Doug took another motorcycle trip with his bestest friend Chris Parker. It's becoming an annual event. Usually I go with him, but being 7 months pregnant doesn't agree with motorcycle rides.
They had a 4 day trip, Doug says he wishes I was there. He says the scenery on this trip was even better than our Colorado trip last year. I'll let Doug document his trip for future generations.
This year we debated a lot of different routes, then finally decided to ride south through central Utah to the Grand Canyon. The first day we rode up Spanish Fokr Canyon, around Scofield Reservoir, past Electric Lake and across the Manti La-sal national forest and down into Huntington where we stopped for Lunch. It rained on us all the way through the top of the Manti La-Sal was very cool. After some lunch in Huntington we headed down to Escalante via HW 72 past Fish Lake to Torrey and then Scenic byway on Highway 12 to Boulder. At Boulder we took a quick ride down the Burr Trail. We got there just after a flash flood had come through. There were large washes running, and debri on the road. A cedar tree had been struck by lightning and then rushing water had torn it apart. The sweet smell of cedar permeated the canyon. There were waterfalls running off the cliff walls. It was really neat.
We then drove through Escalante National Staircase on the way to Escalante city where we stayed the night at a small inn. It was quiet, clean and nice, and several other motorcyclists were there for the night. The inn had a porch with rocking chairs all across the front, and people just sat out on the porch in the rocking chairs and visited with each other.
In the morning we headed to Bryce National Monument with a quick stop at Kodachrome Canyon along the way. We rode to the top of Bryce and ate a picnic lunch, then stopped at a few overlooks and did several hikes during the afternoon. We ate dinner and drove through Red Canyon on highway 12 and took HW 89 to Kanab where we stayed for the night.
The next day, Saturday, we rode to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was awesome to ride through the 
tall Pines on the way to the Rim. You usually think of RedRock when you think of the Grand Canyon but the access to the North Rim is a lush high mountain forest. I almost forgot how amazing the Grand Canyon is. There is a reason it's one of the wonders of the world.
tall Pines on the way to the Rim. You usually think of RedRock when you think of the Grand Canyon but the access to the North Rim is a lush high mountain forest. I almost forgot how amazing the Grand Canyon is. There is a reason it's one of the wonders of the world. 
We ate lunch at the Grand Canyon Lodge after a few short hikes and long rides to several rim overlooks. Then we rode back into Kanab. Chris and Rachelle spent the night in Kanab. I rode ahead toward Cedar City, back up 89 to Mount Carmel and through Cedar Canyon. Heather and the kids were staying with Heathers family at her uncles Cabin in the mountains East of Cedar City. I ate dinner at Milts Steak House in Cedar Canyon while I waited for Heather and the kids to get back from their trip to Zion. They returned and we all got back to the cabin around 9:00 pm.
Got to play with the kids that night and in the morning. I gave Preston a motorcycle ride in the morning. He loves riding on the Motorcycle. Every morning he wakes up and says, "Motorcycle Ride Daddy, Motorcyle ride."
Chris and Rachele made it to the cabin at about 10:00 and we headed out for the ride home. We went through Cedar Breaks and down past Panguitch Lake then back tracked down 89 back to Highway 12 and back towards Bryce Canyon. As we were getting close to Bryce we stopped at a diner/cafe on the south side of highway 12. It was near some cheap run down looking motel. I didn't hold out much hope for the food, but it turned out to be amazingly good. It was probably the best meal we ate during the trip. We got some fried Mushrooms, fresh made jalepeno poppers, soup, salad, and I got some chicken fried steak. It was all really awesome. You have to stop in if you ever go that way.
After lunch we headed north up HW 22 to HW 62 throgh Koosharem, UT. Yeah, I didn't know it existed either. Then we hooked back up to HW 89 and rode it all the way home.
We have some of the most beautiful country in our own backyard, many of the roads we drove I had never been on before, always too big of a hurry to get where I'm going. Lived here for 40 years and never driven the HW 12 Scenic Byway, or all the way through the Manti La -Sal. Now I need to take the family and show them what they've been missing. At Bryce 70% of the people there were speaking a foreign language, most from Europe. They travel thousands and thousands of miles to see what we have in our backyard.
If you want to see a short video compilation of the ride click here..
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