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Trans Americas 2009 - The Blog
The Just One More Mile story of Paul's Trans Americas 2009 motorcycle expedition.Saturday, 22 August 2009
Heat and Sand in Monument Valley...
I woke around 3.20am, and managed to force myself from my pleasant slumber inside the tent into the fresh night air to look at the stars... and what stars there were... from horizon to horizon the dark night sky was full of tiny pin-pricks of light, with the occasional shooting star flashing briefly across my vision before disappearing as quickly as they'd appeared. I tried to recognise the constellations but have to confess that I've forgotten everything I've ever read about them, and apart from the plough and Cassiopeia couldn't name any of the others, although there were clearly shapes present... Contented, I crawled back into the tent and my sleeping bag and fell back into a deep sleep...
I woke again around 6am, and in the pre-dawn light packed away my sleeping bag, the thermarest and tent, and watched the sun rise over the horizon, bringing with it a dull red glow which faded to bright blue as I watched. Then it was onto the bike and the ride back out of Valley of the Gods, still without another soul anywhere to be seen. Back at the motel, Jim was already up and dressed, so I grabbed a quick shower and change of underwear and went and ordered breakfast. As the others came in, I was asked how my night's camping had been, and I think my smile may have given the game away... wilderness camping it wasn't (not with a shower before and after and a cooked breakfast), but it was certainly isolated and that had the desired effect, I felt completely recharged and ready for anything...
After breakfast we rode away from Mexican Hat and into the Navajo Indian reservation and Monument Valley...
Ignoring the dead horse carcass by the roadside where I stopped to take the above picture (strangely the head was missing, just the skeletal carcass of the body and legs) I rode to the Visitor's Centre, which was different to last year as the building work has moved on a little, and the car-park was nicely tarmac'd. Much deliberation then followed as to whether to ride our bikes into the park itself, the road looking decidedly rough and with obvious sandy stretches, even when viewed from the visitor's centre balcony. But we came to ride bikes, and ride bikes we must, so a few of us set off into the park – Nick had already gone in, and Andy, Richard (with Karen as pillion), Andrew, Nigel, Kenny and I went on in. Within a half mile it became obvious this was going to be very tricky, as we had to ride through a long downhill sandy stretch, with some deep potholes full of sand. Kenny was first to go down, losing his front wheel in deep sand and ending up unceremoniously on his side – uninjured, thankfully.
That was enough for Richard, who turned round and somehow managed to get back up the hill, albeit after getting Karen to walk. By now, Andy had disappeared, haring off at a fair old pace round the loop, and not taking the turn off to John Ford's viewpoint. I decided that would be my destination, having done the full loop in the Mustang, and besides, this point provides the best vantage point on the whole road...
By now it was already hot, damned hot, and with us riding in full bike gear we were sweltering in the heat, guzzling water from our camelbaks like it was going out of fashion. Having made it to our chosen destination, Nigel, Kenny, Andrew and I headed back the way we'd come. I held back before the big sand hill to give myself a run-up, and watched Nigel and Kenny get to the top OK, then Andrew drop his bike in deep sand right in the middle of the road just below the top, just as I set off having chosen the centre line as the least deep... so I had to switch to the left, and immediately hit a big hole full of soft sand, the bars getting wrenched from side to side, throwing me off balance and forcing me to sit down and put my feet down. I managed to keep the bike upright, and paddled onto firmer sand before being able to get back to standing on the pegs and gassing it up the rest of the hill. At the top there was quite a crowd, Nigel, Andrew and Kenny being joined by Nick, and soon Jeff appeared in the van and we all watched and cheered as Andy arrived at the bottom of the hill and made his way, successfully to the top. From there it was a short ride, with one or two other patches of sand, back to the car park and safety. Of those that entered the park there were quite a few fallers – Kenny, Andrew, Nick, Max (with Christine jumping off the back as the bike went down), but no injuries and only minor pannier damage to Max's bike.... Well, it's supposed to be an adventure, isn't it?
Once clear of Monument Valley we followed the route to Page, stopping for a cool drink and cinnamon bun before taking a right turn on to Glen Canyon dam. Built between 1958 and 1964, this massive structure holds back some 33.3 Billion cubic metres of water, which is used for recreation (the water above the dam being Lake Powell...), generating electricity and of course, as drinking water. The most interesting fact that I uncovered when looking round the visitor's centre, was that it took 17 years for the lake to fill once the dam was completed on 13th March 1963 (until 27th June 1980), which sounded like a long time, until I was told it took so long because they had to keep the river flowing, so couldn't effectively just stop the flow downstream of the dam whilst it filled up.
