and unfortunately had to do some freeway riding to get out of town quickly. Sunday traffic was light so it wasn’t too bad though US 60 and US 93 were busy since it’s the shortest route from the Phoenix area to Las Vegas.

The route includes a section of high density Joshua trees known as the Joshua Tree Parkway. Though picturesque, we struggled with increasing winds by late morning which only grew stronger as the day progressed and we approached Lake Mead. By the time we made it the Boulder Beach campground wind speed was 20-30mph, making for an interesting time pitching our tent ;-).

Hello F700GS

Diane wasn’t motorcyle-less for very long. Before even selling her old bike she had been going through cycletrader.com and Craigslist listings looking for a late model F700GS. She had contacted GO AZ Motorcycles in Scottsdale about a bike that was listed on their website – unfortunately the site was dated and the bike no longer available. Nonetheless, her sales contact John Murrietta asked her what she was looking for and told her he would keep an eye out.

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Heading back east

After picking up the correct part at the dealer around 11:00 and then installing it, we are ready to get out of Las Vegas even if it means going on I15 with wind gusts up to 20mph. Thankfully, the traffic on the interstate is pretty light and we exit in St. George to go on State Route (SR) 9, then 59 towards Kanab, UT. Leaving Nevada, we enter Utah (St. George) only to head into Arizona on SR 59 which eventually turns back north into Utah. Three states in one day 🙂 .

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Las Vegas, NV

We initially contemplated staying at a Lake Mead National Park campground just east of the city but ultimately decided against it not just because of the high daytime temperatures but also because of the lack of cooler nights.  Las Vegas lies considerably lower than where we were coming from so evening and night time temperatures wouldn’t nearly drop as much as at higher elevation. We didn’t realize just how bad it really was until we walked back from dinner that evening and it was still 102ºF at 19:40! I’m glad we went the hotel route.

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Cathedral Gorge State Park, NV

Having ordered the motorcycle part with overnight delivery to the Las Vegas BMW dealership we headed off towards our next destination – Cathedral Gorge State Park in Nevada. After an overnight low of 45F in Panguitch, the early part of the day through the Dixie National Forest and into Cedar City, UT the temperature was very moderate due to the higher elevation ranging in 6400-7700 feet.  However, as we left the forest and descended into the lower lying Cedar City it started warming up. As you are riding it’s an interesting experience because you can physically feel the air temperature increase as you ride and descend.

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Torrey to Panguitch, UT

We needed good internet access to get caught up on email and our blog. After checking out the available campgrounds we settled on the “Hitch ’n Post” in Panguitch, UT as our destination for the day with plans to head to Cedar Break National Monument the next day. The campground was in the town itself so we could walk to the market and, more important, to the liquor store since we are going through cold beer at a breakout speed – I’m having a hard time keeping up with Diane who seemingly has a hollow leg. 😉

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Capitol Reef National Park

No drive-by tourism for us this time around. We took it upon ourselves to spend some time walking the trails of the park. Why hike you ask? For one, Diane has really been hitting the potato chips hard and she needs the exercise desperately (what a mean and terrible thing to say! – especially since it’s not true. It’s the salted almonds that are doing her in.) . Secondly, it seems that not many people actually walk on the trails so there are no crowds like you encounter at all the pull-outs for photo opportunities. (Not that I’m crowd-averse or anything like that). Finally, you see things (like Cohab Canyon) that are not even visible from the road.

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