2025 Utah Highlights Tour
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John Burton, Organizer
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Lloyd Koppes
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Patrick Stirling
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David Swain
“ 5 Glorious Days and 4 Fun-Filled Nights” the ad said. It was all of that and more.
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1874 miles
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5 National Parks
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1 Navajo Nation Park
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1 Utah State Park
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4 hotels
And we are still speaking to each other.
Ride Log and Highlights:
Monday
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We rolled out from Catalina, heading for Canyon de Chelly near Chinle, Navajo Nation. The famous feature is Spider Rock, a spectacular vertical rock that comes up from the bottom of the Canyon 800 feet. It is an amazing thing to see, and it seems impossible that it could exist.
Tuesday
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Newspaper Rock Utah (there is also one in Arizona in the Petrified Forest) == It’s evident from the pictures that a few features have been added in modern times -- Note the peace sign in the upper right corner, and the scrawlings of unsupervised children who should be beaten with a switch and sent to bed without supper.
Canyonlands National Park, The Needles section.
This is the much-less visited area of Canyonlands, but well worth the time. We got some good shots to share, but we had ground to cover and needed to move on.
Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky section.
Incredible views of the canyons of the Colorado and Green Rivers, which join in the park. An interesting sidelight is crossing “The Neck”, a very narrow isthmus out to the Island. Area ranchers used this narrow strip as a natural gate, moving their cattle out onto the Island in the Sky and closing off the passage until fall, when the cattle would be rounded up and sent to market.
Overnight was at Moab.Lloyd located a good brew pub a couple of blocks down the street, so we had a great meal and excellent beer.
​Wednesday
Arches National Park – I ran up to the park late on Tuesday, just after the gates closed. I was tired and it was hot, but the sun was low and provided some good light for the pictures. We returned before park-opening the next morning (avoiding the long lines)
Of interest: The most famous arch in the park – Delicate Arch (seen on the Utah License plate), is now visible from two viewing areas near the parking lot. There is no substitute for taking the steep, 90-minute hike up to the top to see the arch perched precariously on the edge of its natural bowl, but the new viewing areas make the arch at least somewhat visible to people who can’t make the hike. (Delicate Arch is on the far left in this picture.)
Landscape Arch –The longest natural stone arch on earth (we are told). 306 feet. A significant rock fall from the north (right side) a few years ago has caused great concern about how much longer the arch may continue to stand.
Goblin Valley – No nice way to say it, this was a bust. Miles out of the way, no gas in sight, $10/vehicle for one viewing area, and they refused to discount for motorcycles or a group of 4 vehicles. Patrick wanted to moon them, but we told him it was a felony and they’d keep him there. (OK, not true, just wanted to see if you were reading.)
Bryce Canyon -- Always a highlight of any trip, we found Bryce shrouded in a heavy layer of smoke. With no wind blowing, the smoke was hanging in the canyon. The Ruby’s people run a great operation, with quick seating and generous portions at the restaurant, and service is always good.
Thursday –
Grand Canyon North Rim, Cape Royal -- Leaving Bryce early, a quick breakfast in Kanab, and we were off in a hurry, wanting to get to the North Rim before the heat of the day began to set in.
Cape Royal is a much lesser-known and less-accessible point on the North Rim of the Canyon. It’s a two-hour ride from Kanab, allowing for the occasional buffalo herd that camps on the road or next to it in the park.
Note: The Park Service frowns on moving the buffalo with your cattle prod. The buffalo are not amused, either.
Also note: Buffalo on the road means slick spots. Mind your line.
Get a signal where you can in this country --
We spent an hour walking around the rim of Cape Royal, taking pictures of the many interesting features. It’s really quite a place. I’ve been there a couple of other times, and I’d recommend it to anyone who can take the time.
As we dropped down out of the forest, heading for Page and our last night out, we were reminded that it was still Arizona in June, and a quick water stop would help, but not make it any cooler. We poured some water on our heads and down our backs and put the big engines to work, well in excess of posted speeds. It was a 2.5 hr. ride, and the promise of a cool shower at the end might have been the only thing that kept us going.
Friday – Homeward Bound
Knowing that we were heading home in the heat of the day, we agreed to get moving early. Dave left very early, the other three of us left Page at 0500 with full water bottles, and didn’t spare the horses. Breakfast and our good-byes were at the Payson Airport, where we talked over the week and agreed that a late-September schedule might be a better choice for next time, but otherwise it was a great trip, and we’d do it again in a heartbeat.
John Burton