Finally getting around to posting some shots of a San Diego to Durango to Zion trip I took June 17-June 27....
Left San Diego on a Friday, straight shot to Phoenix, nothing of value to report...it was long, hot, straight...had fantasies of just letting the bike creep up to 150+mph but held it in check. Thank you Throttlemeister and earbuds.
Saturday, June 18th, rode from Phoenix to Durango, about a 475 mile day. Started North from Phoenix towards Prescott Valley, grabbed HWY 89A...NICE road...fun ride, had lunch in this cool artsy town called Jerome. Reminded me a bit of Europe, narrow winding road through a town built on the side of a hill. Couple of pictures below.
Just a random corner on 89A.
Stopped for lunch in Jerome
Then off to Durango, not much joy after Jerome, as the road through Sedona to Flagstaff was SUPER congested.
This sign entering Colorado from the 4 corners area always cracks me up.
I had a cabin, picture below, at the Lone Wolf Lodge & Cabins on Vallecito Lake, about 20 minutes from Durango.
Monday morning, June 20th, I had signed up for an 8am tour at Mesa Verde National Park for something called a 700 Year Tour. Tour was set for 4+ hours, I initially regretted the 8am start as my cabin was almost 2 hours away from where the tour took off, but as the day got hotter and hotter (at 9500 feet), I was glad I was not doing the hiking in the afternoon heat. Here are a few shots of the park, hard to do it much justice with a cell phone camera, but definitely worth visiting...and the road INSIDE the park is FANTASTIC! (And did you know any ticket you get in a National Park does NOT show up on your driving record?!? I do, ask me how I know, although not on this trip haha)
Canyon view
Bit of a hike down to the Cliff House, but pretty cool to see!
Road inside park is fun!!!
Channeling Valentino Rossi on my travels...I swear, I am almost as fast!
Next Day I rode Hwy 550 North from Durango (Million Dollar Highway), first to Silverton for a bit to eat. Another great ride, smooth road, lots of passing opportunities, too many beautiful spots to take pictures, but having done it 7 or so times, I slacked, sorry.
Up top view of Silverton...
And street level Silverton
Stopped for lunch at Handlebars Saloon, some pics of that below...
Then, pushed off towards Ouray...
And then on to Telluride....couldn't pass up this mountain lake view...
Hit a bit of a rain storm on the way to Telluride...
Rode back on the 145 towards Cortez and eventually back to Durango, but there were a bunch of cool bridges over the Dolores river, had to stop for that photo opp...
Next day finally had a chance to get on the lake and try to fish out dinner!
Just over 3lbs of raw fish
Note to self, bring a sharp knife next time...the knives in the cabin were NO bueno!
Still, damn good dinner that night, thanks mom for teaching me how to cook!
Then, roughly a 400 mile ride to Zion National Park. Gorgeous views, got fairly lucky with very little traffic, so only stopped to take pictures when I caught up to someone, but here are a few.
Quick plug for a cool little motel (almost like a bunch of duplexes) called Canyon Ranch Motel. Cheap, walking distance to everything and had pool and hot tub!
Walked to a sushi place called Baby Sumo for dinner, NICE views from their patio below...great food too!
Stopped by Laughlin on the way home to try and win enough money to keep riding, but that part of the trip failed completely...unless you count being extra motivated by dwindling bank account to go back to work. Still, great trip, bike performed absolutely flawlessly. Kawasaki Power!
Cheers!
