What the Rain Brings*… (and a Bonus Gear Review, for Those That Care)

So, yeah, it’s been raining a bit lately.  Our monsoon can certainly be disadvantageous when riding a motorcycle, but it does have its perks.  To wit:

Water in our rivers…

Salt River Canyon

…flowers…

…and… the King!

No, no, not that king, but Boletus edulis, aka King Bolete, known to you and me as a porcini (porcino in the singular, actually) mushroom.  Interestingly, since my return, the Southwest's red capped variety has been reclassified to Boletus rubriceps, or the Rocky Mountain King Bolete.  I’m no less pleased with my find.

Earlier this month, the Ducati, my Rough Rider Happy Pig Mushroom Hunter's Knife,** and I spent three days camping and riding roads I love (Salt River Canyon, AZ 191/Coronado Trail Scenic Byway, and Mount Graham’s Swift Trail Parkway), with a little stop to join a guided mushroom foray.  Not all my finds made the cargo cut (I’m going to have to do something about that!), but I did bring home a respectable little haul.

In addition to the prize shown above, the fruits of my labors included two types of porcini cousins, a big White King Bolete (Boletus barrowsii) and several Aspen Boletes (Leccinum insigne); oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus), and that mycological two-for-one fungi, lobster mushrooms (Hypomyces lactifluorum).  When I think what they would have cost me at Whole Foods… well, maybe that Ducati is going to finally start paying for herself!***

Ducati with Shrimp Mushrooms (Russula xerampelina).  I wasn’t positive of my identification at the time I found this batch on an earlier solo foray.

Three days in a motorcycle top box doesn’t do much for mushrooms.

These could use some food styling. Or at least some arranging.

What activity could be truer to the Eating on Two Wheels philosophy than tearing through canyons and across mountains, with an occasional stop to harvest wild mushrooms?

*Mushroomers will realize I’ve borrowed the idea of this title from David Arora’s excellent guidebook, “All That the Rain Promises, and More…”
**I am not making this up. Such a product actually exists, and turns out to be pretty useful.  You should see the box. It's hilarious.
***Doubtful
_________________________________________________________________
Some notes on mushroom safety:

• You can’t just go around taste testing mushrooms. Do your homework, including but not limited to: lots of reading, looking at a lot of specimens in the wild, and getting an expert to confirm your identifications, at least until you get awfully good at it.
• Once you are comfortable identifying an edible species, perform a standard controlled edibility test to confirm that particular species agrees with you.
• I’ve noticed it would be awfully easy to get lost in the woods while hunting mushrooms.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
• If you happen to overtake the sheriff at well over the speed limit outside Eager, AZ, just give him friendly wave as you return back to your side of the road.  This way, he won’t pull you over.  (Oopsy!)

Dining Notes:

• Elements Bistro Coffee Shop, Show Low, AZ: Wait, is it legal to serve burgers but not fries?  The burger was tasty, the salad a healthier option, I suppose, but, but... I wanted fries!  A splurge on the cinnamon roll for dessert may have reached the mythical point of too sweet, but was worth the calories.  I'd stop there again.

Gear Review with Preliminary Ranting:
About a year ago, I broke down and bought a textile “ADV” touring suit.  This was no small thing for me, because until then I’d only been willing to wear gear that was considered good enough for the track when riding on the street.  Call me crazy, but I’m pretty conservative about the sort of gear I trust with my personal safety.  But dirt and mud does not do much for leather, as it turns out, and at my equally conservative off-road speeds in the desert, one can argue that the danger of heat exhaustion quickly becomes just as clear and present as the danger of a “get-off.”  I really, really  wanted an Olympia X-Moto suit, and actually waited a season or two for one, but  - phooey on you, Olympia!!, - despite my hounding, they still won’t offer it for women. (I think the entire line is now discontinued.)  Until now, I’d only worn my new suit on Li’l Burro adventures, but I made an exception for this trip, and wore it on the Ducati. It’s simply easier to fit a hiking (or mushroom hunting, in this case) outfit on under this suit than my usual touring/track gear.

