Bloggers Monthly.....!!!!
Blimey.....nearly a whole month has gone by...unbelievable !!!....feels like we've been out here for years and it just shows that wi fi on the move at various places hasn't been good enough to upload anything. Enough whinging......we got the email that we'd been waiting for and on Sunday 7th September with the weather back to sunshine we rode to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Fantastic viewing...not to be missed if you're over here.
From there we rode to Monument Valley Tipi Village.....this is a campsite on a Navajo Indian Reservation. We didn't stay in a Tipi (we'd already done this previously) just used our tent....lovely site...amazing setting.....these days though many of the Indian People have swapped Tipis for mobile homes .....which just don't blend into the landscape as well. The night sky was a star gazing heaven with practically no light pollution and peaceful......not too many 'peepy' cars about. The site had two friendly dogs which insisted on coming to see you....one of them liked to curl up in the corner we were camped in. We had two nights here....hot showers....supermarket and gas station close by...rode round Monument Valley....took pictures of the road which is an 'Eagles' album cover and many more besides....Monument Valley is a classic music and film location. On our way round we also visited 'Four Corners' where four state boundaries meet.....New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. We also passed by 'Mexican Hat'.....one of the rocks that looks like a sombrero.
Tuesday 9th September saw us heading for Page, Arizona. Page was fantastic...what a brilliant place to visit. We stayed here for almost a week on a campground by Lake Powell. It's a welcome relief to get off the bikes for downtime.....here we booked onto two trips and became proper tourists ourselves visiting 'Antelope Canyon' and a boat trip to 'Rainbow Bridge'.
Both trips were amazing and great fun...Antelope Canyon....the Indians took us in an old army truck into the desert area where the canyon is located....well what a laugh.....bumped around and chucked about in the back ....on right 4 wheel drive sand tracks.....you then get a guided tour through the canyon. And Rainbow Bridge.....blimey....this boat trip nearly turned out to be a re-make of 'The Perfect Storm'......as we boarded the boat, the weather took a turn for the worse and as we sailed across Lake Powell the skies erupted.....tossing the little passenger boat all over the place....plenty of oohs and ahhs at the lightening.....other boats getting into distress on the lake....Park Ranger boats called out....it was all happening. Our female Captain and two female crew members took it all in their stride and got the boat through.....as we finally disembarked....the sun came out in time for us to walk up to the bridge. The sailing back was bathed in sunshine but we only just got back before it went dark. With a nautical theme still going...it was 'fish 'n' chips' for tea before heading back across the park to our tent, picking our way through the bushes... and yep...no torch....der...well we didn't expect to be out so late....lol. The next day we rode out to another interesting sight....'Horseshoe Bend'........with no railings at the edge.....if you're scared of heights it was a bit unnerving peering over. After that we spent the afternoon lazing on Lake Powell beach....topping up tans.
It was a shame to leave Page, I really liked it here and I saw my first 'Roadrunner'....excellent......no 'Wile E Coyote in chase though...ha, ha. The road from here saw us heading to the 'North Rim' of the Grand Canyon......not as busy as the South and still worth seeing....riding over the 'Navajo Bridge' to get there. Riding on we visited 'Bryce Canyon' a very pretty canyon but seriously $25 each to ride into a dead end....bit of a rip off this one. Not to worry from there we decided to ride the long way round to St George....that's where we were booked into to visit Zion. Anyways along this route we discovered 'Butch Cassidy's' birthplace which the Americans are now 'restoring'.....ready to charge more $25 fees me thinks.....at least we saw it free this one. The decision to ride the long way round had us riding through some great scenery but then.....no petrol stations.....anywhere......unbelievable......I was on fumes by the time we did get to a petrol station....206 miles the sportster pulled out of the tank on reserve.....phew.....and by the time we got to our motel....yep....just gone dark......not intentional but we'd had a cracking day.
So..St George....we'd only booked into here because all the campsites in Zion were full....bit annoying really as Zion is beautiful but September in the parks is still really busy. What did we do in Zion.....we went for a walk....a whole day of a walk for us......a bit of a shocker....for some.......seven people had died up there.........falling off....the walk.....'Angels Landing'......one of the most famous hikes in the World....an awesome experience. I'll get some video footage on the You Tube channel at some point for you all to watch. It took us a couple of days to recover !!
From St George and the wonderful Zion Park......I'd love to come back here and do some more trails we rode to a little place called Baker....on the outskirts of Death Valley.......that leads us into Part Six of the 'Where To Next Tour' and I'm soooo tired.....I'll be back......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
