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[GregKhougaz]

Here we are on the Devil's Backbone:





We reserved a day for Bryce Canyon National Park so we went past it to Red Rock Canyon where you can get great light in the afternoon.  Mark was trying to confuse us again.  BTW have you heard his laugh?   







CVH:





The hydration / cooling vest were life savers!







Of course, some like it hot!



By now it was time to head into Panguitch, UT where we had a very cool, vintage, three bedroom house through Airbnb.  We called and got permission from Mr. Thomas the owner of the car repair garage next door, to park on his lot which seemed safer.  It had been a beautiful, 276 mile day! 

[GregKhougaz]

Sunday, June 20:  We doubled back to Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce is not a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks. The red, orange, and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views.  The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000'.

The Bryce Canyon area was settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1850s and was named after Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded in the area in 1874.  The area around Bryce Canyon was designated as a National Park in 1928. The park covers 35,835 acres.  This was my third trip to the park and I was still overcome by its beauty. 

We were going to line up the bikes on the sidewalk but thought if we're going to get kicked out, wait until the end of the day.   



Bryce Point, 8,300'.  From here it just got better.













Hoodoo?  Weedoo!

[GregKhougaz]

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It's about 600' down on either side of the rock.   







Careful! 



The Grand Amphitheater:



Natural Bridge:

[GregKhougaz]

CVO OURAY II 042 by Greg Khougaz, on Flickr





Mark, who photo bombs a raven? 



Or pets pictures of dogs?



We accomplished our mission on the way out of the park.  A Mom and four kids waited patiently while we got some shots.  I asked the youngest girl if she liked motorcycles.  She gave an emphatic, YES!  So, we put all four on the bikes and Mom took pictures.  Too cute. 





From there it was down to Ruby's for a look around.  There is also a very cool rock store across the street.  The restaurant at Ruby's has a great dinner and buffet.  Next time I'm going back to catch the nightly rodeo or country music dinner show....  After dinner we headed back to Panguitch but....   

[RedEagle]

What a Great Adventure!!
Excellent pictures!
Your photographic skills are outstanding.
Thank you for sharing
What type of camera and flash are you using?  Did you take a tripod?

[GregKhougaz]

What a Great Adventure!!
Excellent pictures!
Your photographic skills are outstanding.
Thank you for sharing
What type of camera and flash are you using?  Did you take a tripod?

Thanks!  You're very kind!  The main camera is a Lumix Gh-1 with a 28-280 (film equivalent) lens, mostly on automatic mode.  The panorama shots were my Galaxy S5 phone.  Yes on the tripod. All of the pictures in Antelope, Owl and Rattlesnake Canyons required a tripod. 

[GregKhougaz]

Tried to get a few riding shots on the way back to Panguitch near Red Canyon:

[GregKhougaz]

Monday, June 22:  It's going to be 105* in Las Vegas, our destination for the day.  We left by 7:00 a.m. after breakfast and took the 89 south and turned east on the 14 through the heart of the Dixie National Forest into Cedar Canyon and Cedar City where we  went south on the 15.  From there, it just kept getting hotter.  We stopped for gas and hydration in St. George and put on our cooling vests.  From there to Las Vegas, it was over 100*.  We got to the Mandalay Bay just before noon.  Yep, 105*!  Still, there were lots of folks sunning themselves on the Mandalay Beach.  Can you say Bar-be-Que?  Mark and I walked the .5 mile to Las Vegas HD.  I guess we'd not learned but at least tried to stay on the shady side of the street.  At least the sales people were friendly:





That night we hit the downtown area for some great Hawaiian food and the Freemont Street Experience.  It was people watching like Sturgis, Hollywood or even Venice Beach.               

Tuesday, June 23:  To beat the heat, we were on the bikes by 6:30 a.m.  Gassed in Prim, brief pit stop in Baker, breakfast in Barstow and then hit Victorville HD where they had three CVO Road Glides and two Limiteds.  My local dealer says HD is releasing them so many dealers are overstocked with them.  There is hope for Alan and John / CVH!  We made it over the Cojon pass and headed west on the 210 to the 605.  At the 60, I split off to hit the 10 home to Santa Monica.  John and Mark stayed on the 605 to the 105 back to Westchester.  Alan stayed in Vegas to meet his brother.... What happened there, I can't say.   

Kyle, who had traveled with me initially, set me up with a detailer who spent 13 hours cleaning our two bikes.  They are perfect!  So much so I had the guy do my 2003 Titan the next day.  He spent another 8 hours and it looks brand new!      

Thanks to JC and Jock for help posting multiple photos.  I'm beat!      

Hooray for Ouray!  I miss everyone already! 

Greg

[SDCVO]

Greg, fantastic pics and impressive all the hiking you guys did in that heat! Bummed out its over, will look forward to the next adventure..

[Jock]

One word - Awesome!  You hit a grand slam on all fronts!

Thanks for taking the time to share it with us!  I really enjoyed the commentary and cool shots!

 

[TNCarters]

Awsome description and pics.  Makes me want to take about a month off work and tour the west side of our great country.  We have some great roads and scenery in the southeast but your area is so different its something I'd love to do.  Maybe if ya'll keep doing these Rocky Mountain GTG I can make one.

[WestCoastRuss]

Outstanding stuff Greg.....Vivianne and I enjoyed your incredible photos!!!!   

[GregKhougaz]

Greg, fantastic pics and impressive all the hiking you guys did in that heat! Bummed out its over, will look forward to the next adventure..

Thanks, Alan!  That day at Arches was tough but we really wanted to see Delicate Arch.  It was an memorable experience, especially with such good friends. 

One word - Awesome!  You hit a grand slam on all fronts!

Thanks for taking the time to share it with us!  I really enjoyed the commentary and cool shots!

 

You're the Master, Jock!  Just reaching for your bar.      

Awsome description and pics.  Makes me want to take about a month off work and tour the west side of our great country.  We have some great roads and scenery in the southeast but your area is so different its something I'd love to do.  Maybe if ya'll keep doing these Rocky Mountain GTG I can make one.

TN, I was in Maggie Valley with the group in Sept. '10 and got to tour the Southeast.  Charleston and Savannah were amazing.  Jock even put me up a couple of nights and took me to St. Augustine, Jacksonville & Daytona.  All beautiful! 

Outstanding stuff Greg.....Vivianne and I enjoyed your incredible photos!!!!   

Always great to see you and Vivianne, Russ!  Congrats again on winning the bike show!   

[BigLew]

Hey Greg its looks great I really wish I could have made it. I would be nice to see am map with a highlighted view of everywhere you visited outside of Vegas! Thanks for sharing.

BigLew

[JCZ]

Great job on this ride report and some great shots Greg!  A lot of faded memories....you're bringing back to life.