I’m going to take this opportunity to rant about a few "design features" of much of the all season gear available, first.  Hello?  Gear designers? Are you listening??

• Why put the waterproofing layer on the inside of the jacket??  Honestly, do you have any idea how heavy and uncomfortable a soggy outer layer is?  Do you know how long it can take to dry?  (You can see how much I love an actual rain suit at the bottom of this post.)
• Mesh on the outside, warmth on the inside.  Okay, I’ll admit I’m probably in the minority on this one, but I will never, ever buy gear with this configuration. No amount of quilting or wind resistance of the inner layer will make up for the fact that there’s an ice cold breeze screaming through that mesh when the temperatures drop.  If it’s mesh, it’s not all season gear. Period. (The X-Moto suit had a cool solution for this issue.)
• Protection on the “impact zones.”  Who says I’m going to land on my elbow in a crash?  I’d like the entire suit to be made of the most protective fabric, not just part of it.  So there.  400D just doesn’t cut it.
• Having a belt and calling the jacket “cut for women.”  Having to cinch up a belt and crumple a bunch of fabric around the waist isn’t exactly a good example of a streamlined hour glass design. Still, I like the belt option.  Both a belt and a tapered waist would be better.

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I’ll admit that, overall, I do like my Firstgear suit. Here are the details.

Firstgear Kilimanjaro Jacket (size WXS):

• Likes: Gear that fits me is hard to find, but this jacket fits perfectly! Score one for Firstgear!  It may not be pretty or fashionable, but I’ll opt for a nice full high-viz color scheme every time. This one sings with color!  I was pleasantly surprised with the effectiveness of the venting. August in Arizona?  No problem.  For me, anyway.  (To be fair, on this trip I was travelling at Ducati speed. I’ll have to update next time I use it off-road.  It’s been a while.)  The pricing is beyond reasonable. The outer layer is waterproofed as well as the inner liner.  So clever!  (Nothing will stop me from packing that afore mentioned rain suit, however.)  Pockets, pockets, pockets!  No shortage of pockets! (I don’t even come close to using all of them.)   Removable winter liner and armor are both included: I almost forgot to mention those, since I would not consider a jacket without both of these things. 
• Gripes: The phone pocket is just a bit too small for an iPhone with a cover.  Which means you’ll be fighting to get your phone in and out of your pocket. It’s annoying enough that I may have a friend with needle and thread skills adjust it for me.  Lord help you if you have a giant Android.  If it has a left hand zipper pull, it’s not redesigned for women.  (I am zipper deficient. Motorcycle camping involves an awful lot of zippers, as it turns out.)  400/640D dernier is wimpy.  Bump it up, Firstgear.  The shoulder vents are a bit tricky to operate while actually riding. And if you’re wearing a backpack, forget it.
• Overall: I’ll admit it, I like this high-on-the-bang/buck scale jacket.  But I will probably continue my habit of using it just for dual sporting.

First Gear TPG Escape Pant (Size 6. I have an older model, and I’m suspicious they don’t make them for women anymore, but here’s the info, anyway.) 

• Likes: Again, these actually fit me! (Happy dance!)  Again, the two little vents offer surprising air flow.  What? An actual pocket for your keys?  (Race track pants do not provide this nifty feature.)  The snapping/velcro liner cuff at the ankle keeps water and drafts out, and is much appreciated!  Like the jacket, the necessary armor is included.  There is a zipper connection between the pants and jacket.  It’s not full circumference, but it’s something.  They, too, are reasonably priced, especially since I bought an older model.
• Gripes: They are designed for women in that the hips have, you know, hips, and the waist has, you know, a waist. But I think Firstgear forgot  that, when you put on pants, the waist has to fit over the hips to get to the waist. I have a bit of a struggle with this part, especially with the winter liner, but once they’re on, I find them quite comfortable.  Unless you get pants with a full leg length zipper, they will never be easy to get on/off over boots: there is no hasty escaping from the “Escape Pant.”
• Overall: Yep, I’m happy with my pants, but will likely reserve them for dual sport use, or occasional commuting when I need to wear something other than UnderArmour beneath.

