So there I was rapidly running out of twilight and I spotted a likely field with a few trees and the gate left open and I decided that would do. So I set about turning around on the narrow road... and a local pulls up next to me in a very decrepit farm truck!
I am clearly not "normal" since the bike is far from an ordinary vehicle, but I was riding slowly and looking around a lot to so I guess he knew roughly what I was doing. He asked me what I was looking for and I quickly decided that he was not a threat and told him plainly that I needed somewhere to camp. After a short conversation about where I was from and where I was going and how long I had been in Mexico... He offered to let me stay near his house. I was out of light and options and I figured what the heck, so I accepted and followed his one tail light home.
We drove down a loose dirt road through a creek and up to a decrepit looking little collection of Adobe buildings. As soon as I had switched off the engine, I was virtually surrounded by his family (one daughter, two sons, a brother and his mother). It turned out that Oscar (my savior) had worked in Chicago some time back and his children spoke some English as did he, but his mom didnt - That didnt stop her giving me the once over with questions which I answered in my broken Spanish, and then she proceeded to give me some bits of friendly advice which I only half understood (but it all amused the rest of the family).
So then, there were some more discussions about where I would sleep - I wanted to camp near the buildings and they wanted me to sleep in the house. Eventually we compromised and I set up my tent inside the "compound" formed by the adobe buildings (back yard-court yard) which was just hard dirt. Then we proceeded inside the house and I met Oscar's wife Carmen who was also very friendly.
The inside of the house was not at all like the disheveled and slowly dissolving mud exterior. The walls were plastered and the ceiling lined with stained wood panels, and the floor was polished concrete. There were two rooms - Kitchen and Everything else. The bathroom was a small separate building.
They had a gas stove and a wood fired hot plate - Seems tortillas are much better cooked on a wood fire. On the whole, the house was a very civilized affair and reminded me a lot of growing up on a small farm in SW Western Australia - down to the pot of milk from the family cow in the fridge. We then spent a few hours chatting (mostly in Spanish) about all the sorts of things you would imagine people in this situation would talk about. I had eaten earlier but the family of course insisted that I eat at least something with them. And the family seemed to be quietly getting bigger too - Every now and then a new face or two would appear and another disappear. There were elements of the extended family coming and going through the evening. There were many questions on both sides and one way and another they were all answered and at about 10pm I headed out to bed.
Not long after I lay down, the interruptions started...
First, something was disturbing the fabric of the tent. I lay still for a while trying to figure out what it was. Then I found that it responded to my movements and realized that it was a cat "hunting" the movement of the fabric - Actually there were two of them and they were young and playful and the night was there time to explore :)
After that I nodded off quietly to the sound of the cows grinding their teeth (also in the compound) and assorted other bodily functions of the collective barnyard. Then at about 3am there was more rustling of the tent fabric, but this was different and it was associated with some quiet mewling. I opened up the tent to discover two very small puppies (still wobbly) exploring their way around. It was about zero degrees out there but the puppies seemed fine as they snuffled around and chewed on my fingers and anything else of interest. Soon after that, the rooster started his daily awakening routine and then the chickens started scratching around... and then I got up (since every one else in the yard was up).
Oscar and Carmen insisted that I have some breakfast with them which I did and then I was on my way again, headed South on windy roads in the frosty morning ready for my next little adventure what ever it might be.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Rolling South Again
Well, we didn´t just abandon JL. :)
Ron and I were headed back to Creel to locate the new clutch cable being shipped in (which JL had organised by phone from down in the bottom of Copper Canyon) and also to meet a couple of Ron and JL´s friends who were riding in from California. Once Ron and I had ascended back up into the mountains from Batopilas, we again enjoyed the long windy asphalt road to Creel but at a slightly lower pace (for me anyway). In Creel we located the shop where the clutch cable was meant to arrive and checked in - no cable (more or less as expected).
So we had food and beers and then went to our respective hotels where we each had our gear stored.
The next morning I headed over to Ron´s hotel to see him off (since he had to head back to California ... Well whatever is left of it after the fires). We did another check on the cable and it wasn´t there again, and then we spotted a couple of likely looking riders in the street.
This turned out to be the nefarious Californian friends - Teryk and Andy. There were the usual "Hail Good - Fellow Well Met" greetings and catch up chat and they were appraised of the situation with JL and then Ron rode off into the North.
Andy and Teryk spent the day recovering from their mad dash South from California and working on their bikes (tire changes etc). Then sometime that day the clutch cable did roll up, so all we were missing was JL. We had vaguely expected him to show up the previous evening on the back of a pickup with his bike (he was arranging this when we left him in Batopilas), but he never showed.
