We're just being thorough. Since we don't have a schedule or deadlines, we want to see *everything* while we're in the area. Not sure when we'll be back again... 
Quit our jobs, sold our home and everything in it, gone riding...
- Thread starter Lightcycle
- Start date
We are moving very slowly, spending at least a couple of days at each stop to recharge. The nomadic task of setting up and tearing down camp is less tedious when we can stay awhile and enjoy a day's rest, especially since we've seemed to stay ahead of the impending North American snowfall. By contrast to our sedate pace, the land speed record set by a vehicle with wheels is 1,228 km/h (faster than the speed of sound). This record was set just around the corner at the Bonneville Salt Flats (how's that for a segue?), just across the Nevada/Utah border.
Testing the surface of the Bonneville Salt Flats
As we approached the salt flats, we were amazed at how expansive the surrounding area is, all covered in greyish/white layer, most of it is a thin crust above thick mud. We saw the tracks of off-road vehicles that have done donuts, ripping up the surface and leaving mud trail scars. The actual Bonneville Salt Flats has a much thicker crust of salt and is more suitable for attempting landspeed records.
Neda pulls a Charley Boorman on the Salt Flats
The Bonneville Salt Flats look like a sheet of ice at certain angles. We tentatively walked out onto the surface before taking the motorcycles out, as there were still some wet patches from a prior rainfall. We were surprised at how much grip there was, the salt wasn't loose at all. The surface of the flats felt like sandpaper.
Remarkably good grip on the salt flats
Long shadows cast on the salts
The Bonneville Salt Flats are a remnant of a huge prehistoric salt lake that dried up 150,000 years ago. It's one of several dried salt lakes in the area, but it's the largest, measuring over 100 square kilometers, giving landspeed racers enough running room to get up to maximum velocity.
Watching the sun set on the Salt Flats
Posing with the bikes
Backlit sunset shot
Midgets in the mirror
Watching the moon rise over the Salt Flats
Tooling around on the Salt Flats
Although it would have been fun to visit during a race to see all the exotic vehicles, we did have the Bonneville Salt Flats all to ourselves, and we felt like kids walking and riding around, and taking photos all around the area.
Relaxing at a fast food restaurant at the end of the day. We brought our own salt for the fries...
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PaoloC
Active member
We're just being thorough. Since we don't have a schedule or deadlines, we want to see *everything* while we're in the area. Not sure when we'll be back again...
So you're saying there is a chance you're going to Mexico and beyond??
Riceburner
Well-known member
Inspirational....the trip that is.
So, while in NA, insurance and health care is "normal" stuff, but how are you guys handling it when you go overseas? Setting up travel insurance and "green" card insurance when the time comes?
So, while in NA, insurance and health care is "normal" stuff, but how are you guys handling it when you go overseas? Setting up travel insurance and "green" card insurance when the time comes?
Anything can happen!
Although, we've spent a week in Utah and show no signs of leaving...
For vehicular insurance, we're just handling it as it comes. Every country is different, so we're going to research it before we cross over. No use purchasing insurance too far in advance, since we don't have a set route or any timetables on if/when we're going to be anywhere...
For medical coverage, Ontario allows you to be out of the province for up to 2 years (plus a 4 month grace period on top of that for a total of 28 months). However, this only covers care in an Ontario hospital, so in the event of serious injury, we've purchased Emergency Medical Evacuation from MedJetAssist, they will cover the cost of flying us and our motorcycles back to Ontario for OHIP care.
However, if any medical situations arise that don't require flying back to Ontario, we purchased Travel Insurance from CAA (underwritten by Manulife) that should cover the cost of local medical care. We used it once already when I had to go to a walk-in clinic in Alberta to look at my shoulder.
Fastest hands in service bay! New chain and sprockets!
R12GS undergoing major surgery - final drive crown wheel bearing...
San Jose BMW! If I'd known you guys were in the area I would have stopped in to say hi. That's the dealer I take all my bikes to for service - they're 5 minutes from my house.
Good guys, very thorough. They know their sportbikes - they sponsor a guy in the AMA Superbike!