Return Migration: Gear Review, Canyonlands National Park

Aside from my top boxes, I’ve never had waterproof luggage.  And since I’ve been generally happy with the seemingly indestructible RoadGear  “Euro-Sport Jumbo Hauler” that came with my Kawasaki when I bought it some nine years ago, I haven’t been able to come up with a good enough excuse to buy actual dry bag luggage. But there must be something empowering about knowing your tail bag is 100% impermeable to water, no matter how hard or long the rain might fall.  Pilot Guy has a Wolfman Expedition Dry Duffel, and I admit to being rather jealous of it.  In addition to the obvious perk of having your tent remain unmoistened by the fiercest deluge, you also have a confirmed drip free, dew free zone to store your riding gear overnight.  If you’re touring “a due,” as I occasionally do,  you’ll find that two sets of armored take up almost as much room as two people.  And four is definitely a crowd in my two-man tent.  So when Kiara Wilson, Marketing Manager for Motorcycle House and Viking Bags, offered to send me a piece of equipment to review*, the choice was obvious.  “Adventure Dry Bag, please!”  “Size Large!,” said my greedy little self.

And large it is!  It doesn’t just swallow my tent whole, but could be my tent.

My tent is not particularly small, and nearly fills my old Roadgear tailbag.  Plenty of room to spare in this spacious specimen!

As I’m loading the Ducati for my annual August return migration to Tucson, it occurs to me that I might just meet my still unrealized motorcycle packing dream: fitting tent, ground pad and essentially enormous zero degree Marmot Ouray sleeping bag, all in one streamlined and gloriously waterproof capsule.  About three seconds after going weak with the thought of it, I realize I have to get all 71.59 liters of this bag on my tiny little motorcycle.  Hm.

The modestly priced Nelson Rigg Adventure Dry Bag is designed to be mounted either along or across the seat, although the orientation of the straps undeniably favors the former arrangement.

Clearly this won’t work on a Ducati 696.  Not one with a topbox, anyway.

What about the other way?

I really didn’t think this through, did I? (Although the bag can be mounted in this manner, the provided mounting straps do not attach to the short sides of the bag, making it a bit of a trick on my bike, anyway.)

I’m not seeing a simple way to safely mount a bag this large on a motorcycle this small.  And it’ll certainly never fit on Li’l Burro.  I am going to have to make a decision. Spend a lot of time working on a solution that could quite possibly wreck this cool new piece of gear, or keep it in new condition, and exchange it for the smaller size when I get home.   Either way, I get to feel really dumb for not checking the measurements before ordering.  I hang my head, pull off the Adventure Dry Bag, and load up with the Jumbo Hauler.  I have no idea the amount of irony I’ll be feeling in just a few days.

But for now, I’m excited to be headed home, and looking forward to meeting a few new roads and places along the way.  First stop, the Uinta Mountains, by way of Flaming Gorge National Monument.  There’s a bit of a drizzle as I traverse the sweeping turns of the Flaming Gorge-Uintas National Scenic Byway and I have to chuckle.  Now would be a nice time for that waterproof luggage, eh?  But aside from ruining my chances for some nice photos (see here instead), the rain doesn’t keep me from enjoying the descriptive road signs highlighting remnants from former geologic ages.   “Stegasaurus Walked Here!,” one declares.  I can’t really argue with that.

Did you know you can actually wander around the mountains of Utah and Arizona at certain times of the year and find wild porcini mushrooms? I didn’t, either.  At least not until just recently.**  After setting up camp, I poke around to see what I can see.

Why, hello to you, too!  Genus Russula is all I know at this point.

This one (a Grisette of some sort?), had a beautiful silvery sheen to it. And no, that's not bird poop on it, but a piece of the "veil" that covers many mushrooms at birth.

