Finish: Kanab, Utah
Distance: 236 miles Total to date: 3318 miles
Campground: Hitchin Post RV Park, Kanab, Utah; $33.50 for a tent site. This is a nice but busy RV park within the town limits. Very friendly owner.
Gas: Bryce Canyon, Utah 2.484 gal @ $3.219/gal $8.00; Escalante, Utah 3.146 gal @ $3.099/gal $9.75
Park Fees: Bryce Canyon; $25 for 7 day motorcycle pass
We left our campsite, heading down Hwy 12W towards Bryce Canyon. It was only about 130 miles, but it took much longer due to the roads. About a mile down the road, there was a large mobile flashing sign warning motorcyclists of the tight curves ahead. Also, we would be going thru open pasture land meaning that cattle could be grazing on the sides of the roads or may wander onto the roads. There were also many cattle grate barriers built into the highway.
Riding Hwy 12W was awesome. There were many little dips, smooth curves, tight curves and there were many ascents of more than a mile and descents of more than a mile. While ascending or descending through these mountains, the scenery was very awesome and you could see for miles and miles.
We saw a lot of cattle along the roads and saw cowboys and their dogs herding the cattle to different locations.
Before we got to Escalante, we rode to the top of a plateau. As we got down the road, the plateau narrowed and you could see these huge canyons below you. At one point, the stretch narrowed to the width of the two lanes and there were sheer cliffs on each side. Further, there were big incline runs and large sweeping descents. The views were exciting as we went down these mountains. They are know as the Escalante Staircases.
After a few hours, before we even got to the entrance of Bryce Canyon, we saw some bright orange hoo-doos. The hills went from being thick of pine trees to a wall of orange. There was a wide, dry river bed with bright orange walls.
We got to the entrance of Bryce Canyon, paid our dues, and headed down the road. The route is a 17 mile stretch one way and then you had to go back the same way to exit the park.
We had to ride about 5 miles into the park, along a wooded road that was lined with picnic tables and hiking paths, before we saw the first pullout highlighting the bright orange formations. We continued down the road to various pullouts seeing more of the formations and different angles. After awhile, the scenery became a bit repetitive. Once we got to the end of the route, it started to rain, so we had to donned our rain gear and headed back to the entrance.
We decided to head further down the road so we could get closer to our next destination, Zion Canyon. Along the way, on Hwy 89, we went thru Red Canyon which was brick red and had many nice looking formations.
We stopped in Kanab for the night. I had a Red burger and Al had a buffalo burger at Big Al's Burgers which was located just across the street from the RV park.
Tomorrow we head down the road to the spectacular Zion Canyon.
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