But this is Mexico and schedules tend to slip a bit so we expected him again this evening... Again he didn´t show, so we decided to send Andy and Teryk down to get him.
So next morning they rode off and I pottered around the area of Batopilas and hiked around a lake etc. The next day I frittered away again, expecting them all to show up in the early afternoon. They did eventually show up but it was in the evening. It turns out that the new cable was for a different bike and was too short, so they had spent a long time working a temporary solution (JLs KTM now has drooping sports handle bars!) before they rode up the hill. Andy and Teryk had rescued JL just in time though because he was out of money and had to ration himself to a single banana for breakfast.:)
But, they were all safe now anyway and we had dinner and beers and Maragritas and went off to our Hotels.
I had now been in Creel way too long so the next morning I rode South again. I hope to cross paths with these guys again later in my trip (they are all great people) but for now I am riding alone again.
I rode East out of the Sierra Madre mountains and the road was really slow and windy but mostly good quality. I rode all day and got to where I planned but didn´t find a cheap hotel that I could stay at, so I was left riding slowly along the highway in the twilight looking for a place to camp - Oh well, this was nothing new from my time in the USA.
Ron and I were headed back to Creel to locate the new clutch cable being shipped in (which JL had organised by phone from down in the bottom of Copper Canyon) and also to meet a couple of Ron and JL´s friends who were riding in from California. Once Ron and I had ascended back up into the mountains from Batopilas, we again enjoyed the long windy asphalt road to Creel but at a slightly lower pace (for me anyway). In Creel we located the shop where the clutch cable was meant to arrive and checked in - no cable (more or less as expected).
So we had food and beers and then went to our respective hotels where we each had our gear stored.
The next morning I headed over to Ron´s hotel to see him off (since he had to head back to California ... Well whatever is left of it after the fires). We did another check on the cable and it wasn´t there again, and then we spotted a couple of likely looking riders in the street.
This turned out to be the nefarious Californian friends - Teryk and Andy. There were the usual "Hail Good - Fellow Well Met" greetings and catch up chat and they were appraised of the situation with JL and then Ron rode off into the North.
Andy and Teryk spent the day recovering from their mad dash South from California and working on their bikes (tire changes etc). Then sometime that day the clutch cable did roll up, so all we were missing was JL. We had vaguely expected him to show up the previous evening on the back of a pickup with his bike (he was arranging this when we left him in Batopilas), but he never showed.
But this is Mexico and schedules tend to slip a bit so we expected him again this evening... Again he didn´t show, so we decided to send Andy and Teryk down to get him.
So next morning they rode off and I pottered around the area of Batopilas and hiked around a lake etc. The next day I frittered away again, expecting them all to show up in the early afternoon. They did eventually show up but it was in the evening. It turns out that the new cable was for a different bike and was too short, so they had spent a long time working a temporary solution (JLs KTM now has drooping sports handle bars!) before they rode up the hill. Andy and Teryk had rescued JL just in time though because he was out of money and had to ration himself to a single banana for breakfast.:)
But, they were all safe now anyway and we had dinner and beers and Maragritas and went off to our Hotels.
I had now been in Creel way too long so the next morning I rode South again. I hope to cross paths with these guys again later in my trip (they are all great people) but for now I am riding alone again.
I rode East out of the Sierra Madre mountains and the road was really slow and windy but mostly good quality. I rode all day and got to where I planned but didn´t find a cheap hotel that I could stay at, so I was left riding slowly along the highway in the twilight looking for a place to camp - Oh well, this was nothing new from my time in the USA.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Mission Impossible
We decided we would go slow and put our helmets on but not our jackets or boots and started up the bikes... Well Ron and I did, but Jean-Luce's bike just stooped dead when he put it in gear. He then noticed a strong burning smell and that he had absolutely no clutch! So the other bikes were stopped and the riders gathered around the sick machine and the swearing (in French - since Jean-Luc is from France and now lives in California) started...
After quite a bit of investigation it turned out that some extra wiring that had been added to allow electrically heated vests to be used on his bike had managed to short out. The wiring job was not bad but the vibration and dirt from off road riding had finally worn through the plastic coating and the wire had shorted. It had melted all along its length and had also taken out a couple of other wires and melted through the hydraulic clutch line. It had also very nearly melted the fuel line (it was blistered) and so the consequences had nearly been catastrophic. As it was we were left with the problem of the clutch since the electrical systems all seemed to be working after we had cleaned up the mess.
Well, we pfaffed and tweaked and poked and tried this and that.
And we got a local mechanic to try and then we pfaffed with it again... But it turned out that that little line had a great deal of pressure in it and we were not going to be able to get it fixed, so Ron and I just left Jean-Luc there and rode off the next morning back to Creel....
... The pirates code - Those who fall behind get left behind!