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/47.html
We have unfinished business in Utah. As mentioned before, one of our earliest motorcycle trips was a whirlwind 18-day from Toronto to San Franciso and back. During that trip, we visiting most of the National Parks in the SW US, but only having a limited amount of time, we spent most of it on the back of the motorcycle, not seeing anything but the park from the side of the road. Arches National Park was a bookmark that we just had to revisit, and this time around, we promised that we wouldn't leave until we'd seen everything.
Arches National Park, Three Sisters rock formation up ahead
We made good on that promise, lazing around the park for four days, spending the days hiking the trails around the area, and the nights freezing our butts off inside the tent. The landscape is straight out of a Road Runner cartoon! Other-worldly-shaped orange rocks thrust up out of the ground, some of them precariously balancing larger rocks on small skinny stems - the result of erosion eating away at the softer layers of the sand and rock that history has laid down.
Weather was beautiful during the day, freezing at night, but the night sky was so clear!
One of the things that was very important to us was hiking up to the Delicate Arch, as we didn't have the opportunity the last time we were here. It's about an hour uphill hike to a remote spot where the arch can be viewed. There are over 2,000 arches in the park, spanning from a few feet to over a hundred feet in height! The views are breathtaking!
Hiking the Delicate Arch Trail
Window to the Delicate Arch
We arrived in the early afternoon and settled down to wait for the best time to view the Arch - sunset. We were told that that was the magical time that elves and unicorns would emerge from the portal created by the sun's rays hitting the Delicate Arch.
We take our seats like everyone else and wait for the show to begin
This guy must have shelled out primo for balcony seats
Things to do when you're waiting for the elves and unicorns
This lady brought her Staff of Infinite Mysteries to help open the portal
"... and then the Earth cooled..."
No elves. No unicorns. But pretty, anyway...
Neda takes her photography very seriously, risking life and limb for that perfect shot
Ok, enough hiking and picture-taking, time to do some riding!
We have unfinished business in Utah. As mentioned before, one of our earliest motorcycle trips was a whirlwind 18-day from Toronto to San Franciso and back. During that trip, we visiting most of the National Parks in the SW US, but only having a limited amount of time, we spent most of it on the back of the motorcycle, not seeing anything but the park from the side of the road. Arches National Park was a bookmark that we just had to revisit, and this time around, we promised that we wouldn't leave until we'd seen everything.
Arches National Park, Three Sisters rock formation up ahead
We made good on that promise, lazing around the park for four days, spending the days hiking the trails around the area, and the nights freezing our butts off inside the tent. The landscape is straight out of a Road Runner cartoon! Other-worldly-shaped orange rocks thrust up out of the ground, some of them precariously balancing larger rocks on small skinny stems - the result of erosion eating away at the softer layers of the sand and rock that history has laid down.
Weather was beautiful during the day, freezing at night, but the night sky was so clear!
One of the things that was very important to us was hiking up to the Delicate Arch, as we didn't have the opportunity the last time we were here. It's about an hour uphill hike to a remote spot where the arch can be viewed. There are over 2,000 arches in the park, spanning from a few feet to over a hundred feet in height! The views are breathtaking!
Hiking the Delicate Arch Trail
Window to the Delicate Arch
We arrived in the early afternoon and settled down to wait for the best time to view the Arch - sunset. We were told that that was the magical time that elves and unicorns would emerge from the portal created by the sun's rays hitting the Delicate Arch.
We take our seats like everyone else and wait for the show to begin
This guy must have shelled out primo for balcony seats
Things to do when you're waiting for the elves and unicorns
This lady brought her Staff of Infinite Mysteries to help open the portal
"... and then the Earth cooled..."
No elves. No unicorns. But pretty, anyway...
Neda takes her photography very seriously, risking life and limb for that perfect shot
Ok, enough hiking and picture-taking, time to do some riding!
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P
Pearlzzzzz!
Guest
Magical! Photo's through entire expose are exquisite!
peterventure
Well-known member
Thanks guys!
