Day 4: August 25^th, 2011.

Sipapu Bridge – Natural Bridges National Monument

I woke up early in the morning, feeling rested and refreshed after finally being able to take a good shower. I packed up all the gear, hopped on the bike and headed out for the Natural Bridges National Monument. Natural Bridges is a somewhat secluded area in the south central part of Utah, directly south of Canyonlands National Park and about 40 miles west of Blanding, UT. The monument contains three naturally formed bridges in which water from the winding streams slowly cut through the canyon walls. The monument includes a 9 mile loop which provides scenic views of each of the three natural bridges, “Kachina,” “Owachomo” and “Sipapu”. The bridges were named in honor of the Native Americans that inhabited the area.

I arrived at the park and made a quick stop at the visitor center to collect my pin and passport stamp to prove that I had been there. I filled as many water bottles as I could find and head out on the loop. There were several scenic pullouts that provided good views of the bridges, but it was clear that if I wanted to get a truly spectacular view, I would have to hike down into the canyons. I was not prepared to do much hiking, even though the weather was a lot cooler than the previous day, so I snapped as many photos as I could and headed back out.

As I was heading down the freshly chip-sealed road back towards Utah Highway 95, my Garmin GPS unit decided that it was going to try to commit suicide. I had been using the suction cup mount attached to my windshield, and although I had been having a few problems with it popping loose, the power cord, which securely fastens to the unit, had always acted as a tether. This time the stars aligned just right and when the bracket hit the frame, it released the GPS unit from the mount, causing it to tumble down onto the road and get run over by my bike. I swung around, rode back and picked up the unit, fearing the worst. Fortunately it still worked, although the case was severely chipped, scuffed and beat up. The two halves of the case were separating, exposing the circuit boards inside. A couple of quick snaps, however, and it was all back together. The power switch did not go together quite right, and it was difficult to turn on, but I was very grateful when it powered back up and began barking directions at me! Read the rest of this entry »

Day 3: August 24^th, 2011.

Arches National Park

The third day of this trip through the canyons of Utah started out just like the others. The weather was perfect, although a little bit warm. I got up early and packed up my campsite so that I could hit Arches National Park early, before the weather got too hot. Since there were really no trees in the campground I stayed at, I had to break out the tent.  Packing up a dome tent and mattress takes a little bit more work than taking down the hammock, but as I get farther south I am finding that there are fewer and fewer trees to hang from. I had gassed the bike up the night before and wasn’t really hungry, so once I got things packed up and hit the road, I headed straight north out of Moab and to the park entrance.

Once I entered the park, I made a quick stop at the visitor center to get my stamp, collector pin and some water before heading into the park.  I started up the winding pass and over the scenic route and was almost immediately greeted with some of the most incredible geologic formations I had ever seen.  I pulled off at the first turnout and broke out the camera so that I could get as many pictures of this amazing place as possible.  I stopped at several turnouts before finally reaching Balancing Rock, one of the most famous attractions in Arches National Park. Read the rest of this entry »