2009 STN National Meet Day 7


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Day 7: Gunnison, CO to Green River, UT There was a little bit of sadness as the Gunnison Inn parking lot emptied out. However, we were merely starting our two-week road trip, so we were preparing our routes through Utah, Nevada, and California. This next leg would take us near Telluride, CO, famed off-road destination, and then take us through Moab, the ultimate off-road destination. This was the only day when we wished we had more off-road capable bikes. For example, there was a shortcut through Arches National Park that was marked "4WD only", but it looked passable for a GS. The views through Colorado were stunning including Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Paradox Valley, a high desert with ranches and B&Bs. We passed many empty miles with only buttes and snow-capped mountains for company. Once in Utah, we stopped at the Hole in the Rock to see some very unusual sights. These guys were very bored and made hilarious sculptures from metal scrap. Moab is normally a desert, but we rode through during some torrential downpours. Even the river bridge was flooded! Trucks passing in the opposite direction managed to splash our helmet visors. Five miles later, the road was dry. Craziness. Sometimes, it's better to just keep riding out of the nasty weather, rather than waiting it out. Arches National Park has a 20 mile road to the end of the park, so we figured that it was a half hour in and a half hour out. Four and a half hours later, we hiked to several arches. At one hiking location, we met McGuyver (Jason) and chatted with a couple in a car. The driver had been out to Arches on his bike a year earlier to the GTS convention. This time, he brought along his wife in a rental car, and his long conversations about bikes made it clear that he would prefer to be on two wheels. Before dark, we rolled into Green River, Utah. The Super 8 was next to a Burger King, but we didn't want to settle for that. At the recommendation of the locals, we headed to Ray's Tavern. This town looked like a ghost town; some gas stations looked brand-new, but they were closed. The beer came from a Salt Lake City brewery, and the beer glass had both the name of the tavern and the brewery on it. Mary haggled with the wait staff, so we took it home for the bargain price of $3. Back to the motel, we discovered that the sign "WiFi, new beds, and pool" was all true. The beds were the best ones we had slept in so far on this trip.	View Larger Map Colorado buttes Paradox Valley Corners in Colorado with beautiful weather Goodbye Colorado Hello Utah, land of skiing and arches Hole in the Wall - Jeep Hole in the Wall - Bull Hole in the Rock - Bikes Arches National Park Balancing Rock Double Arch Double Arch Double Arch Buttes Delicate Arch Amazing landscape at Arches Redbird and Chili at Arches National Park Spork and Mary at Arches National Park Onto 2009 STN National Meet Day 8...
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