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/48.html
We descended from Arches National Park and landed in the McDonald's at Moab. We were regular fixtures for a few days there, the TV ceaselessly covering the US election, with us catching up on e-mail, and me stretching that $1 bottomless soda. We saw regulars come and go, and greeted the familiar faces as if we lived there. One morning, after Neda's Skype session with her niece in Italy, we found ourselves chatting with a couple of other Canadians, Jacques from St-Jovite (outside of Montreal) who was in the area on a photo-vacation for a couple of months, and Mark from Winnipeg, who towed his KLR to ride the roads around the area with his dirtbike buddies. This was the perfect company to share a McMorning with, as we got great tips on riding roads *and* photo-spots. We really have no plan whatsoever, so it's chance encounters like these that dictate which way we go and what we do and see!
Potash Road is like riding on the surface of Mars!
Both of them suggested we ride the Shafer Trail, which starts out as Potash Road just north of Moab and ends up meeting the famous White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. We were told to be prepared for great roads and amazing scenery!
Trail turns gravelly and runs through some great canyons
Stream crossing! Ok, the stream was mostly dry. You could see salt or mineral stains left from the water
Marvelous scenery unfolding before us. Shared with NOBODY!
F650GS owners have always been trying to fit a 21" wheel up front. Neda gets a 25" front wheel courtesy of our wide angle lens
The trail is very wide and well maintained. We tried to take a detour off the Shafer Trail towards the Colorado River overlook, but encountered deep sand - our nemesis! So instead of paddling 3 miles through sand with our crappy, gripless Tourances, we decided to turn back to the main trail.
Bye bye, sand. Back to the gravel. Hello, scenery!
As it turns out, we didn't really have to detour from the main trail for a look at the Colorado River, as the Shafer Trail runs alongside it for quite a while. It's at this very spot that they filmed Thelma and Louise driving their car off the cliff after being chased by cops. Hmmm... I hope I didn't ruin the movie for anyone. They also filmed Star Wars here as well, the part where Darth Vader told Luke Skywalker that he was his father...
This entire trip I'm either on a bike or taking pictures. Sometimes both...
Gingerly stepping out onto the edge, trying to get a shot of the Colorado River
Colorado River
I think this is where Thelma and Louise drove off the cliff
Neda was having a great time!
A bit of perspective - Neda is in the top-left hand corner taking a picture with our bikes next to her
We descended from Arches National Park and landed in the McDonald's at Moab. We were regular fixtures for a few days there, the TV ceaselessly covering the US election, with us catching up on e-mail, and me stretching that $1 bottomless soda. We saw regulars come and go, and greeted the familiar faces as if we lived there. One morning, after Neda's Skype session with her niece in Italy, we found ourselves chatting with a couple of other Canadians, Jacques from St-Jovite (outside of Montreal) who was in the area on a photo-vacation for a couple of months, and Mark from Winnipeg, who towed his KLR to ride the roads around the area with his dirtbike buddies. This was the perfect company to share a McMorning with, as we got great tips on riding roads *and* photo-spots. We really have no plan whatsoever, so it's chance encounters like these that dictate which way we go and what we do and see!
Potash Road is like riding on the surface of Mars!
Both of them suggested we ride the Shafer Trail, which starts out as Potash Road just north of Moab and ends up meeting the famous White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. We were told to be prepared for great roads and amazing scenery!
Trail turns gravelly and runs through some great canyons
Stream crossing! Ok, the stream was mostly dry. You could see salt or mineral stains left from the water
Marvelous scenery unfolding before us. Shared with NOBODY!
F650GS owners have always been trying to fit a 21" wheel up front. Neda gets a 25" front wheel courtesy of our wide angle lens
The trail is very wide and well maintained. We tried to take a detour off the Shafer Trail towards the Colorado River overlook, but encountered deep sand - our nemesis! So instead of paddling 3 miles through sand with our crappy, gripless Tourances, we decided to turn back to the main trail.
Bye bye, sand. Back to the gravel. Hello, scenery!
