AzLadyBiker

Moab Photo Album

Sections: Preparation, Road Trip, Moab, Utah,  Where/What is Cisco? And MOO!, ,  “Fire that bitch up and ride!” – day of lessons,  Driving through town: The Donut Mashup,  

Still to come:

6. Interesting People I met:

7. Arches and Canyonlands

1: Preparation

I had been longing to take a motorcycle tour up to Moab, Utah and surrounding area. I’ve taken several solo road/camping trips via car but not on the bike without a vehicle carrying all my stuff. Being the overly analytical person that I am, I had to carefully research and plan how to execute this.  My biggest “worry” was not going alone or breaking down; rather how to get what I needed all on to my Harley: Stella. Yes, I named my motorcycle and I refer to “her” affectionately by name. We are in this adventure together and she is my trusted iron horse.

I was already familiar with the beauty of Utah via Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon and Scenic Byway 12.

I found a nice article online that described specific motorcycle touring routes to ride in the Moab area. Aha!  Exactly what I needed!

So, I picked the brain of my friend, Shelley and others on how to pack up Stella and what to take. Now, mind you, I am used to camping in “tent luxury” via car. I take it all: a gravity recliner chair, a stadium chair, a large well insulated cooler, the kitchen sink, large tent, stove, and on and on.

So, I had to downsize, which meant buying more gear just to get smaller!  I bought a Coleman 2-person tent. ( I have found Coleman tents to be very economical, practical and sturdy) . I bought another smaller self-inflating air mattress from REI. I had to give up about 2 inches of thickness. I bought yet another portable chair. I wanted one with some upper back support and found one online that was easy to assemble and pack and very comfortable. I bought yet another compact inflatable camp pillow. I bought another sleeping bag – this one is very lightweight and folds up very compact.  I bought a couple of compact camp towels.  I found a really great luggage carrier to put on the backseat that holds a LOT. Packed full, it also serves as a backrest for me.

Then I got some bungee cords and tie down straps.  By golly, I was gonna make sure nothing fell off or came loose!

After some practice in my garage, I got Stella all loaded up.

2. Road Trip

The entire route to Moab was 462 miles. The most I had done on Stella in a day was 352 and that one wore me out. So, I opted to divide the drive into 2 days. No reason to be in a hurry or push myself beyond comfort and safety. I made a reservation at a motel in Bluff, Utah for my first night. I started my journey bright and early on Tuesday morning. I was on the road at 5:54am. The ride up was nice, cool, not too much traffic and no incidents. I got to the Cameron Trading Post by 11:00 and was ready for lunch. Well, they weren’t quite ready to serve lunch yet.  But I was able to order some Arizona Style Eggrolls off the appetizer menu. Oh Yum!!! Those were great and all I needed.

I was not looking forward to the next segment of the ride as it was across Reservation and to  my understanding desolate and windy. But the ride to Kayenta, Az was not bad. I found it more scenic than I had imagined and the wind was not terrible. As I turned off from Kayenta to go through Monument Valley, that is where the magic really began.  I’ve been called a “Sap” for crying at beauty, but that is ok. Funny thing, I cry more easily out of joy, awe, gratefulness than I do out of sorrow or grief. I hold the bad stuff in but I will tear up spontaneously out of joy and awe. And that is what I did a few times on this trip. The first time was approaching Monument Valley. Came around a curve and saw the majestic formations ahead of me and I just couldn’t hold back the tears. My lip was quivering and my mind was praising God for his creation and beauty.

I arrived in Bluff by early afternoon and found it to be a nice little motel. No frills, but clean, friendly and just what I needed. Adjacent to a gas station/convenience store/deli.  I got settled into my room and then went ½ mile down the road to the local steak house. I don’t think they knew what to do with a single biker lady wanting to dine alone.  They obviously had to save the big tables, so they got a chair and kind of put me in a little corner. Ok, no big deal. Not a big place and soon the other tables were full of families and groups. I enjoyed a nice BBQ baby back rib dinner, a couple glasses of wine and then back to the motel.

3. Moab, Utah

Wednesday morning I had some oatmeal and a boiled egg from the free breakfast bar and sat outside with a nice view.

 

Time to ride to Moab where I had a reservation at the KOA campground.

