Monday, 25 October 2010

The Valley of Fire

I drove on the I-15 Interstate on day 122. This was one of those times where there was little option but to use the "slab" as I have heard it referred to. I crossed into a new state, Nevada and I could notice the difference immediately due to the mass of casinos near the city of Mesquite. I had forgotten Nevada allowed gambling.

Every now and then, I have discovered something that has really surprised me. This happened on my way near Lake Mead, when I found the Valley of Fire State Park. Just 50 miles from the centre of Las Vegas, this place is a gem! I had seen it on a map and only decided at the last minute to go see what was there.

Located in the Mojave Desert, the park is named after the red sandstone rocks that are found throughout the park.

On the day I was there, a 200 mile relay running event was taking place. Teams of 12 runners switched places to cover the 200 miles in 24 hours. The runners each do three legs of between 3 and 8 miles depending on their ability. There were people of all shapes and sizes taking part in this fun event and I suspect they raised quite a lot of money for charity.

I think the event started in the Valley of Fire, but with about 200 teams, it doesn’t involve a huge amount of people, so the roads remained opened. Each team has two support vans that carry the 11 other runners, food, drink and probably a few bandages. One team van stopped right next to me to cheer on their teams runner at that time, so I took a photo of them....

The Valley of Fire was a great place to go see, even on a cloudy day. This next picture shows the deep colour of the rocks and the clouds rolling in. I stopped here and chatted to a group travelling the country by car and before I had realised it, the lovely blue sky had disappeared....

I loved this part of the road through the rocks....

The sand was a similar colour to the rocks. I was pleased that there was enough light to capture the colours, even with a darkening sky....

More terrific riding roads, set in glorious scenery....

One of the runners spotted this spider walking across the road and onto some gravel. Is it a tarantula?....

In the end I was pleased to part company with the runners. Their 2 vans per teams kept slowing to talk to and encourage the runners which was great fun at first, but after about 40 miles of stooping and starting, it became a bit tiresome. I was pleased I saw them though.

I soon reached Lake Mead, which is man-made by the Hoover Dam. Despite the now murky day, it was a great thing to see....

There are two vehicle ralted things to finish this post. My regular readers of this blog will know I have a soft spot for classic car shows. I saw another today near Hoover Dam, so I stopped and took a peek....

I have seen a number of these three unit trucks recently, but only in this area. On the interstate I reluctantly had to travel on this day, I spotted quite a few belonging to Fedex. I saw then heading in the opposite direction about every 10 minutes! That is some logistics operation. I stood by the side of the road waiting for the next Fedex 3-truck unit to come along, but captured this one instead....

I would hate to have to reverse one of these!

Mormons, the Snow Canyon and 18,000 miles

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For the first time in as long as I can remember, I didn’t have a National Park to go see today. I have got used to riding to such parks and adopting a tourist approach of following the signposts and stopping at most of the designated overlooks. I couldn’t do that on day 121 and I found that quite refreshing.

I found a small lake hidden away behind some trees. It just caught my eye as I rode past, so I turned around and went back to check it out. I think it was near Kanab in Utah, near the border with Arizona. I really liked the reflection of the trees in the water....

I skipped breakfast this morning and so I was getting hungry. I rode through the Kanab Indian Reservation, but didn’t find anywhere to eat and after some time, I saw that Colorado City was ahead, which sounded as if it would have places to eat. It didn’t, but it was very interesting. The first thing that struck me about this city was its lack of paved roads. I rode through the city more still looking for somewhere to eat and I saw a gathering of women all dressed in long plain dresses and then I realised where I was. I was in Hildale and I had read about this place, a centre for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and a place where polygamy is practiced.

I wanted to stop and talk to some people, but I had an uneasy feeling about the town. Riding a motorbike, I was obviously an outsider and I felt unwanted in this place where just about everybody stopped what they were doing and stared as I rode passed. I didn’t stop the bike until I reached the base of adjacent mountains at a placed called Maxwell Park. I parked the Leading Ladies and while I was getting my camera out of my saddlebags I noticed an all female group having a picnic. Again I felt as if I was intruding and I could tell they were talking about me, so I gave them a wave and walked toward though the park. Only the eldest woman waved back.

I decided it was probably best not to take any pictures of anybody so I photographed the mountain....

Finding no place to eat and very few other shops, I soon left Hildale and Colorado City, feeling disappointed that I hadn't stopped and talked to people.

Near the city of Washington in Utah, I went to see Snow Canyon. I had read about it somewhere when I was planning my route, but I couldn’t remember what was there. Well, it is a little treasure! Here are a few pictures....

He view from the top, looking down....

A lava field set against the red rocks....

A large rock outcrop....

The Leading Ladies in Snow Canyon....

Compared with most canyons I have seen recently, Snow Canyon is quite small, but one of the nicest as its scale is much easier to understand and take in. It is worth a visit on a sunny day.

I am not sure, but I think this is at the south western end of the Canyon....

On Old Highway 91 between Ivins and Gunlock, I passed the 18,000 mile point of my tour, so here is the customary picture....

