The shadows was getting' long by the time we hitched our rides to the Cantina, We were shown to our quarters, freshened up, and got a tour of the place, Verrry nice, I'm sure it looks a little different now knowing the plans those two had up their sleeves. It was exciting to hear all their plans and dreams for the place. We had another lovely dinner, and spent the evening with our feet warmed on the portable campfire, watching the moon rise from the front porch. The moon was so bright you couldn't hardly see the stars and it almost hurt your eyes. Day 7 stats: 132miles
Rest day. Hang out day, have fun day. Little bit of bike maintenance day. LDF got up before me. I remember that because she never gets up before me, so I marked the calendar and I'm going to celebrate that day every year. :loll The view out our window when I got up. Our digs, I don't know, maybe I was hungover? I can't wait to go back.
in the mule to check out the property, First we went up to check out the water tanks, and we got a nice overview and were able to appreciate the lay of the land. the valley to the north, (the road we'd come in on) Then we checked out the valley, Tons of trails leading practically in all directions,
More trails, We explored almost all the way to Colorado, I even got to drive, Did we ever figure out what this thing was? Thanks for the tour! See you soon. How's this for a backyard? We had some more great food and great company, and slept like babies again, but the weather forecast was a little dicey, so we planned on getting up early to beat the rain.
Aw Crap! I miss the start of this Ride Report for 1 day and I'm 10 pages behind? What gives? Are there members of "Team F5" just lined up around the block waiting all night for the Report to start? Anyway, I'm "IN!". Q~
Torroweep and The Wire... I took MAG there last summer in the Tacoma. So excellent to see them again. and I have to admit, your pictures are much better than mine. MOAR! Q~
From what I understand......that is a "Grass Growing Test cage"....to see how the grass grows without anything eating it!!! We sure enjoyed you guys ........see you soon!! Scott
Funny, that is my same response. When people ask me what retirement is like, I answer "it is everything you think it would be". If you see it as a burden then man don't do it. The world will always live up to your expectations.........onward
3-Step Hideaway to Hite crossing (Lake Powell) As much as we'd have liked to stay at the 3-Step, it was time to saddle up and point our ponies back westward. Unfortunately, the weather was not exactly cooperating. We hemmed and hawed and watched the sky and fretted, and in the end just made a dash for it. Across the flats, we were dodging rain... Looks good in this direction, but just over our starboard quarter: :huh A sprinkle here and there, Good thing we weren't in a slot canyon! Finally, we turned and headed away from the most immediate mess...
Doc, I have been reading your ride report since day 1, Lauren and I hope to join you guys one of these years, it looks amazing and we are SUPER jealous... Have a safe and wonderful time!!
Here we're heading west towards Monticello, after which we're going to to have to head south a bit, and up in elevation to cross the Manti-LaSal range. Rut-roh. We stop in Monticello for a cuppa hot joe, and to see if the weather's gonna do something definitive; hail and brimstone and we'd have a roof over our heads to wait it out, or clear up, and we'd roll. Who pulls up, but these two... small world! :lol Scott & Julie, our guardian angels, just making sure we're OK, and extending a welcome back if the weather is too nasty. Well, we're tempted, but so far we've stayed dry, and hadn't hit any mud, so we decided to take our chances. We re-said our goodbyes and see ya' laters, and off we went again, this time up. Thanks again for everything you two... I've been checking out all the work you've been doing on the 3-step Facebook page. Looking good! Shameless plug: If you're anywhere in the area and need a place to stay, go there -- you can choose luxurious or rustic accommodations. If you're anywhere in the area and need some light bike maintenance, or just want to visit, go there. If you're nowhere near the area, but are interested in exploring the area, go there. If you're riding the TAT, stop by and say "Hi". Highly recommended! PS: how's that hot chocolate license coming along?
Thanks James, we miss you guys -- I see you've been doing a lot more MTN biking. I'm not sure we'd be able to keep up if you guys bring your dirt bikes! You're welcome to join us anytime!
we start climbing into the mist: <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="360" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/2806295651_5qWdBQg?width=640&height=360&albumId=32237510&albumKey=R5DXC4"></iframe> Echos of the Lassen volcano. It's the Blue mountain range, west of Monticello. On the other side, the skies looked brighter. and the road surface was still relatively dry. There were nice views, and the weather added to the visual (if not psychological) drama. We both knew that if we hit a patch of slimy slicked up muddy road, we could be stuck until it dried out.
we were still at elevation, in and out of clouds, with intermittent sprinkles, but still making progress. <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="360" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/2806294842_f6DQJQ6?width=640&height=360&albumId=32237510&albumKey=R5DXC4"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="360" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/2806296426_FGrW2RT?width=640&height=360&albumId=32237510&albumKey=R5DXC4"></iframe> We finally started to drop some elevation, We passed a sign with an arrow pointing that said "Warm and dry, this way" NOT!
We did not get rained on! We were right on the edge of the storm, HOWEVER... the road had been drenched, and we quickly ground to a standstill, with knobs and chains and brakes getting gunned up with slime. We struggled for a mile or so, and then hit a cross road (same one we rode out of National Bridges on) <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="640" height="360" src="https://api.smugmug.com/services/embed/2806296982_CgmdSdM?width=640&height=360&albumId=32237510&albumKey=R5DXC4"></iframe> discretion being the better part of valor... we bailed out on to pavement.
ahead, This is a look at the area where our planned route would have taken us: One thing about the weather out here, it's not gonna sneak up on you. (unless you're in a slot canyon.) :loll Not bad for pavement. Literally, we were calling an audible on our route based on prevailing weather conditions.