An Asphalt Ribbon of Moto-Extacy
At the guest house, I did meet some other bike riders and I got more of the mixed messages with one rider having turned back about half way and another saying the little town at the bottom was great and the road was very manageable. It also turned out that Jean-Luc and Ron had arrived (as I knew they were going to) and were staying at another hotel. One of the people I spoke to had chatted with them and said they were planning to head down into the valley the next morning, so I decided I would try to find them and go along at the same time so that there was help if I got into difficulties.
Next morning I got up and after breakfast I got organized and took the luggage off my bike (to make it lighter and easier to ride in technical off road) and set out to find the other guys. I found them and they were very open to the idea of me coming along, so we all headed off in the direction of Batopilas together.
The first 75Km of the road are Asphalt and it turned out to be very nice asphalt indeed!
The road is one of the nicest twisty motorcycle rides I have ever done. The curves start gently and you get warmed up and as you head South the twists get more and tighter and longer. Just as Ron said, it was "an Asphalt Ribbon of Moto-Ecstasy"! The scenery too was lovely with the road winding through pine forested mountains of Dolomite or Limestone with cliffs all over the place. I must admit though that I spent not a great deal of time looking at it since I was concentrating on trying to keep up with Jean-Luc and Ron who are both better technical riders on and off the road (I`m tempted here to use the excuse of my bikes smaller engine not keeping up but really it was my comfort and skill levels) There were several occasions where my eyes started to bother me and I realized it had been several minutes since I had last blinked - I was so fixated on the exhilarating riding :)
Well we made it to the end of the asphalt and I was not too far behind the others, and then we started into the dirt. The dirt road was about 65Km and did have some construction at the top as well as having some steep and rough sections with assorted surface textures. I have to say though that it was just a rough road and didn`t warrant any special skills on my part. I certainly felt that it was far easier than the White Rim trail in Moab, and the other riders, who had far more off road experience than I, agreed as well. So it seems there are some very timid people out there and that I am actually not that hopeless as well :)
When we made it down to the bottom (about three hours later) we came to a lovely little tow called Batopilas that has been there for over 300 years and was the second town in Mexico to have electrical power. It was all because of silver that was discovered and fueled the building of roads and aqueducts for hydro power. The silver ran out many years ago and the town has settled into being a sleepy little hamlet. It is about 1600m lower than Creel and the air down there is far hotter. The pine trees from higher up are replaced with cactus and scrub and if you are out in the sun, it is rather uncomfortable!
Batopilas however is nestled in the bottom of a very deep valley and the sun does not hit the town directly for that long. They also have the luxury of a constant water supply from the river and this means that they can and do grow all sorts of tropical fruits. There are literally Mango and Papaya trees in almost every house yard and bright red dragonflys and little blue-green humming birds flitting around. It is a very narrow town with one main street and at best one other street parallel (so the town has a central square) The best thing to do when you are there is to just sit around and relax while drinking beers. This we were very happy to do for several hours, but we eventually decided to go "do something" and the lucky winner of our attentions was an old Mission a few Km out of town further down the valley. So we headed back to the hotel we had decided to stay at (the plan was to ride back up the hill the next morning) to start up the bikes and quietly rode out to see what the Mission offered.
Roping Steers and Watching Waterfalls
I rode out to a town called Madera that some people in Moab had told me was worth a visit.
It was again very quiet on a Sunday and there was almost nothing I could find to do when I got there, so after I`d had something to eat I headed off down toward one of the few national parks in the North of Mexico. As I rode along, it was clear that the horse is still a major player in the life of rural Mexicans (unlike in the USA). There were quite a few people doing things on their little farms by horseback. I also happened upon a gathering of quite a few cars a a set of stock yards along the highway. I stopped and had a look and it turned out that the locals were having a practice session at roping cattle.
There were about a dozen riders and a dozen smallish cattle and they took it in turns to rope the head and then the hind feet of the steer as it shot out from the race. They were just local guys but were quite good at the roping and very friendly to talk to.
Then it was on the road again toward the falls, but it got dark before I got there and I decided to camp by the side of the road. This time however, I was discovered by a group of boys who were out playing in the country side enjoying their Sunday. It seems Mexican kids are in general prepared to walk much farther afield from their houses than their US equivalents. - Not sure if it is due to the Mexican parents being less paranoid about what could happen to them or if they are just more accustomed to walking. Whatever the case, I used to roam the country around the little towns I grew up in in Australia and I think it is a good thing. Anyway, the kids eventually got the hint that I more or less wanted to be left alone and headed home for dinner.
So I camped out in Mexico for the first time - It was bloody cold!