As it turns out, we didn't really have to detour from the main trail for a look at the Colorado River, as the Shafer Trail runs alongside it for quite a while. It's at this very spot that they filmed Thelma and Louise driving their car off the cliff after being chased by cops. Hmmm... I hope I didn't ruin the movie for anyone. They also filmed Star Wars here as well, the part where Darth Vader told Luke Skywalker that he was his father...
This entire trip I'm either on a bike or taking pictures. Sometimes both...
Gingerly stepping out onto the edge, trying to get a shot of the Colorado River
Colorado River
I think this is where Thelma and Louise drove off the cliff
Neda was having a great time!
A bit of perspective - Neda is in the top-left hand corner taking a picture with our bikes next to her
Trying not to look down
I am not scared of heights at all. But whenever I'm looking over a high cliff, or over the top-floor balcony of a high rise, I get this tingling sensation in my toes and I have this small urge to just jump. Not sure why...
Getting ready for the leap... only 2,000 feet to the canyon floor
This picture taken by Gary from Colorado. He pulled up on his R1200GS ADV and told us this was his favorite road!
A friend calls this the National Geographic shot
Trail gets quite close to the edge in some sections, giving us some great views. Hard to keep your eyes on the trail!
Here you can see the rim of the cliff
From the edge of the rim, you can see a 270 degree bend in the Colorado River, very cool!
"Do you need a hand?"
"Naw, I'm Superman, beeotch!
The Shafer Trail is great for big bikes. A little bit of sand in some areas (as above), lots of gravel, some rocky areas, a couple of steep uphill climbs on loose surfaces,and a ton of fun! Neda and I agree this and the Dalton Highway were our top two favorite rides so far on this trip! What cemented this was the 1,000 foot climb up the Shafer Switchbacks on a section of the White Rim Trail:
Here's Neda motoring up one of the switchbacks
Half-way up we peer over the lip of the basin. Awesome! Toes tingling again, BTW...
Looking back on the way we came
Shafer Basin below us, a spectacular sight!
As we reach the top, Neda hugs the cliff wall on the switchback trail. It's Shafer that way...
We've spent over a week in Utah now. Not sure if or when we're ever going to leave this state!
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She stole the words right outta my mouth!Wow, breathtaking views.
homme de fer
Well-known member
That last post has me checking Google Maps to see how long it will take me to get to Utah and back.
Been there, to a lot of those same places, twice now. Colorado and Utah are spectacular - there aren't the right words. However, getting there from Toronto sucks and getting back sucks even more.
Give yourself 4 (maybe 3) days of agonizingly boring and tiring superslab, with agonizing heat in the summer - riding across the plains isn't fun. Speed limit in places is 75 mph, so the flow of traffic is faster than that. Great news for your time, bad news for your tires.
It's pretty much all in a straight line, so it'll take a toll on your tires in the form of wicked flat spots. If you start out with new sport touring tires they should survive the trip, but they'll be shot by the time you get back. Run anything even a little bit less durable and budget to replace at least your rear. With speeds that high, long days in the saddle, a straight line for days and ambient temps in the 90s+, it's tough.
Once you get there - well, the pics speak for themselves - it's very well worth it - the roads are unreal, the mountains are fantastic and both Colorado and Utah are just unreal.
I found that the return trip home was the hardest. On the way out, you're looking forward to stuff, on the way back it's just a slog to get home.
Would I do it again? I said no, but looking at Gene's pics makes me think twice...
Links to the two trips
2009: http://opetralis.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Colorado-Utah-2009-Motorcycle/9303289_FCKXzS
2011: http://opetralis.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/2011-Utah-Colorado/18743742_ZBcMC6
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+1000
Went there in August with a friend, two bikes on a trailer rented from http://www.sportrentals.ca, taking turns at driving. We were in Denver in less than 24 hours, relatively well rested. Spent the next 8 day at a leisury pace through Colorado and Utah. Another 24 hours and we were back.
^ That!
What I found even harder was to ride in Ontario without the scenery from CO/UT.
You were lucky, we got rained on Pikes Peak, but neverthless, the road is amazing.
