Finish: Mesquite, Nevada
Distance: 294 miles Total to date: 3612 miles
Campground: Eureka Resort Hotel, Mesquite, Nevada $53.00
Gas: Kanab, Utah 2.058 @ $3.159 $6.50; Kanab, Utah 4.1118 @ $3.159 $12.99; Mesquite, Nevada 3.257 gal @ $3.149/g
Park Fees: Grand Canyon:$25 for 7 day motorcycle pass $25 for 7 day motorcycle pass; Zion National Park: $25 for 7 day motorcycle pass
Al C did not want to come with Al T and I on the romantic helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon on Thursday, so instead decided to take a run to San Diego, California, about 300 miles away. We are to meet back up on Thursday night or Friday morning in Boulder City where our helicopter tour takes place.
We were asking people about the Grand Canyon, whether to see the North Rim or the South Rim. It varied, depending upon whom you talked with. One guy said the North Rim was better, but after talking with him more, we found out that he never did the South Rim so he really had no comparison. ?Should we do the North Rim or the South Rim
Since we were in Kabab, UT, we were only 85 miles from the North Rim, but wanted to to do Zion as well, so we decided to do all...the North Rim, Zion and the South Rim.
So, we headed down Hwy 89 towards the North Rim. I loaded up with water expecting it to be very dry and hot.
Just 8 miles past Kanab, we entered Arizona. The terrain changed to a flat desert floor with the huge red mountains of the Grand Staircase flanking the area. About 20 miles down, there was a vast deser floor covered with sage bushes as far as you could see. Surprisingly, the temperature was in the mid 70's. About 45 miles down the road, we came to the The Kaibab Natural Forests. We started a long, curvy climb up a plateau which had elevations up to 9000 feet. The plateau is covered with sage, grasslands, junipers and pine trees. A large part of the forest on the plateau was recently burnt out.
As we got close to the park, I checked and the temperature was only 64 degrees. Instead of a desert, there was a thick pine forest with large meadows. In one meadow, just outside the park, there was a wild herd of buffalo. My impression of an extremely hot and desert Grand Canyon was totally off.
We got to the park gate, paid our $25 and rode another 10 miles to the end of Hwy 89. There is a grand lodge as well as many cabins to rent. There are many picnic areas, gift areas and places to buy a meal. Inside the lodge, is a dining area with a spectacular view of the Grand Canyon. Outside, there are a few vantage points for viewing and for pictures and there is a short path that follows the canyon a bit.
The Grand Canyon is huge and very deep and that is why one is in awe when they see it. That is why it is so grand. There seems to be a permanent haze over the canyon especially on the south rim due to all the pollution and heat. I read that it is better at dawn or later in the evening and that the haze has decreased a bit over the years.
On the North Rim however, there is very little area to see the Grand Canyon. After about 20 minutes, you've seen everything. It's like watching a Blue Jay Game from the nose-bleeds of the Rodgers Centre. It's very big, but you are so removed from it all, that you can't really appreciate it. Hopefully the South Rim has more to offer.
So, after taking pictures from many angles, we decided to head back to Kanab and then to Zion. We refuelled in Kanab and then went north 17 miles to Hwy 9.
Zion National Park has huge reddish-orange mountains that have eight layers of sandstone, displaying what has taken two-hundred-million years to carve and mold. It is known for it's towering cliffs, deep red canyons, mesas, buttes and massive monoliths. Zion also is popular for its geology, hiking, backpacking and some of the best scenic drives that can be found anywhere.
We stopped at it's many pullouts to take photos, saw mountain sheep and deer.
The mountains and buttes were incredibly large and had so much texture. Upon entering the park, the first large mountain was known as a checkerboard due the many squares from horizontal and vertical cracks on it's surface.
We went thru 2 tunnels, one which seemed to be a mile long, that went thru the centre of a mountain.
We went down a very long and winding road to the base of the canyon and then entered the campgrounds and town of Springdale.
Leaving Zion, there were still massive red mountains in the background, but they no longer surrounded you.
As we headed west, we took Hwy 9 towards St. George. A bit down the road, we saw a cutel little trading post that had a cute mini old western town.
In the hills beyond St. George, we could see a large forest fire burning in the hills. There was a huge dark cloud from the fire and the air quality definitely was poor..
Along Hwy 9, we came to the town of Hurricane and the temperature was at 104 degrees. We soon got onto the Interstate 15 that headed towards Las Vegas. We encountered a huge mountain face and then turned and went thru a large canyon. The mountains were huge and after we got out of the mountain pass, we came to a very large desert floor that stretched for as far as you could see. It also got hotter and I checked my temperature and it was reading 106 degrees. That's hot! That's the hottest we've ridden in yet! At 106 degrees, you wonder how those guys can fight a fire!
We rode thru St, Georges and finally crossed the Arizona-Nevada border and stopped in Mesquite for gas. Mesquite is in a different time zone, so once in Mesquite, we were in the Pacific time zone. Because if the heat and lack of campgrounds in this desert area, we decided to take a room for the night. We went to the adjoining casino for something to eat and while there, Al put in a $20 and came out with $220. Not too bad!!
Tomorrow, we will go to Las Vegas and in the afternoon, we will be taking the helicopter for a trip over the Grand Canyon...Now that's the way to see it....and both the North Rim and the South Rim!
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