I was high up near the continental divide again. I got up and packed and breakfasted (milk and cereal) in about 45 minutes and then headed over the last little bit of highway to the National Park. The parking area was only about a Km from the falls and I trotted off down to see it.
I then arrived at the top of the falls and found that I had to go about another Km to see the falls from lower down, so off I trotted again. It turned out that the 1Km was the distance but that it was down about 600m, so I got quite sweaty in my motorcycle gear (Actually it was nice to be hot after the sub-zero night) but the view of the 250m high waterfall was quite nice. When I got back to my bike I found two other bikes had arrived (Big KTM 950s) and I had a bit of a chat with the guys (Jean-Luc and Ron) who were from California and Jean-Luc was going to Tierra Del Fuego while Ron was only in Mexico for a week. Anyway, we chatted for a bit and then I headed off toward Creel where the tourists gather to head down into Copper Canyon. I was expecting the road there to be paved as the maps I had both indicated, but it was not and it was quite hard work for me again. The Mexican roads are built for low maintenance it seems and when the road is steep they tend to use a very coarse size of gravel (fist sized chunks of rock actually) and when it is loose, as it was, it makes for quite an exciting ride. Eventually the road did turn into Asphalt and I again made it to my destination without incident but quite tired.
Creel was a very touristy town with several hotel options and I chose a guest house with a dorm (about $10) so I could meet and talk with a few people and hopefully learn about the road to Batopilas in the Copper Canyon. I`d heard from some people that it was really bad and I`d be lucky to survive and from others that it was fine. For that night though, I was happy to just take a shower, have a meal and see who there was to talk to.
Run for the Boarder
Well, after the new tires were fitted and my trigger finger was all tired out, I headed off South toward "Copper Canyon" in Mexico. I was presently still in Arizona, and I got lost in the reworking of a highway in the city of Tuscon and didn't get to where I had planned for that night. So I just set up camp near the boarder at a highway junction and tried to stay out of sight. I was however discovered at about 9pm by a boarder patrol officer who seemed a little anxious until it became clear that I was a harmless (and defenceless) Canadian. He gave me the big "talking to" about how dangerous it was and that there was no way he would camp where I was but that it was a free country and I could if I wanted ...
I decided to stay where I was and apparently against all odds I made it through the night with no further interruptions or visits from "Bad People" - I dont think its actually that surprising that police officers in any country seem to think the world is full of bad people given that that is the type of people they end up having to interact with a lot of the time.
Next morning, I packed up and headed South again via Tombstone. This town seems to have been making a very nice little living off the exploits of the Erp family some hundred years ago (Wyat Erp and the Gunfight at the OK Coral legendsof the old West!). The whole town is "the Old West" and everyone is in costume and they have daily gunfights etc. And when I say the whole town it must be a square of 4-5 blocks in each direction that is completely "in character". Anyway, they were getting ready for a really big shindig with hordes of tourists expected ... so I "got the hell out of Dodge" so to speak and "made a run for the boarder"!
The boarder was relatively easy to cross with the bike and it only took an hour or so to get things done (tourist permit and Bike insurance) but I realized that my Spanish was very rusty. On first contact with the locals I was getting only about 15% of the words! - Guess Ill get better with time. So I rode on into Mexico and figured out how to use the bank machines (again a little tricky in Spanish). I also figured out that Id be paying cash for fuel at the smaller towns, and that Burritos are good for lunch since there are little stalls all over the place that sell them. Then it started to get late so I decided to stop in a town and get a cheap hotel for the night - my first since the rainy day back in Golden a month ago.
The hotel was only about $15 for the night so that was good. It was a Saturday night and I wandered around town and watched all the local farm workers and young men cruising up and down the main road in their trucks and cars and the local girls dressed up and either driving their own cars or walking along the side walks - Its a dance that I'm sure is played out in country towns all over the world every Saturday night - fun to watch :)
Sunday morning was very relaxed and I sat in the town square and watched the town slowly coming to life (I was actually waiting for an Internet cafe to open) It sounds more interesting than it actually was and at 12:30pm I decided these Mexicans could easily take another 3-4 hours to get themselves going and I would do the Internet thing later, - So I hit the road again.
On to the next attraction...
I decided to stay where I was and apparently against all odds I made it through the night with no further interruptions or visits from "Bad People" - I dont think its actually that surprising that police officers in any country seem to think the world is full of bad people given that that is the type of people they end up having to interact with a lot of the time.
Next morning, I packed up and headed South again via Tombstone. This town seems to have been making a very nice little living off the exploits of the Erp family some hundred years ago (Wyat Erp and the Gunfight at the OK Coral legendsof the old West!). The whole town is "the Old West" and everyone is in costume and they have daily gunfights etc. And when I say the whole town it must be a square of 4-5 blocks in each direction that is completely "in character". Anyway, they were getting ready for a really big shindig with hordes of tourists expected ... so I "got the hell out of Dodge" so to speak and "made a run for the boarder"!
