My friend Bob Dickman and I rode to Southwest Utah for the Moto Guzzi Rally & campout. Rode just under 2000 miles in 6 days, including the beautiful, local rides there, in and around Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.
Panguitch, Utah. August 07
All I remember of the first day from LA to Boulder City (Vegas). Hot sun.
But it was nice in the Utah Rockies. Bob with his ’91 1000s model.
We’ve been riding together off and on for 27 years.
Camprgound at the Panguitch fairgrounds.
There might have been lapses over the course of the weekend.
Judy & Randy Dawes. Mark in the middle.
Someone showed up on a new Norge. (Some call it a Nor-gay.)
Cathy & Mike B., from SLC; Wayne from Bouse, AZ.
Bert Fox, Randy #2.
Mark holds court.
Gary, from Bend OR, checks out the schedule.
Bruce, Judy.
Randy pulls the UniGo trailer.
Bob and I stayed just across the street.
Next day, we rode to Zion, then out of Cedar City, up into the beautiful mountain meadows.
It all looked like this for a while...
Till you rounded a corner...
And suddenly this!
Cedar Breaks National Monument.
Bruce from Chicagoland.
Right purty.
Even with me in it.
I spotted a giant rodent.
A reclusive, yellow bellied marmot.
Okay, not so reclusive. He acted like I wasn’t there.
The whole place changes with the light and clouds.
Alternate view.
Through the trees.
That’s the road back to Panguitch off in the distance.
Dinner back at the fairgrounds.
About 35 people showed up over the weekend.
Saturday morning. Downtown Panguitch.
Pretty nice here.
We attended a pancake breakfast.
It was a benefit for a local shooting victim.
Al from Sacramento.
Checking out the bikes.
Link (who organized the rally) and Randy #3.
Doug, Bob, Tyler.
Wilma and Todd from Phoenix.
Mike hangs with the locals.
Wes & Nancy.
Wayne, Link, Steve, Randy.
Steve and Pat.
Pat, Wayne, Randy, Link.
How many guys going on today’s ride?
First stop, past Bryce Canyon on beautiful hiway 12.
The road up.
It was actually hazy from a fire.
Four guys on this ride: Mark, Bob, me, Doug.
Hiway 12.
Doug from Wyoming.
More scenery.
The road went up into high altitude forests.
Doug and Mark.
Utah, wide angle.
And zoomed in.
Doug, Mark, Bob.
Doug’s cockpit. Note altimeter.
Doug’s road diary, in grease pencil on the shield.
Fresh air at around 9,000 feet.
We stopped at Bicknell for lunch.
It’s scenic when it’s not even trying to be.
Mark took us to his favorite restaurant in town.
The pinto bean tastes like pecan pie.
Or they can toss you a salad...
...with ranch on the side.
Pie sampler: oatmeal, pickle, buttermilk, pinto bean. All were delicious.
Back at the fairgrounds for the bike show.
Lined up in the pavilion.
Tyler (I thought he quit) and Al.
Touring group.
Wilma on her Stone.
Tyler shows off his Jackal.
Checking out the scene.
Mike’s Quota. He’s been in the dirt again.
A picture of some guys looking at pictures Steve took earlier that day.
Sunday. Back on the road in Nevada. It ain’t Utah.
We headed west across Nevada to avoid Vegas and the heat. Rock formation in Panaca, NV.
Took the Extraterrestrial Highway, headed for Tonopah and Bishop, CA.
I guess it goes through Area 51, though nothing is marked on the road.
Pretty quiet out there.
It was raining when we stopped here.
I had my fingers crossed to find an alien somewhere.
Rain in the distance, we had just ridden through.
We stopped again at Warm Springs. Still on the lookout for aliens.
Abandoned but nice.
More signs to ignore.
Then... could those be ET’s droppings?
And is that some kind of alien brain scum in the creek?
It ain’t human!
Weirder and weirder. Then just as an alien showed up...
My camera screwed up!
Next morning: Sunrise on the Sierras, outside Bishop CA.
Time for rain gear.
The light rain drew out the aromas of sage, old fires, and more.
Smells were amazingly strong and dramatic, even at 70mph.
Almost home. Castaic Lake in the distance, just north of LA.
Another fun trip.