From the dam we retraced our steps to where we'd turned right, then carried straight on, following highway 89 to Bitter Springs before turning off onto highway 89 A (the “A” standing for “alternate”) through Lees Ferry, Vermilion Cliffs and Marble Canyon, once again in blistering heat as we rode across the flat land before crossing the river at Marble Canyon, having to drink on the move to ensure I stayed hydrated, and trying desperately to get sufficient air-flow through the vents in my jacket to cool me down. Finally it started to cool as we regained lost height (we'd been at 6,000ft when leaving the dam, only to drop below 4,000ft on the flatlands) and we entered the forested area leading towards Jacob's Lake and the lodge we'll be staying at. Fuelled up I checked in, being given the key to lodge 14 and a map showing where it was. It turned out to be a proper wooden lodge, with little porch, but looking through the window I could only see one double bed... and I'm supposed to be sharing with Jim... with minor concern, I entered, to discover a door leading to the toilet and shower, then another door from there leading into another room with double bed, and an outside door... numbered 12... The mystery was solved when I looked at the booking-in slip I'd been given to see it had “Paul and Jim” at the top and “12 and 14” at the bottom... phew... thought I'd be getting the tent out again for a minute!
Unfortunately, though, whilst the room is nice, there's no Internet, no phone (and no TV, not that that matters). I went back to reception and was told I might get a signal at the “motel” which is a 2-storey building some of the others are in just a short walk from my lodge. So I went and sat outside it to update the blog from yesterday and check my email... and that's when the rain started... heavy rain, too, with thunder and lightning thrown in for good measure...
With my Internet chores attended to, and no sign of the rain stopping, I ran back to my lodge and dropped off the laptop, before heading in search of the bar... only to discover there isn't one. The lodge is licensed only for off-sales (drink elsewhere, in the rain...) or as a restaurant (drink only when eating). Soon Richard cracked, and we ended up outside underneath a porch, drinking a six-pack of Grand Canyon Brewery's finest pale ale, shared with the others as they arrived.
After a short meeting to discuss the next couple of days, dinner, which was the usual rushed affair (why do American waiters insist on bringing the entrée (main course) before you've finished the appetizer?) but otherwise was OK. As a result of the rush, I ended up back in my lodge by 8pm (a situation made possible because we're in Arizona and the time zone has changed again, so we're back to being 8 hours behind the UK), so wrote up this entry ready for uploading when I can next get connected, and got an early night... not quite the same surroundings as last night, nor as quiet, as I can hear the couple next door chatting and laughing...
I woke again around 6am, and in the pre-dawn light packed away my sleeping bag, the thermarest and tent, and watched the sun rise over the horizon, bringing with it a dull red glow which faded to bright blue as I watched. Then it was onto the bike and the ride back out of Valley of the Gods, still without another soul anywhere to be seen. Back at the motel, Jim was already up and dressed, so I grabbed a quick shower and change of underwear and went and ordered breakfast. As the others came in, I was asked how my night's camping had been, and I think my smile may have given the game away... wilderness camping it wasn't (not with a shower before and after and a cooked breakfast), but it was certainly isolated and that had the desired effect, I felt completely recharged and ready for anything...
After breakfast we rode away from Mexican Hat and into the Navajo Indian reservation and Monument Valley...
Ignoring the dead horse carcass by the roadside where I stopped to take the above picture (strangely the head was missing, just the skeletal carcass of the body and legs) I rode to the Visitor's Centre, which was different to last year as the building work has moved on a little, and the car-park was nicely tarmac'd. Much deliberation then followed as to whether to ride our bikes into the park itself, the road looking decidedly rough and with obvious sandy stretches, even when viewed from the visitor's centre balcony. But we came to ride bikes, and ride bikes we must, so a few of us set off into the park – Nick had already gone in, and Andy, Richard (with Karen as pillion), Andrew, Nigel, Kenny and I went on in. Within a half mile it became obvious this was going to be very tricky, as we had to ride through a long downhill sandy stretch, with some deep potholes full of sand. Kenny was first to go down, losing his front wheel in deep sand and ending up unceremoniously on his side – uninjured, thankfully.
That was enough for Richard, who turned round and somehow managed to get back up the hill, albeit after getting Karen to walk. By now, Andy had disappeared, haring off at a fair old pace round the loop, and not taking the turn off to John Ford's viewpoint. I decided that would be my destination, having done the full loop in the Mustang, and besides, this point provides the best vantage point on the whole road...
