Dam Tour SW Day 5

The night before I stayed in the Hotel Nevada in Ely, Neveda - highly recommended. It is a building with a lot of history and it is very nice.  The giant four post bed with a very good mattress was appreciated.

I was on the road by 7:00am to avoid the morning chill and my timing was perfect.

I decided to head to Capitol Reef National Park today and camp out.  I have all the gear I need and yet not one day of camping.  Grrr....


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The reason for this route was to ride Utah Hwy 21 and Hwy 12.  One was great the other mostly a bust.

My first stop was for a photo op near Great Basin National Park.  I spent some time at Great Basin in 2005 so I didn't want to stop this time.  I suggest visiting the Lehman Caves and riding up to the end of the paved road for great views of Wheeler Peak.  I didn't want to do these activities again even though the Lehman Caves is spectacular.  So today I simply took a photo of Wheeler Peak from the road.

Wheeler Peak, Nevada.  Look half way down the mountain on he right and you can see a sliver of the moon setting.

Here is another photo looking back behind me.  This is typical of scenery in the Great Basin.

I enter Utah and take a self portrait.

The I see this sign and have to turn around and take a photo.  Beaver County, yeah right.  I have seen towns named Beaver but the whole darn county?  And to top it what self respecting beaver could make a living here?  Where is the water and trees to make a nice home to keep the beaver happy?  Most natural features in Utah are appropriately named.  From what I can see here they missed the mark on this one.

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The reason I wanted to ride Utah Hwy 21 is to take this picture.  Dig this crazy road.

Then it is on to Red Canyon where I took this photo.

In 2005 I went for a hike in Red Canyon and found Fred Flintstone's easy chair.

Please visit my web site for more photos from Red Canyon.

I was on Highway 12 and was really jacked about it.  Along this road is a concentrated collection of geological wonders, including Bryce Canyon National Park, Red Canyon and Calf Creek Falls.  I hiked Calf Creek in 2005 and took this photo.

The only thing missing from this amphitheatre was Led Zeppelin.

Calf Creek Falls

Back on Hwy 12 there is this Hogsback and more jaw dropping scenery.

Hogsback on Utah Hwy 12 - photo shot in June 2005 - not much has changed.

Hwy 12 was visually appealing as always.  The road surface was very tricky with an abundance to tar snakes.  I spoke with a fellow rider in later in the day.  He travels out this way yearly and said this year was the worst he has seen.  I was happy to do the speed limit here and in other twisty sections.  It was simply  too risky to exceed the speed limits which I found quite low.  PS the roads are well patrolled.

I arrived at Capitol Reef National Park to find the campground full.  So I ended up at the Best Western @ $77 per night and for that I get this view from my room and all the comforts of home.  Tomorrow will be an off bike day - a little hiking, photography a coffee shop and hot tub are on my agenda.

The End.