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/49.html
A few days ago, while talking to our fellow Canadians at the McDonald's in Moab, Jacques mentioned The Wave, a very cool-looking geologic formation, which really intrigued us. However, we found out that to visit it, we needed to obtain a permit. Unfortunately, only 20 permits are given out per day - all chosen by a lottery system. Uh oh. Apparently 10 of the 20 permits are issued 4 months in advance over the Internet, so too late for half the permits. The other 10 are picked via a manual lottery at the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) office, so we decide to take our chances there.
We rode all the way to south Utah, past the phenomenally large and imposing red rock mountain/sculpures of Monument Valley, but didn't stop since we had already visited it on our last trip. Our home base was set up at the town of Kanab, where the BLM office was located and we showed up bright and early the next morning for the lottery. Apparently in the summer, the number of visitors swell to over 200 people, all crammed in the tiny lottery room every morning. The largest number was 260 one day in the summer, all vying for 10 permits! Today, the BLM officer told me we had a record low of applicants - 17! 10 permits. 17 people. Our chances look pretty good! We were assigned a number and one by one, balls were drawn out of an ancient hand-cranked bingo machine, the kind that spins the balls first and spits one out of a small hole in the bottom.
We didn't win. Such good odds and we were so unlucky! One of the permit winners, a European couple exclaimed in joy when their number was drawn. Apparently they had come every morning for the last 5 days, and finally today they won a permit! Good for them, I guess we'd come back tomorrow and try again. But we decided if we didn't win tomorrow, we'd move on.
Beautifully coloured rocks line the Wire Pass as we hike towards the slot canyon
There were still a lot of other sights to see in the Grand Staircase-Escalante area. Coyote Buttes is home to a bunch of slot canyons - canyons that are far deeper than they are wide. So we rode down a 13 km dirt road to visit some of them.
Slot canyons are formed by rushing water through very soft rock. The walls of this canyon are sandstone
Slot canyons are very dangerous to hike in if there is any precipitation in the forecast, since the walls are 30-50 feet high and some of the longer canyons have very little open space or footholds to climb up to escape flash floods. We are hiking part of Buckskin Gulch, which is 21 kms long. We can't hike the entire distance because previous rainfalls have left pools of water hip deep and it's too cold to wade through them. In warmer weather, hikers bring a tent and break up the Buckskin Gulch hike over a few days, wading through the much smaller pools in the heat of the Utah summer.
Sunlight plays against the walls of the slot canyon
Obstacle course
Falling rocks and logs from above sometimes block the slot canyon and it's necessary to climb over or under obstacles. The walls close in very tightly in some places - we had to take our backpacks off and slide sideways to get through. So glad we skipped the cheeseburgers the day before...
Amazing formations on the slot canyon walls caused by different densities of rock carved away by the water
No hip-waders so end of the line for us
We encounter our first pool of water at Buckskin Gulch. The BLM office warned us there would be much deeper ahead, so we decide to turn back here. In the summer, the reflections of the sun streaming down the top of the canyon and hitting the pools cause amazing reflections against the canyon walls, but this late in the year, the sun barely makes it overhead, leaving the canyon in shadows for most of the day. Would be fun to come back here and wade through some of the pools in July!
The next morning, we show up at the BLM office again but we're disheartened when we see many more lottery hopefuls also attending - 27 in total. Our odds are much slimmer today. Our lottery number is 13. I'm not superstitious, but Neda considers this a lucky sign. When she was born, the hospital gave her a bracelet with a number matching mother to baby - her number was 13.
Sure enough, the first ball that dropped out of the lotto machine - number 13! We felt 25 pairs of envious eyes stinging us from all sides. The permits were written up for the next day and we were given instructions on how to get to The Wave as well as what to bring. It's a 10 km round-trip (I HATE HIKING!) to The Wave and there isn't a marked trail, so the BLM handed us a Treasure Island-style map (""50 paces to the Orange Rock, turn left at the Sandy Hill...") and told us to bring lots of water, and a flashlight in case we stayed out past dark. They recommended not to hike in the darkness for fear of falling into a slot canyon. Great. Now I was starting to worry... Would we get lost? Fall into a slot canyon in the dark? I saw 127 Hours and I didn't want to have to cut my arm off with a Swiss Army Knife...
