Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[GregKhougaz]

       Boulder Mountain.

[GregKhougaz]

       Miles and miles of view from Boulder Mountain.

[GregKhougaz]

         As we continued southwest on 12, we passed through Helll's Backbone, Escalante and The Grand Staircase.

        Here is a shot from Hell's Backbone, an area that bridges between towering Boulder Mountain on the north and canyons cut by the the Escalante River and its tributaries on the south. The Hells Backbone Road is a winding route that follows ridges and mountain contours through the area. There is a short stretch with extreme drop offs on both sides of the road.  Definitely got the riders' attention!  The road forks from All American Highway 12 near the town of Boulder. From there it runs west, climbing halfway up Boulder Mountain to connect with the Posey Lake/Pine Creek Road. That road comes north of out the town of Escalante, allowing travelers to complete a 38-mile loop back down to Hwy 12.

[GregKhougaz]

        Hell's Backbone.

[GregKhougaz]

        Exploring the majestic views on Hell's Backbone Road.

[GregKhougaz]

        We continued on the 12 passed Bryce Canyon and Red Canyon into Panguitch, UT.  It is a beautiful town with a great history.  More on that later.  It claims Butch Cassidy as one of its part time residents and is near Cortez Canyon, Red Canyon and the infamous "Robbers Roost."  The "Hole in the Wall" is actually in Wyoming.  We dined at the Cowboy's Smokehouse Cafe. 

[GregKhougaz]

        It did not take Bryan long to get into trouble.  Luckily, he made bail.

[GregKhougaz]

        You know Panguitch is a quiet town when you can take a picture like this and not get killed.  We were later told of the local disease, the Pangu Itch!

[GregKhougaz]

       The Wild Bunch, also, the Hole in the Wall Gang.   Harry A. Longabaugh, alias the Sundance Kid is seated on the left. Robert Leroy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy is seated to the right.  Somehow, we identified. 

[GregKhougaz]

Speaking of Cowboy Outlaws, there have been threads about the best motorcycle songs.  Just my opinion but this is it, hands down.  I kept thinking of it throughout the trip but I was the only one who was familiar with it.  This is George Strait's Cowboys Like Us performed live in Portland, OR March 26, 2010:

[GregKhougaz]

         Thursday, we had breakfast in Panguitch before heading east on the 12 for Bryce.  We had to stop to appreciate Red Canyon. 

[GregKhougaz]

        From Red Canyon, it was on to Bryce.  We parked at the park entrance and Ruby's General Store.  There you can pay your entrance fee (Unless you can get in on Bryan's pass) and take a bus into the park.  The buses run every 15 minutes or so and really are the best way to get around.  We took the bus up to the top, Bryce point and hiked and bused back down.  Ruby's is quite the operation and you can get just about anything there.  While waiting a few minutes for out ride to the visitors' center, we met a few of the local residents.  At the visitor's center, we watched a great video giving us an overview of the park.  Then is was on to Bryce Point.

[GregKhougaz]

        At 8,300' elevation, Bryce Point is the highest point in the park.  From the moment we got off the bus, we were stunned by the views. 

[GregKhougaz]

       You'll see lots of grins in these pictures.  We were like kids at Disneyland. 

[GregKhougaz]

         From Bryce Point, we walked along the Rim Trail to Sunset Point.  Every few steps we HAD to stop and take more pictures. These are but a few.