Day 3

Day 3 - Tuesday, September 19, 2017

This will be an awesome day of motorcycle riding some great roads in Utah and offers us a few options to consider!

We take off from hotel in Caineville and travel west on the twisting Hwy 24 which becomes very scenic as we enter the Capitol Reef National Park which was so named because many of it's rock formations resemble the domes of our Nation's Capitol. In Fruita we can perhaps stop to view the Petroglyphs and stop at the Park's Visitor Center and then venture south along the scenic drive which hugs the rock cliffs to our east. Unfortunately the morning sun does not shine against the "reef" which will leave it in shadows along this drive. It would have much more brilliant color during an evening drive however it still will be a very scenic drive....hence the name "Scenic Drive".

Once we have seen some of this Park we can once again head west on Hwy 24 to the town of Torrey where we head south on scenic Hwy 12, Utah's All American Road. This highway is rated as one of the top ten motorcycle roads in the United States. There are many great overlooks and sites to see along this scenic highway as we travel through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (although it is not a super technical road we should be on the lookout for free grazing cattle and other wildlife which may populate the highway between Torrey and Boulder).

Traveling along Scenic Byway 12, we will be exposed to rolling slickrock, variegated buttes and mesas, snaking canyons, and rock walls varnished with mineral stains. Around each bend there are surprises: wind and water shaped towers and ramparts as ornate as medieval castles; dense forests of aspen and fir that yield to grassy meadows with mingled scents of pinyon or sagebrush that define the open spaces of the Southwest; and turbulent storms that spill over distant vistas, painting the formerly blue sky an indescribable purple.

In the town of Boulder we have an option to take an 17 mile one way, 34 mile round trip detour to explore a portion of the paved part of the historic Burr Trail Road and take in some awesome canyon riding and stop to explore a slot canyon (also known as Singing Canyon) along the way (see video below). We can expect to have little, if any, traffic along this scenic ride.

The town of Boulder will probably be an ideal place to eat lunch, either before or after our Burr Trail Road trip. May I suggest the Burr Trail Grill?

Another option is to not explore the Burr Trail Road (which will save us about 1-1/2 hours of riding time) and instead stop south of Boulder and the Hogsback and take a (6 mile round trip hike taking 2 to 4 hours depending upon how fast you walk) hike to the Lower Calf Creek Falls, a beautiful 130 foot waterfalls.

Near Cannonville, we also have the option to take a slight detour (10 miles one way, and probably add 1 to 2 hours to our day) to view Kodachrome Basin State Park. One unique feature of this State Park is the presence of over 50 spires or "chimney's" of rock, known as sand pipes, with the tallest being over 170 feet high.

We continue our journey on the very scenic Hwy 12, and have the option of stopping for a short hike to Mossy Cave and waterfalls along the way, until we reach our lodging which is located in the Bryce Canyon City, Utah at the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park.

Upon arrival we many want to venture a short way into the Park to view the sunset. Sunsets at this park are not quite as good as some areas since the main ridge shields the Park from the west, and although you would suspect "Sunset Point" may offer us a beautiful view of a sunset, it has been said that "Sunrise Point" a bit to the north offers equally, if not better sunset photo opportunities. Fairyland Point or Paria View have also been noted as great places to view a sunset. The Park is also a great place to view the stars on a cloudless evening.

Twilight: 6:48 am (MDT)

Sunrise: 7:04 am (MDT)

Sunset: 7:33 pm (MDT)

Twilight: 7:58 pm (MDT)

Day 3: 209 miles 5.5 hours saddle time (miles and time include the Burr Trail Road excursion and a visit to Kodachrome State Park)

Continue to Day 4