No trail. We're just wandering around, kinda like our motorcycle trip
Early the next morning, we rode out to Wire Pass again where we hike much further past the slot canyons to get to The Wave. The mornings are getting very cold: -9C (-15F) and we were frozen like popsicles when we arrived. Thankfully, the temperatures would climb to a balmy 16C during the day.
Along the way, we met up with a couple of other lottery winners - Sherry and Dugan from Alaksa! They seemed to know where they were going, so we just followed them...
It took us a couple of hours, and as we got closer to The Wave, the rocks start exhibiting some psychedelic properties
Dugan's a geologist, so this is a bit of professional curiousity
This is it! The Wave! So surreal, the pictures don't do it justice!
The Wave was formed when 190-million year old sand dunes were packed down with other layers of rock and sandstone over time, then this whole mass was slowly carved away by wind and water, leaving behind one really cool acid-trip of a sculpture! We spent 3 hours walking around the area mesmerized by the undulating layers of red rock that to me, resembled the musculature of an anatomy doll with it's skin peeled back.
If Salvador Dali ever made sculptures out of stained wood, it would look like The Wave
Even with 20 people visiting The Wave, we couldn't help but get in the way of each other's pictures
The Wave does not cover a large area, so I could imagine if the BLM opened it up for public access you would not be able to enjoy the beauty of it without having other people crammed in that small space. The 20 permit holders had to take turns getting shots of The Wave, while we each hid behind the hills or hiked elsewhere. I think there are actually 5 people hidden in the picture above.
Hardwood floors at The Wave. Helps to increase the property value...
Surfs Up, Dude!
We ♥ The Wave!
We've been in Utah for nearly two weeks, there's so much to see and do here, but I fear that if we don't leave soon, we'll have to convert to Mormonism and stay here permanently!
A few days ago, while talking to our fellow Canadians at the McDonald's in Moab, Jacques mentioned The Wave, a very cool-looking geologic formation, which really intrigued us. However, we found out that to visit it, we needed to obtain a permit. Unfortunately, only 20 permits are given out per day - all chosen by a lottery system. Uh oh. Apparently 10 of the 20 permits are issued 4 months in advance over the Internet, so too late for half the permits. The other 10 are picked via a manual lottery at the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) office, so we decide to take our chances there.
We rode all the way to south Utah, past the phenomenally large and imposing red rock mountain/sculpures of Monument Valley, but didn't stop since we had already visited it on our last trip. Our home base was set up at the town of Kanab, where the BLM office was located and we showed up bright and early the next morning for the lottery. Apparently in the summer, the number of visitors swell to over 200 people, all crammed in the tiny lottery room every morning. The largest number was 260 one day in the summer, all vying for 10 permits! Today, the BLM officer told me we had a record low of applicants - 17! 10 permits. 17 people. Our chances look pretty good! We were assigned a number and one by one, balls were drawn out of an ancient hand-cranked bingo machine, the kind that spins the balls first and spits one out of a small hole in the bottom.
We didn't win. Such good odds and we were so unlucky!
One of the permit winners, a European couple exclaimed in joy when their number was drawn. Apparently they had come every morning for the last 5 days, and finally today they won a permit! Good for them, I guess we'd come back tomorrow and try again. But we decided if we didn't win tomorrow, we'd move on.
Beautifully coloured rocks line the Wire Pass as we hike towards the slot canyon
There were still a lot of other sights to see in the Grand Staircase-Escalante area. Coyote Buttes is home to a bunch of slot canyons - canyons that are far deeper than they are wide. So we rode down a 13 km dirt road to visit some of them.