Nearby in the town of Santa Clara sits this statue in the middle of a roundabout....

Finally for today, here is a picture of myself. The picture is similar to one Sonja recently put on here blog, so I thought I would borrow the idea....

Zion, Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head and a Cooperative Goat

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I didn’t know what to think of Zion at first.

After abandoning the route I had intended to take to get to Zion, I arrived later than I would have hoped and just went straight to the hotel that one of my readers, James, had suggested.

I was there for a day and a half and the sight that greeted me when I woke on the first morning both delighted and disappointed me. This is what I saw....

It delighted as it was a beautiful sight. It disappointed because I knew what would follow. I can always remember the words “Red sky at night, shepherds delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherds warning”. There are no doubt other similar variations, but one thing was for certain – it would probably be cloudy and maybe rain. It did both.

I think because I have been so lucky with the weather on this tour and I am used to seeing clear blue skies and terrific sunlight, on the few occasions it has been cloudy or wet, I think less of the place I am at. That is silly really but I have become spoilt by the fantastic weather I have experienced.

I had planned on being in Zion National Park for less than a day, but I extended it when I discovered you have to leave your own vehicle behind and get a bus in the main part of the park. I knew having to travel by bus would mean that would take longer than if I had been able to use the bike. As it turned out, the bus service was excellent with just a few minutes wait at each stop.

This was one of my first views of Zion. Despite the looming clouds, the early morning sunlight was illuminating the highest peaks....

These three peaks have a wonderful name – the Court of the Patriarchs. Splendid!....

Another shot looking up at just one of the trio....

I had taken the bus as far as the narrowing canyon would allow and the next part had to be done on foot. With the depth of the canyon, its steep walls and the clouds above, the light for taking photographs was poor, so I concentrated on the river....

It is amazing to think that this small river created the Zion Canyon almost on its own. At this time of the year, the creek is slow moving with not a lot of water flowing. I should imagine in the spring when the snow is melting it is an all together different river. For now, the river was content with being just a small stream really....

There were a few small waterfalls....

The water that feeds the river comes from many different places. Here the porous sandstone has water running seeping through it that then runs down the face of the canyon, creating a hanging garden. The plants have a very tenuous hold on life....

Looking up at the high peaks from within the canyon....

Sunlight and blue skies were at a premium today....

While I was standing in the canyon taking a few pictures and concentrating on the scene, a bus load of people arrived and I couldn’t resist taking a picture of them. I try to take my pictures without any person in and sometimes that is not easy. The reality of sometimes crowded places means you have to be quick to get your pictures sometimes.... this was about the worse that it ever got on my tour....

Coming back down the canyon, I hopped of the bus at Big Bend....

This was near the visitors centre and museum....

Not so many pictures from today – very soon the skies darkened and the heavens opened. I did manage to get a decent shot of the mountains through the rain....

The rain ended the mornings look at Zion early. By late afternoon, I ventured out again to go see a nearby ghost-town called Grafton. It is being preserved as a historic site and so it should be, as it has a considerable history and is located in a beautiful setting. Here are all of the building that remain....

Many of you will remember a movie called Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. One of the memorable scenes from the movie was the “bicycle scene” when Paul Newman is riding a push-bike. This is easily remembered due to the song that accompanies the scene –“Raindrops are falling on my head”. That scene was filmed at Grafton. Here it is....

The early residents of Grafton suffered from a lack of water for their crops, disease and being attacked and killed by Indians. The local Grafton Cemetery is a sobering sight....

The girl who lies in this grave was killed at the age of 14 years....

Lucy Jane died at just 7 months old....

James died when he was just six....

I am pleased I went to see Grafton.

The next day I went to the other main part of Zion, on its east side. The weather was better when I started out....

The road rises quickly and passes through a number of switchbacks before entering a 1.1 mile long tunnel....

By the time I came out of the tunnel, rain threatened again. I rode to the eastern end of the park and on the way back, I spotted just the head of something on top of a cliff. You might need to click on the picture to enlarge it to see what I saw....

I took quite a few pictures and the best ones were where I set the camera for the sky to be exposed properly and that silhouetted out the hill and the animal.

From where I was I could only see its head, so I climbed part of the adjacent hill to get a better look. I felt pretty silly wearing my gloves, helmet and leather jacket as I climbed, but I didn’t have time to take them off in case the animal moved. As I climbed, the animal, which I now recognised to be a Mountain Goat raised up from its laying position to watch me climb. I was on a different hill, so it didn’t seem at all bothered by my climbing. It turned and watched me....

At about a hundred feet up, I was more or less level with it. Now I was in position, I was willing it to stand, which after a few minutes, it did....

The mountain goat then did the decent thing by moving a little way and stopped in the perfect position for this picture, which is my favourite....

I was later told that seeing mountain goats here is quite unusual, so I feel very lucky to have seen one.

I got back to the hotel just before it rained. Lucky me. I still had my camera out so I got this shot of the hotel in the foreground and the Zion mountains in the back....