Never having done this before, I’ve no intention of eating any of my finds, of course.

When your campsite water source is down, keeping you from making your Eating on Two Wheels proprietary instant soup, St. Dalfour French Bistro “Gourmet on the Go” canned dinners are actually a decent option.  If you pay attention and buy only those varieties without added sweeteners**. Unless you happen to like dumping honey or pineapple juice on your savory pasta.

The next day I make my way to Canyonlands National Park. I can’t help but notice, as I energetically brake upon seeing a big buck on the mountain pass I’m negotiating, that it’s raining a teensy bit more than yesterday.  That dry bag sure did look nice.  Hmph.

Ducati with Rainbow, Squaw Flat Campground, Canyonlands National Park Needles District

The showers don’t stop me from finding some interesting textures in Big Spring Canyon.

Cryptobiotic Crust: It’s alive! And extremely fragile. Do not step here!

Canyonlands Sunrise

My Day Three plan is a fabulous one.  I’ll ride UT 95 through that bit of Glen Canyon I liked so much last year, pay Highway 12 another visit  (It’s been too long!), dine at Hell’s Backbone Grill (still haven’t been!), and poke around Kodachrome Basin State Park.  I even reserved my campsite for the night ahead of time, so I wouldn’t have any “find a spot before dark” worries spoiling my fun.

But… there’s a pounding watery barrage from the sky, eliciting a sensation not unlike the feeling of having a waterfall on your head.  Surely it’s just a brief mountain cloudburst, right?  It's already clearing up, see?

The rain stops. But only for a minute. Dry bag, dry bag, why didst I forsake thou?

Not so, not so. This particular weather is the talk of the town.  “It’s like this over the entire state!” marvels one person at a gas stop. “It’s going to last for days!” celebrates another.  I consult the weather forecasts and radar images to find that these excited people are absolutely correct. Flash flooding and severe storms block my path in any and every direction, and my prior excitement about Day Three turns soggy. Try as I might,  I can’t seems to make a good case to seek out this kind of weather on technical mountain roads or river flood zones.  I try really hard, because I’d so been looking forward to this leg of my journey, but I simply can’t. I wrestle with the feeling of being wimpy, but I eventually point the Ducati towards less challenging terrain.   It looks like I’ll be home a day early.

Which is not to say I didn’t get wet!  I did. With a few brief exceptions, the rain did not stop for 325 miles.  Oh Adventure Dry  Bag!  How I long for you, a brilliant orange high-visibility beacon on the back of my motorcycle, proclaiming my presence to all around me!  Oh, for your electronically heat-welded seams!  Your air-tight roll closure!

Ghosts in Monument Valley, during a momentary rain stoppage. Can you see them on the horizon?

Bless you Pilot Guy, for so thoughtfully using your free hotels.com night to arrange a room in Flagstaff for me.  I’ll have a glass of wine right after I’m done wringing out my stuff. I’ve earned it!

Tomorrow, the cloud cover and occasional shower will be a blessing, bringing the normally three digit Tucson approach temperatures down to below the readout on my speedometer.  Home!




*Disclaimers and Explanations: I received this bag at no charge.  I won’t review an item I wouldn’t generally be interested in using.  My reviews reflect my actual experiences. Just so you know.
**As luck would have it, my host this summer was a knowledgeable mushroom hunter.  I can not believe what I’ve been missing.
*** I’ll try not to rant, but… please, I don’t care if it’s organic cane syrup, I don’t want sugar on my dinner!!  It’s positively welcome in my dessert, of course.