The boarder was relatively easy to cross with the bike and it only took an hour or so to get things done (tourist permit and Bike insurance) but I realized that my Spanish was very rusty. On first contact with the locals I was getting only about 15% of the words! - Guess Ill get better with time. So I rode on into Mexico and figured out how to use the bank machines (again a little tricky in Spanish). I also figured out that Id be paying cash for fuel at the smaller towns, and that Burritos are good for lunch since there are little stalls all over the place that sell them. Then it started to get late so I decided to stop in a town and get a cheap hotel for the night - my first since the rainy day back in Golden a month ago.
The hotel was only about $15 for the night so that was good. It was a Saturday night and I wandered around town and watched all the local farm workers and young men cruising up and down the main road in their trucks and cars and the local girls dressed up and either driving their own cars or walking along the side walks - Its a dance that I'm sure is played out in country towns all over the world every Saturday night - fun to watch :)
Sunday morning was very relaxed and I sat in the town square and watched the town slowly coming to life (I was actually waiting for an Internet cafe to open) It sounds more interesting than it actually was and at 12:30pm I decided these Mexicans could easily take another 3-4 hours to get themselves going and I would do the Internet thing later, - So I hit the road again.
On to the next attraction...
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Oil in Globe, and Tyres and Target Practice in Phoenix
So riding into Apache country it is clear why these people were so feared in the old West. Apparently they were a semi-agrarian people who grew crops of maize etc, but once they decided to fight they were very dangerous. I feel pretty sure a lot of the danger came from the country rather than the people themselves. That is to say the country is very hilly with an almost endless supply of natural cover in the form of rocks and scrub. You could be standing there and have 20 people hidden within 100m and have no clue they were there. The country is not very exciting but there were a couple of places in valleys with steep walls where it got very pretty.
Anyway, I stopped in Globe when I saw a Suzuki dealership and asked about tyres... I wanted a particular type but they did not have them. They did however put in a great deal of effort to locate them in nearby Phoenix and then they also donated an oil change to my worthy cause, so I have to say right here ¨Thank you very much¨ for all the help and encouragement given by Troy Nowlin and team at All-Pro Cycles in Globe.
I felt good about looking after the bike finally since it has been almost 10,000 Km since left Vancouver- Wow!
After that I camped on the side of the road as usual and headed into Phoenix the next morning. Man they know how to spread out in Arizona. After an hour of normal 4 lane highway on the approach (through the Saguaro cactus of the Sonoran desert), the suburbia of Phoenix started... It went for another hour and a half and they had a full 6 lane in each direction highway for the whole way. Then when I got where I was going (Scottsdale actually) there was a vast landscape of "big-box store land". It seems if you are going to do retail in Phoenix, you do it big. Seriously you could drive for many blocks with nothing but car parks and shopping edifices...
Anyway I got to the BMW dealership that had the tyres I wanted and got them to start on the tyres (3 hour wait)
Now, the BMW dealership was strategically located between the Scottsdale Gun Club, a fitness club, an Automatic weapons shop and a competing Ducati dealership! Brilliant marketing ploy I thought!
Anyway, while I waited for my tyres to be fitted, I decided I'd see what it was like to squeeze off a few rounds with a hand gun. Being Australian and Canadian I had not had access (or need for access) to hand guns and I was just interested to try.
Well with about one minute of instruction and $35 spent I had my hands on a rental Glock 9mm with a 17 round clip. I squeezed off 50 rounds and sent my cardboard target straight to the grave!. Turns out I could hit within about 15cm of where I aimed at 10m and it doubled as I moved the target to 20m - At least I was consistent. Other than that I noticed that it was very loud!,Tthe gun bucked a lot but not out of my grip, and I can have and own one of these things for a mere $500 or so - very strange!
So then I went back to the bike shop and hand over $500 for my new tyres (ouch!) and rode off out of Phoenix and into the sunset!
South through Arizona
Off I headed again and I chose back roads again with lots of small towns.
Turned out this was through Indian reservation areas (Navajo and Hopi). The drive was long and the landscape was mostly empty except for sage as far as you could see. There were a few stretches that they didn´t even bother with fences (not much open country left in the US). The land is very dull without the colour of Utah.
The land is also very high and the air was very cold again. I had my grip heaters turned on high the whole day and could not warm up. My hands and feet were tingling for the next two days after this ride from slight cold damage.
