Torrey UT
Woke
up to clear skies and a moderately warm temperature. It looked like it was going to be a nice day
for riding from Baker to Torrey. I was
up around 8 am and started loading the bike.
This morning I planned on having a breakfast and then heading out to the
Visitor’s Center to find out what the Great Basin is all about.
After
finishing the loading and checking the room for any forgotten item, I rode
around to the front of the Café. Terry
was sitting there having breakfast and enjoying his usual glum self. But despite this personality he responded to
my greeting and, letting me know the restaurant is closed, he willingly went
and got me a breakfast of cold cereal with banana and a cup of coffee. Pretty good start to the day!
While
sitting there eating breakfast a town neighbor came up and Terry and he began
talking about fluoride in the water….seems fluoride is a poison and putting it
in the water and toothpaste is affecting American children’s brains… at least
according to Terry’s neighbor. Prior to
departing, I got the neighbor to take a photo of Terry and I…..doesn’t he look
happy with my hand on his shoulder??
Next stop was the Visitor’s Center and I’m so glad that I did that. First of all, upon entering the parking lot, a Chinese family was exiting their van and noticed me coming in. As I parked the bike the son came over to me and asked would I mind their taking photos of the bike. I went him one better and suggested they sit on the bike and take photos, wow, they liked that idea J. Then another lady visiting the center offered to take a group photo of us.
I
got out on the road and headed for Delta, about 100 miles away. From there I’ll continue on US-50 thru Utah,
briefly getting onto I-15 for about 20 miles heading into Scipio then across
the 70 to pick up UT24 into Torrey. I
haven’t made any reservations so I am hoping to find some available rooms. Total mileage today will be less than 240
miles. So I plan to get into town early
enough to be able to get a motel room.
Being a small town however may present problems if there are only a few
mom and pop motels.
I
enjoyed the ride over the state line (filled up with gas there just in case)
and thru the western part of Utah It is
still high desert but there are a lot of hills and mountains, shrubs and
wildlife. A coyote, usually not seen, was
spotted crossing the road about ¼ mile ahead of me. In no time I reached Delta, tanked up while
taking a break, then headed for I-15 to ride up to Scipio. Again this was a very pleasurable ride with
seeing this part of Utah for the first time.
Upon reaching I-15 I found moderate traffic but it was a slow ride due
to it being a single lane because of the construction. No passing was allowed and the speeds were in
the 40’s and lower. Finally reaching the
turnoff where US50 separated from I-15, I pulled into a gas station, ate some
leftover pizza, drank lotsa water, made a head call, and bought some candied
papayas for my sweet tooth.
US50
went thru the small town of Scipio and then headed south towards Salina where I
would catch UT-24. It was a very nice
scenic ride along the eastern side of some mountains/hills and I easily
connected to 24 south of Salina. Once I
got over I-70 the road took me between two mountain ranges. I briefly stopped to take these photos of the
reds and yellows that were painting the hillsides. Snoopy really enjoyed the view and sat there
taking it all in. While sitting there enjoying
the view some hunters with their guns in front of them road by on the low hills
in their ATVs…or what ever you call those things today. They were all camouflaged, including the ATV’s,
and looked like they were enjoying the search for game. Snoopy and I waved as they went by.
We
finally reached Torrey around 4:30 pm and Snoopy and I rode from the north or
east end of town to the other end checking everything out. I was surprised that, although a very small
town, there were a ton of motels. Days
Inn, Howard Johnsons (although I never found it), and I think there was a Best
Western. Out of about 5-7 mom and pops I
picked the one on the south side of UT24 that offered log cabins for $35 a
night. Yeah, well, that was too good to
be true….no vacancy. The hotel across
the street behind the market place also had no vacancy. Now I was worried. As I checked the motel signage I could see
more no vacancy signs. This place is a
freakin touris mecca! I noted a campground
loaded with RV’s but I didn’t want to camp tonight as I was pretty sure it would
be cold and possibility of moisture. I
headed back out to the north or east end of town and saw the Boulder View Inn, a
small mom and pop on the south side of the road with only one car parked in
front of a room. I was lucky, they had 3
rooms available but would not budge on the rate. They wanted $65 +tax and no matter what I
tried, there was no adjusting the rate!
They claimed to be one of the lowest in town and offered one of the best
rooms of the others. Fine! I paid $65, checked the room, and was very
pleased…it was indeed a very nice room; and they offered a continental
breakfast in the morning.
After
unloading Sophia I put Snoopy back into his seat and headed out to get
something to eat. Across the street from
the motel was a steakhouse but I didn’t feel like doing a sit down. There also was a café perhaps 1/8 of a mile
from the motel. They also had take-out
and that was what I was interested in…but not café style. There was a coffee shop on the south side but
they wouldn’t be open until the morning, mental note for a follow-up to the
continental breakfast, I decided to head to the west end of town beyond where I saw
two burger places. At the same time I was also looking for the Howard Johnson's Motel where my friends from Netherlands (met them at Baker NV) were staying.