______________________________
Dining notes:

• Flaming Gorge Café, Manila, UT: It’s so conveniently located that you can gas up, eat, and retrieve US Forest Service maps all with just one parking job. But don’t do it. It’s pretty hard to mess up a ham and cheese sandwich with fries, but they did so brilliantly.
• Peace Tree Cafe, Moab, UT: What, burgers but no fries?  My camping caloric intake strategy requires I ingest nearly all my recommended daily allowance at lunch.  I don't skimp on my side dishes. A bleu burger without fries didn't feel quite right, so I momentarily pushed my pasta snobbery (demonstrated here and here) aside and ordered an alfredo dish instead. I don't expect pasta alfredo to be particularly good at a burger/sandwich/breakfast place, and I wasn't surprised by the specimen served me, but it wasn't terrible, either. The outdoor seating is pleasant, and even offered the Ducati table side parking.  As long as I wasn't craving fries, I'd stop in again. On the other hand, there are plenty of other establishments in Moab to try.
• Cameron Trading Post Restaurant, Cameron, AZ:  I really probably would have done fine if I had ordered a burger or BLT.  But a warm bowl of Yah-Ahtay Chile sounded enticing after a day of riding in the rain. I should have listened to myself. The chile was simultaneously harsh and uninteresting.  The accompanying Indian Fry Bread was admittedly delicious and decadent,  although I don’t know how you could ruin fried dough.  I’ll give the place another try one day, I’m sure, but order differently.

Additional Rain Gear Notes:

• This might be a good time to extol the virtues of my TourMaster Sentinel Rain Jacket and Pants.    It's been worth every penny, and every cc of cargo space it claims (which is significant).  While my stuff was sodden, *I* have been riding dry in any and every rainfall since the day I bought it back in 2007.   Not so for folks who buy those silly paper “breathable” numbers.   The key: you actually do have to stop and put it on for it to work.  The thin stretchy under the helmet hood that keeps rain from dribbling down the back of your neck is a nice touch, too.  If it had a second, detachable waterproof regular hood to wear when off the bike, the suit would be 100% perfection.  I find it useful as an extra layer when riding in the cold, too.
• I feel differently about my Aerostich Triple Digit Glove Covers.  They are a fabulous idea, but even the smallest size is so ridiculously huge, I can’t possibly operate a motorcycle while wearing them.  Who wants two inches of extra fabric getting tangled up in the hand controls when it’s pouring out?  It just makes me angry. I haven’t taken them out of my rain jacket pockets for years now.  Pbbbbt on you, Aerostich, and your giant sizing.
• The Roadgear Euro-Sport Jumbo Hauler Rain Cover does not turn a canvas tail bag into a waterproof fortress, but could be useful if you could thread the straps located on top of the bag through the rain cover. As it stands, I can either use the rain cover, or strap my sleeping bag (in its own protective dry bag) on top of the Hauler. Guess which one I choose.
• All that rain, and wouldn't you know it? I lost* my old visor squeegee earlier this summer.  If you've ever used one, you'll know they are indispensable for restoring your field of view by sweeping off all the pesky rain drops that land on your visor.  I've just ordered a Finger Visor Wiper three-pack. One for each motorcycle! Update: Turns out they shipped them to the wrong address, and didn't offer to resend them to the correct address. Not cool.
• I don't own too many Wolfman products, because they are generally priced out of my reach. I do have the Express Tank Bag, though, and find its construction definitely above average.  It does slightly rankle me, however, that the Rain Covers must be purchased separately.  The extra $8.00 shipping for this featherweight item, if you order it after the fact, or if you lose yours (Arghh!*), stings a bit, too.  I'm pretty darn sure their tank bag rain covers used to have a velcro strip allowing you to attach the map to the outside of the cover, but that feature seems to have gone away.  Harrumph.  This cover doesn't offer full waterproof protection in a hard rain, but it helps a bit for a while. I don't recommend you trust it to keep your camera safe in a downpour by any means. That's what your locking, waterproof top box is for, silly. 

*During the Season of Wind, things go flying out of your tank bag, never to be recovered, at an alarming rate.  I also lost a neat solar iPhone charger.  Seriously, don't even unzip your tank bag in May and June.  At all.

What I Did Last Summer - Part Five (Hatch Chile Fest!)

What? Where's Part Four, you ask? Surprisingly, I wrote about that in a timely fashion. I returned to AZ from WY via, OK, of course!

So, on to Part Five.