The Indian towns sadly reminded me of native towns in Canada and Australia and New Zealand. They are basically a lost and broken people and it is extremely sad to see such a proud society in disarray. In these towns the people seem to own quite nice trucks but live in very dilapidated houses with refuse strewn everywhere. The only business activity I detected were the almost constant array of roadside stall selling simple hand assembled jewelery and a few Indian trinkets¨. There were also the constant reminders of a struggling society with helpful roadside signs reading ¨Respect and honor your partner¨, ¨There´s no excuse for abuse¨, and ¨Don´t drink and drive¨- very sad... I can´t say I have the faintest idea of how to fix the problems but I recognize that it is not really their fault.
Anyway, I rode on South and into Apache country - keeping my eyes peeled of course!
Turned out this was through Indian reservation areas (Navajo and Hopi). The drive was long and the landscape was mostly empty except for sage as far as you could see. There were a few stretches that they didn´t even bother with fences (not much open country left in the US). The land is very dull without the colour of Utah.
The land is also very high and the air was very cold again. I had my grip heaters turned on high the whole day and could not warm up. My hands and feet were tingling for the next two days after this ride from slight cold damage.
The Indian towns sadly reminded me of native towns in Canada and Australia and New Zealand. They are basically a lost and broken people and it is extremely sad to see such a proud society in disarray. In these towns the people seem to own quite nice trucks but live in very dilapidated houses with refuse strewn everywhere. The only business activity I detected were the almost constant array of roadside stall selling simple hand assembled jewelery and a few Indian trinkets¨. There were also the constant reminders of a struggling society with helpful roadside signs reading ¨Respect and honor your partner¨, ¨There´s no excuse for abuse¨, and ¨Don´t drink and drive¨- very sad... I can´t say I have the faintest idea of how to fix the problems but I recognize that it is not really their fault.
Anyway, I rode on South and into Apache country - keeping my eyes peeled of course!
Off-Road to the edge of the Grand Canyon
I headed south into Arizona and headed for the edge of the Grand Canyon.
I decided to go to a place called Toroweep which is apparently a quite spectacular view into the canyon. The only problem is that it is along a 60 mile dirt road - actually there is another way into that spot but that dirt road is even longer!
So I headed off in that direction and when I got to the turn off, as usual, the wind had really picked up and again as usual, was coming from the side. So I gritted my teeth and headed off down toward the canyon. The road was not real 4WD but it did have big stretches of loose sand and also lots of lanes of deep loose gravel. For those of you who don´t know about bike riding in these conditions then suffice to say, its a bit of a ¨living hell¨- quite like mountain biking in deep sand but because you have a big engine the struggle is control, not forward motion. Again, I found myself tensed and braced to the maximum for about two and a half hours while I fought the combination of treacherous road surface, low sun directly in front, and very strong gusty wind from the side - Just loving it I can tell you.
You know things are bad when you are absolutely praying for corrugations in the road because at least then you will have a solid surface to be able to control the bike!
As it was, I made it out there in relatively good time and the last 10 Miles of the road did become real 4WD. I managed not to fall off (quite a miracle in its self) and made it out there to watch the sun set. The camp site was also really nice and the view is quite spectacular. It was however very hazy so I´m not sure my pictures will end up doing it justice - Again I thoroughly recommend this destination to people in the area with the time and a car that can deal with it (2WD will make it with some belly dragging, but only just).
I camped there over night and again sat on the canyon edge for sunrise - great!
Then I drove back out the same way but the sun was at a better angle and the wind was down, so I had a bit less trouble - Still a treacherous surface for the bike and very tiring but again I made it intact.
A wash and then some more Action
I took the day off after all the running around I´d been doing. I found an RV park and got showered and shaved again and then I decided that I was getting bored, so I went out to have a look at Antelope Canyon. It cost $21 to see Lower Antelope, and $26 to see upper Antelope - They are run by different families in the Navajo nation and one is more commercial than the other. Anyway, the canyon is very different to Buckskin Gulch, although created in the same stone and the same way. Antelope is significantly shorter and shallower. The shallowness means that far more light gets in and it is much more photograph friendly. Antelope for some reason is also far more sculpted. One of the locals walks you through and points out a few of the famous photo spots and then you can walk yourself back and take as long as you want. I could have spent hours in there taking photos as the light changed, but you really need a tall tripod and long exposures. I only have a point and shoot and a short tripod, so I did what I could and then just enjoyed looking around in there. Again I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and would nt hesitate to recommend it to others.
Then I went and found a place to camp just out of Page in northern Arizona.
Then I went and found a place to camp just out of Page in northern Arizona.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Still in Utah
I seem to be stuck in Utah with constant supply of distractions that all seem worth doing.
