West 2002
 
 

Day 15

August 8

 
  I get a shot of the Sunset Inn before I leave, since it is the cheapest motel I've found on the trip so far.  
 
 
 

Nothing looks inviting for breakfast in Blanding, so I head north, figuring I'll find something along the way. Traffic is light along highway 191 and I'm hungry, so I arrive in Moab pretty quickly. I'm about out of film, so I pull into a grocery store, pretty sure they'll have some. Sure enough they do, so I grab a few rolls and make my way to the checkout. I ask the attendant as she checks me out –

“Where would you eat breakfast if you were hungry?”

“That's easy – the Moab Diner. Can't miss it, right on the main drag” she answers.

I thank her and head back to the bike. She is exactly right, the Moab Diner is just down the road with lots of cars parked around it. This is a good thing and I am expecting a good breakfast. I am not disappointed and get my fill of hen fruit and pig meat. Wanting to end up in New Mexico for the evening, I study my maps and realize I have a lot of two-lane ground to cover. I finish up and head for the Arches, thanking Dennis in my heart for suggesting I get a National Park Pass. As many parks as I have stopped at, it has more than paid for itself. The line is a bit long, so I can squeeze off a shot of the entrance.
 
 
 
 

The road in is very interesting as it winds up some serious elevations. But I immediately notice that it is heavily patrolled so I had better behave. Betty Boops, my radar detector, is singing me a regular tune as I ease along the park roads.

 
 
 
  The arches are quite interesting but I still don't know the difference between arches and bridges. Maybe one day I will, but this visit does not clear up the matter. Perhaps more interesting than the arches are several rock formations that look like a golf ball, a very large golf ball, perched upon a tee.  
 
 
 

After checking out the arches, I carefully head out and on to the Canyonlands. There's a north entrance and a south entrance, so I chose the north entrance.

 
 
 
 

At the gate, the ranger says -

“We are going to be changing shifts, but I'll tell the new ranger that you have a pass.”

“I reckon if you tell him just watch out for the Red Honda, he'll figure it out” I say with a grin.

We both laugh and I thank him and head toward the viewing area. Again this is a canyon that you stand on the rim and look out and down. It reminds me a lot of the Grand Canyon if the Grand Canyon was much wider. It is very fascinating terrain and I'm once again glad that I have been able to make the trip.
 
 
 
 

I snap quite a few pictures, amazed at the variety of terrain below my feet. As I head back toward the gate, I see something that I just have to stop and get a picture of.

 
 
 
 

Having read all the works of Edgar Allen Poe as a youth, the lines from his famous poem 'The Raven' ring in my head -

"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary ..."

But my time to ponder is fleeing away, so I head back to the gate. Indeed they have changed the rangers but they see my bike and wave me on through. Evidently some folks try to sneak in and get nailed on the way out. Back on the road again, I stop for gas and look over the map for the most interesting way to New Mexico from here. I see the Mesa Verde National Park tucked in the corner of Colorado and decide I'll see if I can work it in, since I'm already in the neighborhood. At Monticello, I hit the Triple 6 highway to Cortez. Being a student of the Bible, the highway number 666 makes it a must stop to get a picture of the road sign.

 
 

 
  The terrain I pass through is unlike anything you will see east of the Mississippi. Unusual rock formations seem to just sprout up from the ground at random intervals - each one unique in appearance from the other one.  
 
 
  Finally I arrive at the entrance of the Mesa Verde park. But the paid admission entrance must be some distance into the park.  
 
 
 

When I do arrive at admission gate, the ranger comes out with an apologetic look on his face –

“Sorry, the park is closed due to fire. Wires are down and are blocking the road.”

“Any chance it will be open later, since I came all the way from Tennessee?” I ask hopefully.

“Nope. Where will you be tomorrow?” he asks.

“Way on down the road I reckon. Thanks anyway” I tell him.

A little sad, I head back to Cortez and decide I might as well hit Four Corners from here. I've heard it's not much to look at, it's a bit out of the way, but when has that ever stopped a rider? As I head for the junction of four states, the land seems more and more barren. I think if it weren't for an occasional casino, there wouldn't be anything out here. Highway 160 branches off of Triple 6 and guides me right to the spot. It's late in the day and I'm a bit hot and tired as I pull up and pay my three dollars to get in.
 
 

 
  The monument is pretty impressive and I would like to get some pictures, but there are several folks standing on the spot who left their manners at home. Fed up with the ignorance and lack of tact of folks, I leave without a close inspection. As I head down the road, I regret that I let others rob me of a special moment. The farther down the road I get, the more aggravated I get at myself. I decide to get a motel room nearby and come back in the morning before the idiots are awake. Well, as it turns out, there are no motel rooms until I get to Farmington, New Mexico – some 60 miles away. As I ease into town, I spy the Travel Inn.  
 
 
 

It's close and it's open so I pull in. The man running it is a devout Hindu and is really a nice fellow. He offers to move his car out of the garage so I can park my bike under the shelter. I thank him but decline, since it doesn't look like it's rained here it quite a long time. I unload the bike, freshen up a bit and strike out on foot across the road to Blake's Burgers. The heat of the day has really zapped me so I'm both hungry and thirsty.

“I'll take your biggest burger, onion rings and the biggest chocolate shake you can make” I ask politely.

The fellow behind the counter looks at me like I'm from outer space and says -

“This is the regular size. If you want a bigger one, I'll have to charge you extra” as if that would stop me.

I promptly reply, “Bring it on, I'm good for it.”

He's a bit shocked, but he proceeds with my order. I collect two straws and my order and wander back across to the motel as I leave him scratching his head. As I devour the burger and rings and slurp the milk shake, I determine that I am going back to Four Corners and stand on the spot just for grins. I know tomorrow will be a long day and it will add several hours, but no sense in letting a special moment pass me by. With that resolution made, I settle in, knowing I've got to make it to Oklahoma before night falls tomorrow.