Just outside of Moab, there was a scenic pullout for Wilson Arch. So, I pulled over. I had told myself, at the urging of friends, to stop and take pictures every chance I got.  My first arch.  A short hike was required up to the arch, which I opted out of due to being in jeans and motorcycle boots. A fellow traveler offered to take my picture with the Arch in the background. He took 2 pictures of me.  No sign of the arch in either.

LOL.  Oh well. Note: not everyone who offers or agrees to take your picture should.

I got to Moab too early to check in and too excited to stop. So I found the turnoff to Byway 128 which follows the river.  My intent was to ride up that and then GoPro the video of the way back down. It was a nice sort of twisty ride with great views of red rocks and the river. I had been told to stop at Red Cliff Lodge , so I did, hoping for a restaurant lunch inside air conditioning. Well, the restaurant was not open but they told me I could go down to the deck for burgers. I was hungry and well, there was no place else around. So I walked down to the deck where they were having an “all you can eat” “buffet” for $10.50 . Buffet meant hamburger or hot dog with fixings (all you can eat, true).  Not exactly what I was in the mood for, but the location and view was good. And then I realized what was going on. This place hosts rafting adventures and just as I was arriving, a whole bunch of tourist rafters were coming in from the river for their included meal. So, I was kind of, well, really, out of place.  They in their swim attire and dripping and me in my full motorcycle gear. No matter. I had a burger and salad before hitting the road again.

3A- Where/What is Cisco? And MOO!

I wasn’t sure how far up 128 I was supposed to go or where to make the turnaround so I checked Google and it showed a place called Cisco. I figured, oh, a little town. I’ll ride up there, get gas, turn around and come back down and get the video. That area is open range to cattle. And sure enough, I came up over a little hill and there were about 6 cattle hanging out in the road and alongside. So naturally, in the interest of self-preservation; I stopped.  You would think cows would not welcome the sound of a Harley sporting Vance and Hines pipes and honking at them. Hmmppfft.  They just stood there and stared at me annoyingly while chewing their cud. I pulled over to the edge of the road in case someone came up behind me. I wanted to get off and take pictures of them, but it was not really a safe place to be stopped. So, I just honked and inched forward until they decided to let me pass. And I prayed that anyone coming up behind would see them in time just over that crest. I mean, really , they should have considered a safer place to choose to block the road. Or they could end up on the burger menu back at the lodge.

Well, I got to a turnoff to Cisco and there was nothing there. I mean NOTHING.  Not a building or even a big rock. By then I was getting close to needing gas, so I made the decision to go on to I-70 rather than chance it to go back down. I figured: major interstate, must be a truck stop or something close.  Not so much.  The highway speed was 80 and the wind and gusts were bad so I was literally leaning sideways to keep the bike up. And for every 1 mile I went, my “remaining miles” went down by 3. So, I was getting nervous as I saw no signs for services.  But alas, I did come upon a gas station and fueled up with 30 miles (before dividing by 3) left. Note to self: always top off at every chance when in unknown areas.  That hour-long ride back to Moab sucked. I got spit on by rain, which was not a big deal. The cross winds really sucked. But I got back to the campground and checked in and got set up and then enjoyed a nice shower.

4. “Fire that bitch up and ride!” – day of lessonsFor Thursday I decided to go to Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point state park.  I pray every time I get on the bike. I thank the Lord for the beautiful day, my health and ability to ride and for safety and guidance in my travels.  I had already told myself, hoping it would not manifest, to not expect perfection on this trip. I told myself to expect some difficulties, challenges, inconveniences, even bad weather or change of plans. I told myself that no matter what happens, accept it, work with it and trust the Lord. Today was the day that was tested. Kind of a comedy of errors.

   About 30 miles outside of Moab just before the entrance to Canyonlands, I stopped to get some pictures and then continue to the park. Well, I went to start Stella back up and nothing. She would not even try to turn over. I thought, “What the Hell? What happened?”.  Well, I tried and tried ; nothing. Thinking like a car driver, I thought dead battery. WTH?. I just had the 15,000 mile maintenance done before embarking on this trip.  I was gonna give  the service department a piece of my mind when I got home. So I did what any (well maybe not) person in my situation would do: I called my friend Shelley. Thank God for cell service! Shelley and her husband have been riding and working on Harley’s for decades.  I knew I had roadside assistance available but couldn’t help but feel this was something stupid.(turned out my gut was right.) Shelley could only go by what I was telling her. We both concluded it must be the battery had died and I needed a jump. Well, I’ve never jump started a motorcycle before. No clue how. Fortunately, I was smart enough to keep the jumper cables that came with the bike in my saddle bag. So with Shelley on the phone, walking me through, I took the seat off to get a look at the battery. Ok, now we just need a good Samaritan to stop and help. Should be easy, lots of tourists coming by.

