Day 7 - St. George, Utah to Zion National Park to Beaver, Utah
(LOTS OF PHOTOS, highlights of the day, Zion and snow later!)
Route: I-15N out of St. George, to Hwy 9N to Zion National Park, a U-turn back along Hwy 9 to leave the park, to La Verkin and Hwy 17, to I-15N to Cedar City for lunch, to Hwy 20 to head to Bryce, a u-turn on 20 back to I-15N to Beaver and a great campground.
Part 1
Part 2
Total Mileage: 201, time on the bike, about 10 hours with all the stops.
Weather. Temps from 68 to 30. Sun. Clouds. Rain. Fog. Freezing rain. Sleet. Snow. Did I leave anything out? Oh, wait. No tornados, hurricanes or tsunamis.
The day dawned bright and sunny. Too bad I was asleep to see it. Lets try that again: I woke up around my usual 9-ish, slept like a log in my bunk bed in Juanito's camper. We spent last night parked at a friend's house in St. George. Gracious hosts, we even got a mid-night soak in the hot tub before retiring. I was really tired the night prior, yesterday had been a gigantic day. And I was really looking forward to today, to see sights I had never been to. And the biggest news of the day was meeting up with friends, both old and new. For the next two days, my semi-solo odyssey would become a group ride.
The plan for the day was to leave St. George, head to Zion National Park, from there head north to Cedar City, cross the mountains on Hwy 20 to Panguitch, camp there and see Bryce in the morning. My personal goal for the day was to live like I had never lived before, and burn up that camera taking as many pictures as possible.
Here is our cast of characters for the next two days:
Meet Mike, another great friend and considered part of our family. Mike and I work together and met in 2005 while slumming in a Newark crash pad. (halfway house for wayward pilots).
Uncle Ron, engineer and Tio Extraordinaire. One of those guys that you know you gonna like the instant you meet him. Mike's uncle and dad to two great sons that we'll meet and ride with tomorrow.
Blake, aka Harley, our gracious host last night and passionate Harley pilot.
And of course, rounding out the group would be Juanito in the truck and little 'ol me.
Put your glasses on, we are heading for Zion! And since weather will be a major player today, I'll give you a report. 63 and partly cloudy.
Zion. Wow.
Checker-board pattern cut into the rocks. By whom?
Photos don't do justice to the colors.
This pretty French filly wanted to sit on Mike's moto and go "Vroom vroom". I think Mike likes her! Seriously, the pearl colored Road King drew the most attention that day.
Yep, Mike can't keep his eyes off of her!
Our motley crew: Harley, Mikey, Juanito, me and Tio Ron.
Taking the lead on the way back through the park. We rode it once without stopping, now I would lead and stop whenever I wanted for photos. We met a nice guy on a 'Wing that decided to ride with us.
Follow me! Notice the cool maroon pavement. This place is magical.
Waiting at the famous tunnel. First weather change: light sprinkles.
The boys in line.
Into the tunnel!
Inside the tunnel. One lane, no lighting. Be sure to take off your sunglasses. Right Mike?
One of the windows cut into the tunnel.
Coming out the other side. The tunnel was a blast. Again, part of the magic of Zion.
Nearly up in the clouds.
Another OMG I can't believe I'm here. I had a few moments like this on the bike. I would ride the red-paved curves and giggle into my helmet. Had some great jazz playing in the headset too.
Clouds starting to break up.
Coming to the hair-pin by the arch.
Blue skies are coming back!
Leaving the park.
From the park we rode back to I-15 and to Cedar City where we stopped at the Super Wal-Mart to pick up the camper and scout out a late lunch location. On the way into Cedar City, it started to rain. Which turned to sleet. So the group sought shelter in the gas station next to Wal-Mart.
Uncle Ron and Mike are having fun!
Its not really that cold. Maybe its the sleet and rain.
Mike's dressed for a snow-mobile outing. Turn's out Mike had the right idea.
Even though you can't really see it, it's raining. And sleeting. And in the same photo we have fog. And blue skies. All at the same time in one photo. Wow. Here you see the group making the bee-line for the trailer and warmer gear.
After gearing up, we head for lunch. Chinese vewy yummy on cold wet day! Sorry, no photos, my hands were too frozen. I hadn't put my winter gloves on yet, but you can bet I'll have them on after lunch. During lunch, we talk about the route and Ron tells me that I might have 3" of snow on my bike in the morning. I"m thinking, no problem, that will make a cool photo op! Little did I know....