I passed the burger places and continued on to where the junction was with the 12 (my direction manana) and stopped there. As far as I could tell there was no HJ on the 12. So I continued on the 24, out of Torrey and towards Capitol Reef National Park. I only went about 1/2 mile and it seemed to me that this was all going to be a ride thru the Park. So before one of the curves I spied a dirt turnoff and decided to get off the 24 there and do my turnaround. It was almost a disaster!
So let me explain. The asphalt was about 6 inches above the dirt shoulder, which was only about a 2 foot shoulder, except in one spot where the shoulder and asphalt were pretty even. This is where I exited off the asphalt. At the time I thot I had slowed to about 15mph but when I hit the dirt it was still too fast. Worse yet, there was a deep gulley about 9 inched wide that I had to roll over to then enter the opening of the dirt turnaround! I hit the gulley pretty hard and the forks twisted with the bounce causing the bike to lean right (towards the descending cliff). I slammed my right foot into the ground to stabilize the bike and it was promptly yanked back slamming into the saddlebags. I was fortunate that (1) the bike stabilized, and (2) my foot was protected by the boots I wear and came free of the underside of the bags. Whew. Braking hard I entered a slight skid but kept Sophia righted and came to a stop before going over the opposite edge.
With heart beating like natives pounding on midnight drums I just sat there thinking (1) this is not the time or place to have a freakin heart attack, and (2) I'm getting too old for this shit!! and (3) I blame my wife, if she hadn't passed away I wouldn't be doing this....I'd be helping her shop in Nordstorm's or something!
I finally got Sophia turned around in the dirt, bounced over the 6 inch asphalt ledge, and got back on the road heading east into Torrey for a burger.
When I came upon the two burger places I selected the one on the right, Slackers Burger Joint. Sent a note to Ton and Astrid letting them know that I couldn't find HJ's but hoped we'd still get to meet again somewhere down the road.
Slackers was packed, which didn’t bother me as I was doing a takeout. The menu is pretty extensive….burgers 20 ways, plus lots of other stuff. They advertise as being listed #1 on some Salt Lake City poll of burger. I got a spicy jalapeno burger with French fries and coke and took it back to my room. As I got back to the room I caught a view of the mountain plateau to the north and had to catch some photo’s….and then the rainbow appeared J.
I passed the burger places and continued on to where the junction was with the 12 (my direction manana) and stopped there. As far as I could tell there was no HJ on the 12. So I continued on the 24, out of Torrey and towards Capitol Reef National Park. I only went about 1/2 mile and it seemed to me that this was all going to be a ride thru the Park. So before one of the curves I spied a dirt turnoff and decided to get off the 24 there and do my turnaround. It was almost a disaster!
So let me explain. The asphalt was about 6 inches above the dirt shoulder, which was only about a 2 foot shoulder, except in one spot where the shoulder and asphalt were pretty even. This is where I exited off the asphalt. At the time I thot I had slowed to about 15mph but when I hit the dirt it was still too fast. Worse yet, there was a deep gulley about 9 inched wide that I had to roll over to then enter the opening of the dirt turnaround! I hit the gulley pretty hard and the forks twisted with the bounce causing the bike to lean right (towards the descending cliff). I slammed my right foot into the ground to stabilize the bike and it was promptly yanked back slamming into the saddlebags. I was fortunate that (1) the bike stabilized, and (2) my foot was protected by the boots I wear and came free of the underside of the bags. Whew. Braking hard I entered a slight skid but kept Sophia righted and came to a stop before going over the opposite edge.
With heart beating like natives pounding on midnight drums I just sat there thinking (1) this is not the time or place to have a freakin heart attack, and (2) I'm getting too old for this shit!! and (3) I blame my wife, if she hadn't passed away I wouldn't be doing this....I'd be helping her shop in Nordstorm's or something!
I finally got Sophia turned around in the dirt, bounced over the 6 inch asphalt ledge, and got back on the road heading east into Torrey for a burger.
When I came upon the two burger places I selected the one on the right, Slackers Burger Joint. Sent a note to Ton and Astrid letting them know that I couldn't find HJ's but hoped we'd still get to meet again somewhere down the road.
Slackers was packed, which didn’t bother me as I was doing a takeout. The menu is pretty extensive….burgers 20 ways, plus lots of other stuff. They advertise as being listed #1 on some Salt Lake City poll of burger. I got a spicy jalapeno burger with French fries and coke and took it back to my room. As I got back to the room I caught a view of the mountain plateau to the north and had to catch some photo’s….and then the rainbow appeared J.
Unfortunately, these pics do not adequately protray the beauty of the vista. :(
Back in the room I
ate my burger and fries, caught up on my email, phone calls to home, and a quick
check of the weather forecast. Then I
thought I’d read a little more of the Craig Johnson mystery novel titled “The Cold
Dish”. I’m really enjoying the way
Johnson has developed his characters, built the mystery with subtle clues, and
inserted action that seems totally real.
But I couldn’t find the book anywhere in my bags.
Then, glancing at the bed table I found it.....seems Snoopy wanted a little bed time reading before falling asleep……damn mutt!
I
finally hit the sack with plans in place to ride UT-12 to Bryce Canyon and try
and reach Caliente NV after that.....the mutt was snoring.
That's when
I got into bed, reflected on how much I enjoy having my right foot still attached, and was able to read a little of my "....Cold Dish".
C ya mañana,Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761
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