After the ride through Monument Valley, I went to Page (just over the boarder in Arizona) and got showered and shaved and did a load of washing. I also found out about the "lottery" system they are using for people wanting to visit "The Wave" (A particular rock formation in the North Coyote Butes area). So it seems that they only let 10 people per day go into the area on an unplanned daily basis (10 more if you apply 4 months in adavance), and they have a draw each morning at 9am to see who will go in the next day.
Of course I wanted to visit this natural wonder and of course I had not planned 4 months in advance. So, I was going to have to let the gods decide what day I would get to go in and then fill up the days in between with other activities. Fortunately, the area has plenty to do within a few hours radius.
So on the first attempt I was unlucky and did not get drawn (There were about 50 applicants that day) and I decided to hike into Buckskin Gulch to fill the day. The gulch is a slot canyon system that goes for many miles. I got to the trail head and started hiking at about 9:45am. I planned to hike into the top end off the slot canyon and then out a side stream about 5 miles down to give a 10-12 mile loop hike.
However after hiking in and enjoying it, I decided to press on and hike through to the Paria river and out to another trail head instead. I was not really equipped for a hike of this size that day since I estimated the hike was about 15 miles long and that would be OK. Turns out that with all the twisting and turning the hike is about 21 miles long and then there is extra hiking on the roads if you don't have a shuttle organized. In the end I hiked over 25 miles (about 40km) and got back to my camp quite pooped!
The gulch however was well worth the effort. It had rained in the area about two weeks earlier and the gulch had been flooded (flash flood like in the movies), so there was quite a lot of wading to be done to get through (up to my hips at a couple of places although mostly only knee deep). There was also a great deal of clay mud all through the hike. On the up side, hiking in a slot canyon is far cooler than out on the desert above. The first 3 miles of the gulch are just a dry creek bed that slowly gets narrower and steeper but after that (for about the next 10 miles) it becomes a real slot canyon with the walls towering between 20 and 100 feet above your head and only being 4 - 10 feet apart. Definitely worth checking out (Most people do it in a trip of two or three days - there are camp sites along the way).
OK, so after that I tried my luck in the lottery again... but failed again... and so I drove for a couple of hours over to Zion national park and hiked up "Angels Landing" which is in the valley and has wonderful panoramic views as well as some great exposure on the hike up. That took about 3 hours and then I headed back to camp near page.
The next day I tried again in the lottery and finally was "lucky", so that meant I could see the wave the next day - still got to do something with today!
I decided to go to Bryce Canyon which is about 3 hours drive away. I got there no problem and hiked down into the canyon which is filled with the most amazing hoodoos and colourful clay/sandstone formations. I had intended to stay till the sun set to get more colour in the pictures but thunder storms were rolling through the area and there were patches of heavy rain as well as cloud cover obscuring the sun, and to top it off, the area is at about 8000 feet (rather than 4000 at page) and it was colder there. I took the hints and headed home early, dodging my way fortuitously through the areas of heavy rain.
So next day was the big "Wave" trip.
The hike in is only about 4 - 5Km and takes you into an area of sculpted sandstone of the most amazing colours. I am not kidding when I say I have never seen rock colours like this and that the three days of waiting were well and truly worth it. The "wave" is one particular formation but the whole area is full of colour and shape and contrast - a photographers paradise. I certainly took hundreds of photos during the day (thank god for digital cameras). I stayed the whole day and wandered around all over the place.
There were only 19 other people in the area with me so that makes it very photograph friendly as well. There was an East Indian gentleman (Mr Dorga) who was taking pictures for his book ("DanceScapes"?) with a talented young ballerina named Adeline, who had just moved from the London Royal Dance Academy to the San Francisco Ballet company. It was interesting to watch her pose against the colours and formations of the area. They and I were the only ones to stay late in the day (again to get the warmer colours of sunset light). It turned out that they stayed a bit too long since Mr Dorga was very unfit and moved very slowly on the hike out. I took some of their load and walked with them to make sure that they got back OK, but it was well after sunset when we arrived at the cars (Mr Dorga was a typical slightly obsessive photographer who prioritized his pictures over his models safety/comfort- nice enough guy though).
I camped right there in the trail head car park.
Today I am having a rest day and have showered and had a latte for breakfast and am now checking emails etc. I may go see Antelope Canyon this afternoon, but it is a business venture for the local Navajo Indians and is expensive (although apparently very beautiful) and very touristy. Then Tomorrow I will head back to Zion to do some hiking south east of the tunnels (up on the plateau not down in the valley). The colours of the rock and the cliffs and the trees there looked very beautiful when I rode through there the other day, so I'll go back for another look.
Then, my intent is to head south through Arizona and see what I can see. There isn't much of interest indicated on the map I have so I'll just play it by ear.