Next, we headed for highway 20, to make our way easterly and over to Panguitch, our home for the night. The temp is about 46 when we start at around 5:45 pm and dropping. We stopped at
We make it to highway 20 and start up the pass. Hwy 20 is a winding, two-laner that runs up a gorgeous mountain. It starts at about 5,900' feet, peaks at around 7,900' and then descends towards the Panguitch area. "Harley" is in the lead, followed by Tio Ron, Mike, myself, and bringing up the rear is Juanito pulling the camper. At this point it is raining and 42 degrees, the temperature is dropping, and needless to say, I'm not taking any pictures in the rain. As we ride, turning and climbing, the rain turns to snow. Great big beautiful flakes. The road surface is fine, the snow is melting on contact. It's also getting darker as the sun gets lower in the sky and gets obscured by the clouds.
As we continue up the mountain, I'm watching the temperature drop. Remember, I'm from Texas. The coldest I've ridden is 40, and I've never ridden in snow. I've got the heated grips turned on medium-low and my heated jacket liner on-low. Winter gloves and a balaclava help keep me warm, but I realize I've forgotten to put the liner inside my riding pants. My legs are cold but not uncomfortable as the FJR puts some engine heat on your legs. Feet are warm, the boots are doing a good job keeping my doggies warm and dry.
As the temp drops below 40, we keep climbing and I think to myself that it is time to formulate a plan B. Now the temp hits 36 and holds there for a few miles. My plan B is to watch the temperature and the minute it hits 34 I'm pulling over, taking lead of the group and turning us all around. I figure once it gets to 34 it will drop faster as we climb and the sun goes down. The road is fine for now, the snow is still melting but I'm starting to see signs of slush. I'm thinking to myself, this is getting crazy, the guys are going too fast (my GPS log for the last 2000' of climb averaged 49 mph), we have to consider Juanito is pulling a huge trailer with the dualy, and I'm feeling stoopid. And cold.
Suddely the snow gets really thick, visibility drops to about 1/4 mile, and Mike, riding in front of me, is gone. One second he is there, the next he is accelerating into the white and I have no idea where he is. I foolishly accelerate to catch up to him, but think better of it and slow down. If I go off a curve and down the mountain, chances are that Juanito won't see me and I will die on the mountain. There won't be any rescue tonight. If Mike goes off the mountain on a curve, I won't be there to see him either and chances are he will die too. The situation is getting ugly and I'm not happy.
The temperature drops to 34 and I pull the plug. Time to pull over. We are turning around and heading for lower ground and warmer temps. Hopefully Mike will notice that I'm not behind him any longer and will stop and wait. After not seeing me he might turn around to look for me. Hopefully the other two in front of Mike will do the same. Right?
The temperature dropped from 34 to 30 in the 10 minutes we waited for the rest of the group to turn around.
This is where Juanito and I stopped. Elevation 7706', temp 30. He was in full agreement that this was insanity.
This is how much snow was accumulating while we waited the 10 minutes for the group. We had no cell service so couldn't reach anyone. Notice the GPS. Go Garmin! Zumo's are waterproof, snow proof, cold proof, fuel proof. Great gear.
Can't see through the windscreen? Well neither could I. It was a catch-22. I wanted the screen up to block the wind and snow, but then I couldn't see through it. So I would lower it just enough to see over the top, but then the snow would hit my helmet face shield and it would freeze up. I have to admit I was getting scared.
A full 10 minutes have gone by and still no Mike, Ron or Harley. Time to turn around and head for lower and safer riding.
Juanito sez "It's time to bail!"
I agree!
Its getting ridiculous.
We went back down the mountain looking for warmer temperatures. When it hit 36, we stopped to wait for the guys. Sure enough, we had cell service too.
Checking voice mail, I've got one from Mike. They are OK! Thank God. A quick call to Mike and I've got the news that they made it to the other side and are going to hole up in a hotel. At this point, I'm pretty mad that Mike lost me and never turned to look for me and I let him know. I think safety was compromised for everyone, both the riders and Juanito pulling the camper. And I'm not shy about letting Mike know. Mike tells me that he thinks he saw my headlights as he went over the crest, but said it must have been a car.
Juanito and I decided to head to Beaver, UT, find a nice campground, I would take a LONG hot shower and we'd eat a spectacular dinner to celebrate the end of a great day.
The rest of the ride was cold. Wet. Snowy until we got back to the interstate. From there it rained the rest of the way to Beaver. I got to the campground, cold, wet, angry, sad, tired, frustrated and still, a bit happy for how the first part of our day went. Certainly, the day was an adventure and there were plenty of lessons learned.
I took this photo the following day. This is where we camped. Not bad eh?
This brings to an end one of the most adventurous days of our ride. It was an eye-opener for me and I certainly learned a lot about riding in cold and snow, group dynamics, proper ride planning (and lack there-of), group riding and safety. And most importantly, I learned about myself, people and friendships.
So what do you think about what happened?
Tomorrow: a decision to ride to Salt Lake, and the ride to Moab. Thanks for sticking with me...
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