By now it was already hot, damned hot, and with us riding in full bike gear we were sweltering in the heat, guzzling water from our camelbaks like it was going out of fashion. Having made it to our chosen destination, Nigel, Kenny, Andrew and I headed back the way we'd come. I held back before the big sand hill to give myself a run-up, and watched Nigel and Kenny get to the top OK, then Andrew drop his bike in deep sand right in the middle of the road just below the top, just as I set off having chosen the centre line as the least deep... so I had to switch to the left, and immediately hit a big hole full of soft sand, the bars getting wrenched from side to side, throwing me off balance and forcing me to sit down and put my feet down. I managed to keep the bike upright, and paddled onto firmer sand before being able to get back to standing on the pegs and gassing it up the rest of the hill. At the top there was quite a crowd, Nigel, Andrew and Kenny being joined by Nick, and soon Jeff appeared in the van and we all watched and cheered as Andy arrived at the bottom of the hill and made his way, successfully to the top. From there it was a short ride, with one or two other patches of sand, back to the car park and safety. Of those that entered the park there were quite a few fallers – Kenny, Andrew, Nick, Max (with Christine jumping off the back as the bike went down), but no injuries and only minor pannier damage to Max's bike.... Well, it's supposed to be an adventure, isn't it?
Once clear of Monument Valley we followed the route to Page, stopping for a cool drink and cinnamon bun before taking a right turn on to Glen Canyon dam. Built between 1958 and 1964, this massive structure holds back some 33.3 Billion cubic metres of water, which is used for recreation (the water above the dam being Lake Powell...), generating electricity and of course, as drinking water. The most interesting fact that I uncovered when looking round the visitor's centre, was that it took 17 years for the lake to fill once the dam was completed on 13th March 1963 (until 27th June 1980), which sounded like a long time, until I was told it took so long because they had to keep the river flowing, so couldn't effectively just stop the flow downstream of the dam whilst it filled up.
From the dam we retraced our steps to where we'd turned right, then carried straight on, following highway 89 to Bitter Springs before turning off onto highway 89 A (the “A” standing for “alternate”) through Lees Ferry, Vermilion Cliffs and Marble Canyon, once again in blistering heat as we rode across the flat land before crossing the river at Marble Canyon, having to drink on the move to ensure I stayed hydrated, and trying desperately to get sufficient air-flow through the vents in my jacket to cool me down. Finally it started to cool as we regained lost height (we'd been at 6,000ft when leaving the dam, only to drop below 4,000ft on the flatlands) and we entered the forested area leading towards Jacob's Lake and the lodge we'll be staying at. Fuelled up I checked in, being given the key to lodge 14 and a map showing where it was. It turned out to be a proper wooden lodge, with little porch, but looking through the window I could only see one double bed... and I'm supposed to be sharing with Jim... with minor concern, I entered, to discover a door leading to the toilet and shower, then another door from there leading into another room with double bed, and an outside door... numbered 12... The mystery was solved when I looked at the booking-in slip I'd been given to see it had “Paul and Jim” at the top and “12 and 14” at the bottom... phew... thought I'd be getting the tent out again for a minute!
Unfortunately, though, whilst the room is nice, there's no Internet, no phone (and no TV, not that that matters). I went back to reception and was told I might get a signal at the “motel” which is a 2-storey building some of the others are in just a short walk from my lodge. So I went and sat outside it to update the blog from yesterday and check my email... and that's when the rain started... heavy rain, too, with thunder and lightning thrown in for good measure...
With my Internet chores attended to, and no sign of the rain stopping, I ran back to my lodge and dropped off the laptop, before heading in search of the bar... only to discover there isn't one. The lodge is licensed only for off-sales (drink elsewhere, in the rain...) or as a restaurant (drink only when eating). Soon Richard cracked, and we ended up outside underneath a porch, drinking a six-pack of Grand Canyon Brewery's finest pale ale, shared with the others as they arrived.
After a short meeting to discuss the next couple of days, dinner, which was the usual rushed affair (why do American waiters insist on bringing the entrée (main course) before you've finished the appetizer?) but otherwise was OK. As a result of the rush, I ended up back in my lodge by 8pm (a situation made possible because we're in Arizona and the time zone has changed again, so we're back to being 8 hours behind the UK), so wrote up this entry ready for uploading when I can next get connected, and got an early night... not quite the same surroundings as last night, nor as quiet, as I can hear the couple next door chatting and laughing...
posted by Paul # 23:04 
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