   I tried to flag down someone but most drove on by. But one kind of elderly lady did stop and got out of her Prius using her cane to ask me if I needed help. I explained I needed my bike jump started. Well, neither of us had any idea how to hook up a jumper to a Prius. And then I soon discovered that those teeny cables were meant to be hooked up to another motorcycle and were nowhere near long enough to reach a car. So I assured her that I had  plenty of water ( it was getting hot)  and would flag someone else down and sent her on her way.

    

   Then a young lady named Amy, stopped and offered to help, but same thing, no way to hook up to a car. She happened to work for the park service so she took my phone number and promised me she would go get park law enforcement (LE.) to come back.  About 20 minutes later she called me and told me L.E was on their way.  A few minutes later, Officer Harland pulled up. She was a sweet, petite young lady who was genuinely concerned and wanted to help. She said she had a portable battery charger in her vehicle. Well, she had never used it, so she was reading the owner manual and realized the charger needed to be charged. Hmmmm. She plugged it into her vehicle to charge.

   But then, we could not figure out how to hook it up to the bike. The cables were too thick to fit on my battery. We kept staring at it from all different directions and trying to figure something out.

   Finally, I said, I think the only hope is to have it towed or get a motorcycle to stop and help.

   Well, wouldn’t ya know it, no bikers came along. So she drove down the road to the Visitor Center and embarked on a mission to find a biker who would be willing to come help . Meanwhile,  I  called Harley Davidson Roadside assistance and started arranging for them to send a tow truck. Soon she came back with a young man on a dirt bike.  He pulled up and hooked his bike up to Stella. Still nothing. WTH?!  And then , the Aha! moment where the major lesson was learned.  He (I’m so sorry I don’t recall his name)  said he really believed it was the security system and not the battery. The flashers were working and then it kept asking me to enter a pin.  Well, I didn’t know how to enter a pin. I mean, Stella is really cool and had a lot of features, but alas, she did not come with a keyboard or number keys.  So back on the phone to Shelley. She explained how to use the turn signals to enter numbers. After a few attempts, realized I don’t know my pin. So I did the next logical thing and called the Harley dealer back home. She told me the default pin. I tried that and Voila!  Stella started right up!!!  After about 2 hours and all of that, it was the security system. Well, why the hell did the security system decide to get so persnickety right then?  Later, realized the battery in the key fob must have died.  So, I rode back into town and after 2 stores, found the right battery and was back in business. 

   Lessons learned: Understand my bike security system, keep a spare fob battery, keep some tools handy. Things I did right: I had plenty of water and snacks and sunscreen. I had a cell phone  and had been letting Shelley know my location and plans  along the way. I had roadside assistance. And I had my firearm in case some psycho headed to a National park tried to kidnap or rob or otherwise take advantage of me me.   😮

5. Driving through town: The Donut Mashup

Moab, Utah is a cute, very busy little tourist town.  The speed limit through town is  30 mph and a lot of traffic. I was more “concerned” about my safety going through town than on the open road. A lot of tourists, distractions and cars pulling in and out of the main street. So I was extra alert for cars that might pull in front of me. At one point, I saw this little old car pull out in front of me and start down the street. Thankfully I kept my distance because what happened next was a near disaster.  Suddenly a white box thing flew off the top of the car and was bouncing around in my path. I did not know what that thing could be but decided I didn’t want to hit it. As I swerved to avoid this mysterious cargo that was flying at me, suddenly, donuts came flying at me.  And I recognized the box as from Krispy Kreme donuts.  So, yes, I almost got pelted with Krispy Kreme donuts.  And I laughed and felt bad for the office co -workers who were not going to get their morning donuts. No, I did not stop for a free snack.

Still to come:

6. Interesting People I met:

7. Arches and Canyonlands