After the ride through Monument Valley, I went to Page (just over the boarder in Arizona) and got showered and shaved and did a load of washing. I also found out about the "lottery" system they are using for people wanting to visit "The Wave" (A particular rock formation in the North Coyote Butes area). So it seems that they only let 10 people per day go into the area on an unplanned daily basis (10 more if you apply 4 months in adavance), and they have a draw each morning at 9am to see who will go in the next day.
Of course I wanted to visit this natural wonder and of course I had not planned 4 months in advance. So, I was going to have to let the gods decide what day I would get to go in and then fill up the days in between with other activities. Fortunately, the area has plenty to do within a few hours radius.
So on the first attempt I was unlucky and did not get drawn (There were about 50 applicants that day) and I decided to hike into Buckskin Gulch to fill the day. The gulch is a slot canyon system that goes for many miles. I got to the trail head and started hiking at about 9:45am. I planned to hike into the top end off the slot canyon and then out a side stream about 5 miles down to give a 10-12 mile loop hike.
However after hiking in and enjoying it, I decided to press on and hike through to the Paria river and out to another trail head instead. I was not really equipped for a hike of this size that day since I estimated the hike was about 15 miles long and that would be OK. Turns out that with all the twisting and turning the hike is about 21 miles long and then there is extra hiking on the roads if you don't have a shuttle organized. In the end I hiked over 25 miles (about 40km) and got back to my camp quite pooped!
The gulch however was well worth the effort. It had rained in the area about two weeks earlier and the gulch had been flooded (flash flood like in the movies), so there was quite a lot of wading to be done to get through (up to my hips at a couple of places although mostly only knee deep). There was also a great deal of clay mud all through the hike. On the up side, hiking in a slot canyon is far cooler than out on the desert above. The first 3 miles of the gulch are just a dry creek bed that slowly gets narrower and steeper but after that (for about the next 10 miles) it becomes a real slot canyon with the walls towering between 20 and 100 feet above your head and only being 4 - 10 feet apart. Definitely worth checking out (Most people do it in a trip of two or three days - there are camp sites along the way).
OK, so after that I tried my luck in the lottery again... but failed again... and so I drove for a couple of hours over to Zion national park and hiked up "Angels Landing" which is in the valley and has wonderful panoramic views as well as some great exposure on the hike up. That took about 3 hours and then I headed back to camp near page.
The next day I tried again in the lottery and finally was "lucky", so that meant I could see the wave the next day - still got to do something with today!
I decided to go to Bryce Canyon which is about 3 hours drive away. I got there no problem and hiked down into the canyon which is filled with the most amazing hoodoos and colourful clay/sandstone formations. I had intended to stay till the sun set to get more colour in the pictures but thunder storms were rolling through the area and there were patches of heavy rain as well as cloud cover obscuring the sun, and to top it off, the area is at about 8000 feet (rather than 4000 at page) and it was colder there. I took the hints and headed home early, dodging my way fortuitously through the areas of heavy rain.
So next day was the big "Wave" trip.
The hike in is only about 4 - 5Km and takes you into an area of sculpted sandstone of the most amazing colours. I am not kidding when I say I have never seen rock colours like this and that the three days of waiting were well and truly worth it. The "wave" is one particular formation but the whole area is full of colour and shape and contrast - a photographers paradise. I certainly took hundreds of photos during the day (thank god for digital cameras). I stayed the whole day and wandered around all over the place.
There were only 19 other people in the area with me so that makes it very photograph friendly as well. There was an East Indian gentleman (Mr Dorga) who was taking pictures for his book ("DanceScapes"?) with a talented young ballerina named Adeline, who had just moved from the London Royal Dance Academy to the San Francisco Ballet company. It was interesting to watch her pose against the colours and formations of the area. They and I were the only ones to stay late in the day (again to get the warmer colours of sunset light). It turned out that they stayed a bit too long since Mr Dorga was very unfit and moved very slowly on the hike out. I took some of their load and walked with them to make sure that they got back OK, but it was well after sunset when we arrived at the cars (Mr Dorga was a typical slightly obsessive photographer who prioritized his pictures over his models safety/comfort- nice enough guy though).
I camped right there in the trail head car park.
Today I am having a rest day and have showered and had a latte for breakfast and am now checking emails etc. I may go see Antelope Canyon this afternoon, but it is a business venture for the local Navajo Indians and is expensive (although apparently very beautiful) and very touristy. Then Tomorrow I will head back to Zion to do some hiking south east of the tunnels (up on the plateau not down in the valley). The colours of the rock and the cliffs and the trees there looked very beautiful when I rode through there the other day, so I'll go back for another look.
Then, my intent is to head south through Arizona and see what I can see. There isn't much of interest indicated on the map I have so I'll just play it by ear.
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