Slot canyons are formed by rushing water through very soft rock. The walls of this canyon are sandstone
Slot canyons are very dangerous to hike in if there is any precipitation in the forecast, since the walls are 30-50 feet high and some of the longer canyons have very little open space or footholds to climb up to escape flash floods. We are hiking part of Buckskin Gulch, which is 21 kms long. We can't hike the entire distance because previous rainfalls have left pools of water hip deep and it's too cold to wade through them. In warmer weather, hikers bring a tent and break up the Buckskin Gulch hike over a few days, wading through the much smaller pools in the heat of the Utah summer.
Sunlight plays against the walls of the slot canyon
Obstacle course
Falling rocks and logs from above sometimes block the slot canyon and it's necessary to climb over or under obstacles. The walls close in very tightly in some places - we had to take our backpacks off and slide sideways to get through. So glad we skipped the cheeseburgers the day before...
Amazing formations on the slot canyon walls caused by different densities of rock carved away by the water
No hip-waders so end of the line for us
We encounter our first pool of water at Buckskin Gulch. The BLM office warned us there would be much deeper ahead, so we decide to turn back here. In the summer, the reflections of the sun streaming down the top of the canyon and hitting the pools cause amazing reflections against the canyon walls, but this late in the year, the sun barely makes it overhead, leaving the canyon in shadows for most of the day. Would be fun to come back here and wade through some of the pools in July!
The next morning, we show up at the BLM office again but we're disheartened when we see many more lottery hopefuls also attending - 27 in total. Our odds are much slimmer today. Our lottery number is 13. I'm not superstitious, but Neda considers this a lucky sign. When she was born, the hospital gave her a bracelet with a number matching mother to baby - her number was 13.
Sure enough, the first ball that dropped out of the lotto machine - number 13! We felt 25 pairs of envious eyes stinging us from all sides.
The permits were written up for the next day and we were given instructions on how to get to The Wave as well as what to bring. It's a 10 km round-trip (I HATE HIKING!) to The Wave and there isn't a marked trail, so the BLM handed us a Treasure Island-style map (""50 paces to the Orange Rock, turn left at the Sandy Hill...") and told us to bring lots of water, and a flashlight in case we stayed out past dark. They recommended not to hike in the darkness for fear of falling into a slot canyon. Great. Now I was starting to worry... Would we get lost? Fall into a slot canyon in the dark? I saw 127 Hours and I didn't want to have to cut my arm off with a Swiss Army Knife...
No trail. We're just wandering around, kinda like our motorcycle trip
Early the next morning, we rode out to Wire Pass again where we hike much further past the slot canyons to get to The Wave. The mornings are getting very cold: -9C (-15F) and we were frozen like popsicles when we arrived. Thankfully, the temperatures would climb to a balmy 16C during the day.
Along the way, we met up with a couple of other lottery winners - Sherry and Dugan from Alaksa! They seemed to know where they were going, so we just followed them...
It took us a couple of hours, and as we got closer to The Wave, the rocks start exhibiting some psychedelic properties
Dugan's a geologist, so this is a bit of professional curiousity
This is it! The Wave! So surreal, the pictures don't do it justice!
The Wave was formed when 190-million year old sand dunes were packed down with other layers of rock and sandstone over time, then this whole mass was slowly carved away by wind and water, leaving behind one really cool acid-trip of a sculpture! We spent 3 hours walking around the area mesmerized by the undulating layers of red rock that to me, resembled the musculature of an anatomy doll with it's skin peeled back.
If Salvador Dali ever made sculptures out of stained wood, it would look like The Wave
Even with 20 people visiting The Wave, we couldn't help but get in the way of each other's pictures
The Wave does not cover a large area, so I could imagine if the BLM opened it up for public access you would not be able to enjoy the beauty of it without having other people crammed in that small space. The 20 permit holders had to take turns getting shots of The Wave, while we each hid behind the hills or hiked elsewhere. I think there are actually 5 people hidden in the picture above.
Hardwood floors at The Wave. Helps to increase the property value...
Surfs Up, Dude!
We ♥ The Wave!
We've been in Utah for nearly two weeks, there's so much to see and do here, but I fear that if we don't leave soon, we'll have to convert to Mormonism and stay here permanently!