First stop - Mt. Graham and its Swift Trail Parkway, outside of Safford, AZ. It's a fine place to enjoy the anatomy of a turn. What a way to start a trip! I camped there one night under a glorious full moon and amongst the company at least one skunk rustling around my tent. Thankfully I did not become a victim of my little nocturnal friend.



Next stop - lunch and a walk around the old town area Silver City, NM. 1Zero6 caught my eye, but they didn't open until dinner. Instead, I enjoyed a yummy Italian Mushroom Melt at Vicky's Eatery. Since I don't get mushrooms through my CSA, I often order them in restaurants.




The smell of chiles roasting and growing is getting stronger and stronger as I approach...

Hatch, NM, Chile Center of the Universe! Everywhere you turn there are chile fields, roasting factories and warehouses to process and send chiles in every form all over the nation, not to mention the smaller "Mom and Pop" outfits on every street corner.

I got a fine seat for the Chile Parade, thanks to the generous fellow riders who offered to share their ring-side table with me at the "Pepper Pot." Ironically, I have no chile shortage at home, in Tucson, so I ordered French Toast. It was a bad idea. When in Hatch, eat chiles.


Mike and Mary, new found dining companions, and fellow riders.



The Chile Queen!



Ristras on every corner



I headed back towards Silver City via NM 152, which turned out to be the surprise of the weekend. What a great road! I'll be back there for Hatch 2010, I hope.

Now on to the bargain of the century - NM 15 is signed "44 miles, Travel Time 2 hours," which should give you an idea of its twisty goodness (free!), the Lower Scorpion Campground in the Gila National Forest with its pictographs and small ancient dwelling on its "Trail to the Past" (also free!) and the the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument ($3!).

Cliff Dwellings




My pretty little campsite. No the weather doesn't look good, does it? It's about to get exciting...




Remember that fun (aka treacherous) Rt 15 I rode to get UP here? It was similar to the road up Mt. Timpanogos, UT which I seem to remember describing as something the Shriners and their little tricycles might build? And how I'd never, EVER want to ride something like that in bad weather? Well, it poured the entire way down Rt 15. Not drizzled, not sprinkled, but poured. I survived, but I can't say it was enjoyable.

After (literally) wringing the water out of my socks and having a well deserved rest, snack and iPhone weather radar map consult at a Shell station in Silver City, I headed up towards Alpine, AZ in fine, fine weather. It's at that point that I learned that if one is to use a hefty bag to protect one's sleeping bag from rain, one should arrange it such that the hefty bag in on the inside of the luggage, not outside. Bits of hefty bag stuck in your brakes significantly reduce braking power! No harm done, lesson learned. Since then I've actually purchased a REAL raincover for my luggage. The fine, fine weather didn't hold. I rode in the rain most of the way to the Bear Wallow Cafe in Alpine, AZ where I stopped for a grilled cheese sandwich and strategy session. Do I brave several miles on a likely very muddy, rutted and slippery road to get to where I had planned to camp, wander around looking for an alternative site, spring for a hotel? As I'm considering my options, a fellow motorcyclist tells me his group is throwing in the towel and going home early because of the weather. I'm welcome to his campsite, which is right off a nice, comforting paved road. Yay!

Alpine Divide Campground is cold and there are heaps of snow and hail on the ground from the storms earlier that day. It's so cold I can't really even sleep well. But I enjoyed the yipping songs of a band of coyotes while doing "stay warm calisthenics" in my sleeping bag for much of the night. The next morning I was off again, and traded the tarp gifted to me by the same riders that gave me their campsite to my camp "neighbors" in exchange for some hot coffee and enjoyable conversation.

Once again I was rewarded for my trials. The trip from Alpine back to Mt. Graham is AZ 191, (yup, it's another spectacular byway, the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway, and could very well be the best of them all.) One HUNDRED miles of scenic, twisty, turny fun, and, what luck!, not another car on the road nearly the entire way. And I was granted picture perfect weather to boot!

