When I looked out the window this morning in Las Vegas there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was the bluest of blues. The starting temperature was 60 degrees at 7 in morning and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. I did a quick check of what to expect down the road and it was also nice, but maybe a little cooler in places because of elevation. Some of the places we had to cross were within a 100 or so feet of 8000.
So after breakfast, we loaded up once again and we took off to Hoover Dam. I’ve taken the Damn Tour in the past, so I was really interested in seeing the new bridge that was built to relieve local traffic from traveling over the dam and mixing with tourist. You know the locals had to hate that commute knowing everyday in the summer they would get caught up in the tourist zoo. To drive directly across the bridge is not exciting at all and you can barely see over the edge. Maybe if you’re in an SUV or Tractor-trailer you might get a better view, but on the motorcycle all I could see was the tops of hills. So we turned around and drove under the bridge and across the dam and that is where the magic is. It is an awesome sight underneath and it makes you wonder how the laid all that concrete. We also walked halfway across the bridge and took some shots of the Dam from the best vantage point ever. You have to see these shots, amazing.
After the visit to the bridge and dam, our long journey to Moab began and even though I was not looking forward to the long Interstate ride, I was looking forward to the sights. I must warn you, Lori took and I keep about 130 pictures because so many were keepers. The rock formations and all the different colors is something you never see on the east coast and is even more amazing to see in person. I cannot count how many times I came around a corner and said inside my helmet, Amazing or Awesome. No sweeping turning, no exciting twisties, and nothing abnormal in the road, just sights that I have never seen in person. The other thing that stood out was the weather all day long was pretty much perfect. I loved how the big puffy white clouds lingered over top of some the snow covered mountain tops to make them look almost like a Hallmark card.
About the only negative that happen all day was the fact that the Honda shop in Richfield, Utah was closed so I could not purchase the oil and filter to do another oil change while in Moab. I will have to push this oil change into Colorado as soon as I can find the supplies. I still have another 1500 miles to burn before she is actually ready for another change. Today we also officially put more miles on the Valkyrie in one trip than any trip I have done in the past and we are not done yet. We have done 2 other one month trips and neither one of those trips exceeded 6700 miles, but both were over 6000 miles.
So today was very rewarding day for taking that re-route through Las Vegas to avoid the cold, rain, and snow that we would have hit going through Salt Lake City. Lori and I were a little bit tired when we rolled into Moab, Utah but we will sit here for three nights an see the sights that Gary Mace recommended to me in the past. I’m also considering doing a Hummer ride through the desert called “Hell’s Revenge”, if we decide to stay an extra night. Tomorrow we will take it easy and see the sights and do no more than 200 miles. Our 2 main goals tomorrow will be to see Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.
Todays run was 547 miles, and our total is now 7034.
Click here for todays pictures:
Tomorrows route is pictured below:
The Picture below shows what we have completed and what we have left. The Red is complete and the Green is what is left.
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