Motorcycle Road Trip: The Desert and Some Canyon Thing

"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech)
08/03/2018 at 11:30 • Filed to: ADV Monster!

Independence day! But I didn’t see any aliens. Or Will Smith. Or Jeff Goldblum. But I was not disappoint. There were plenty of other things to see ! Warning! More pics here than any previous post from this trip. And they’re some of the best.

Started the day off heading into Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. Rode past a bunch of ranches with donkeys running around all over the place. Now this was the desert. I’d never been to the desert before. Fuck was it warm. Not hot because skychismo would be pissed if I said anything under 100 was hot. I had actually intended to camp here but was running late and didn’t want to navigate a rocky trail in the dark which is why I stayed in Cortez the night before. There are supposed to be some ancient Anasazi ruins here but I didn’t have time to hike in and find them. I’ll need to come back.

Yes, please tell me about all the cool things I missed. By not going through Grand staircase. But don’t worry, I’m an even bigger disappointment the next day. I’ll come back. At least once. I loved this whole area so much.

Anyways, as you can see, I made my way to monument valley and Mexican hat (zoom in close for this one!) as well as valley of the gods.

In case you were curious, soft sand on the Monster is not easy but I managed and didn’t drop it or get stuck!

The plan was to check out antelope canyon, but didn’t have enough time. I did however check out antelope point national recreation area, which was super cool and you should all check it out. If you go to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, you should really do antelope point and canyon because they’re pretty close and absolutely worth the trip.

Remember how I said it was warm earlier? Well after leaving canyon of the ancients, temps went over 100. I’m calling this hot. Especially with a 1200cc engine between my legs and armored pants on. Trust me, you so not want to know what my feet smelled like at the end of days like this. And to be honest, I think I’ve blocked out the memory of just how bad that smell was.

Here are some random roadside shots from on my way to the big canyon thing that seems to be kind of famous.

Did you know there’sa National Forest on top of the north rim? Me either! And that buffalo live up there? Well now we both know! In fact, there’s a whole herd of them. And about a hundred gazillion moths. But I finally made it to the north rim of the Grand Canyon!

They have a lodge, cabins for rent, and a Teddy Roosevelt themed saloon.

After roaming around here for a while, I headed out to find a place to spend the night. There is free dispersed camping in the national f orest so that’s what I did. Fifteen miles out a right and very rocky dirt road I set up a few hundred yards from the rim of a small side canyon. I could’ve walked around naked and yelled at the top of my lungs without bothering anyone. It was magical.

Taking camp down the next morning I made a new friend! She had business to attend to though so couldn’t hang out and chat for too long.

Only a few more posts left in this series! I'll try to finish next week. My favorite campsite yet to come!

DISCUSSION (21)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/03/2018 at 11:54

Fantastic! We were just at the Grand Canyon in June.

Kinja'd!!!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/03/2018 at 12:51

Sure is beautiful isn't it!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/03/2018 at 12:55

Breath taking. I’d been a couple times before, but it was a first for my kids.

Just Jeepin' > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/03/2018 at 14:23

I can’t really relate to most of this, being stuck on the wrong side of the Mississippi for the most part, but speaking of buffalo...

I was leading a small group of fellow Jeeps on a road rally last month , visiting some gravel (and dirt) roads in the Indiana hinterlands, when I looked down the slope next to the road and saw huge furry critters at the bottom of a valley.

I’m assuming they were on a farm , but it was surreal seeing them hidden amongst the trees beneath me when I always envision them on the open prairie.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/03/2018 at 14:39

How did they like it?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Just Jeepin'
08/03/2018 at 14:39

That’s pretty cool though! Never would've expected to see them there.

Just Jeepin' > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/03/2018 at 14:45

I regret not stopping to take a pic. I’ll be back.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/03/2018 at 14:57

Loved it. Zion was my oldest son’s favorite, and Canyonlands was my daughter’s.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/04/2018 at 00:03

I want to do both of those so bad. Especially Angel's Landing in Zion.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Just Jeepin'
08/04/2018 at 06:57

I saw a bunch of kids on horseback in the Merriwa Showground rounding up an American Bison earlier this year .

Merriwa is in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia.

Those damn buffalo get around...

DipodomysDeserti > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/04/2018 at 12:56

Love it. The North Rim is my favorite side. Less people and beautiful deserts. Those buffalo up there are smart. The Game an d Fish Dept use to have a warning on their website for Buffalo tags they they seemed to k iw when it was hunting season and would head into the wildlife preserve in the Canyon where there is no hunting.

Anything near 100 on a motorcycle is hot. I was once riding my Honda home from work on a hot day and I legitamately thought I had caught fire. It’s a real possibility on that bike on account of the shitty petcock. Wasn’t on fire, the asphalt or someone’s exhaust was just really hot. Good on you staying up on that dirt. It’s like baby powder up there.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/04/2018 at 14:09

We had little kids along, so we didn’t get to do Angel’s Landing... we did hike into the Narrows. So cool.

Rugged Simplicity > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/04/2018 at 14:21

Wait, did they change the name of Oakland slightly?

P.S. Your trip looks like a whale of a good time.

cmill189 - sans Volvo > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/04/2018 at 14:47

If you someday make it to Zion...skip Angels. It’s incredibly crowded (as is the park as a whole nowadays) and is mostly a paved path. I recommend Observation Point. It’s harder, longer, and a real trail. Far less traffic because of that.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Rugged Simplicity
08/04/2018 at 20:09

My sis live in Oakley.

Ha - s everal in my family saw the whale as well.

Decay buys too many beaters > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/05/2018 at 20:41

Man, I really wish I’d asked for more time off now. Don’t think I’ve got time in the schedule to hit the north rim and still go around south. Plus after looking at my route a little closer I’m going to try to route through Zion as well, but that starts to bring me into the danger zone of only 1 flexible day before I’ ve got to get back.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DipodomysDeserti
08/05/2018 at 23:45

I’ll check out the south side some day. But I loved the north. Such a stark contrast from everything else in the area.

It’s amazing how after everything over 100 anything under that, even 99, felt cold!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > cmill189 - sans Volvo
08/05/2018 at 23:46

Thanks for the tip!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Decay buys too many beaters
08/05/2018 at 23:47

I very much wanted to never come back and just keep exploring. I suspect you're going to feel the same.

DipodomysDeserti > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/06/2018 at 00:21

Honestly, the North Rim is where it’s at. The South Rim is all tourists and pine trees. IMO that area of Arizona along the 89A is the most beautiful place on Earth. Being a desert rat, my opinion is obviously highly biased.

Decay buys too many beaters > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/06/2018 at 00:45

Shhhhh...

I don’t have the money yet to be a professional wanderer.