You can't help but arrive home a better rider after a trip like that.

What I Did Last Summer - Part One (Utah Scenic Highway 12)

I bought a computer last summer. Which means, for most of the summer, I did not HAVE a computer. Which is why I never told you what I did. Sooo... before THIS summer begins, I'll quickly recap Summer 2009. It began with my realization upon my arrival to Logan, UT, that I had dropped my moto keys over 200 miles back, and was not able to unload it from my trailer without driving an extra 450 miles. Applaud my excellence!

Then I went to Bryce Canyon. Via Bear Lake and the Uintas. (Excellent for real!)


First gas stop near Bear Lake. Cool clouds!



Lots of people think driving across Wyoming is boring. Maybe it's because I'm from CT, but this landscape never fails to amaze me.





Approaching the Unitas! Super-cool, since they have evaded me for a few years in a row, thanks to scheduling snafus and a leaky fuel valve. (Thank you, Steve, for putting together my trailer and driving my car waaaay out to Evanston, WY, to rescue me and my fuel-spewing motorcycle that time... you earned your paella "thank you" dinner many times over!)



Hello Mirror Lake Scenic Byway! Here I am at the top - Bald Mountain Pass. I thought I'd spend the night in the Unitas, but it's not even lunchtime, so I enjoy this fun road and continue on my way. (Plus there's still way too much snow for camping, although this picture doesn't really demonstrate that fact.)



I go. And I go. And I look at the threatening sky and skirt this storm. And that one. Almost 450 miles later, I find myself at Red Canyon campground, right next to Bryce Canyon National Park. Yay! For those not in the know, 435 miles on moto in one day is nothing to sneeze at. It was a record for me, actually. There's no way you can compare it to 435 miles in a car.
No. Way. At. All.

Here's a little walk on the Birdseye Trail at Red Canyon Campground.









The next morning - Bryce Canyon (Natural Bridge and Bryce Point shown here). I've never seen anything like it! Extraordinary! I can't believe I didn't make the time to hike it, but I had more important plans for this trip...






...specifically speaking, the wondrous Highway 12, mecca for motorcyclists the world over. I've been a passenger there before, but this time it was MY turn at the helm. At the other end? Cafe Diablo, fancy, fancy, yummy, yummy food. I have fond memories of their Rattlesnake Cakes, and I was eager for a repeat performance from them.

It rained. A lot. The whole way. Accompanied by the boom and flash of exciting (terrifying?) storms.


Cafe Diabolo was closed.


Sigh. So much for testing my "sport" skills. But my uber-cool rain suit passed with flying colors! So did my until now un-tested riding-in-scary-weather skills! (There'd be more of that in my future, oh yes.) Not so for my makeshift tank bag cover, a.k.a. hotel shower cap. That blew off in, oh, 45 seconds. The fine folks at the Capitol Reef Inn and Cafe supplied me with some satisfying fish and chips and peach pie, along with some replacement hefty bags, which was my keep-the-luggage-dry method at that point. You'll find out why I don't do that any more during "What I Did Last Summer Part Five."

I reach Utah Lake State Park and the skies cleared up to at least let me set up camp in dry weather. The campground host says "Do you have insect repellent? You're going to need it." He wasn't kidding. I did, except the bottle was empty. Again, you may applaud my excellence!

Next stop, Mt. Timpanogos!

Except...

It looked like this:



What's that? You can't see it? My point exactly. The road up Mt. Timpanogos looks like it was made by and for a pack of Shriners. You know, the guys that ride those teeeny tricycles wearing fezes? The road is reeeallly narrow. And reeeallly twisty. Which is, of course, exactly why I wanted to ride it. But not in that weather, no thank you, I'll pass. I'm only so stupid. Or so I thought. I did, basically, just that, on another trip which I'll tell you about later.

Time to head home...

...in the hail.

Hail hurts!

(Part Two coming soon.)


Update: Timpanogos wasn't completely lost to me. I made it there, on a lovely day, about a month later. Here I am!