Utah, Arizona, New Mexico

See the picture below of the vanity light at the Sun 'n' Sand motel in Kanab, UT. To the motel's credit, all three bulbs worked.

About 15 minutes out of Kanab (near which many western movies and TV shows were filmed) the next morning we came upon an accident scene with an ambulance pulled off the road and all lit up. As I rode slowly by, I could see a BMW in the ditch, so we turned around and went back to see if we could help. The rider was up and gathering his scattered belongings, and he'd already been patched up by the medics. He said that the front wheel blew out and that the bike was unrideable. He would get a lift back to Kanab and arrange for the bike to be picked up. We continued on for another half hour or so and pulled off to take pictures at a particularly scenic area. As we were getting ready to leave, a couple pulled into the parking area on a big Yamaha Star cruiser loaded up and with camping gear piled on the back. We talked a bit, and turned out they were from Colorado Springs and their house and everything in it was lost in the recent fires there. They had just bought the Yamaha, and were on their way to Santa Barbara the the San Juan Islands in Washington. The guy said he had ashes from the house and his four motorcycles and he was going to scatter them in the ocean - a romantic gesture. After that somber beginning the rest of the day was uneventful, except for an 80 mile detour that took us way south instead of through Page, AZ and a very long wait for road construction. US 160 across Arizona is very scenic with red cliffs and striking rock formations. US 64 across northern New Mexico does not start out well - the 60 or so miles between Shiprock through Farmington and  Bloomfield is heavily traveled, and built-up with ugly roadside businesses, chain stores, and fast food places. Once past Bloomfield it is beautiful again with high desert scenery, little traffic, curves, and trees. We entered the lovely Chama valley and spent the night in Chama at 7800 feet. The next morning (August 1, Thursday) we were up early, stopped at the railway station in Chama to take picture of the narrow gauge steam train, and rode over two 10,000 foot passes (joined by picturesque valleys) to Antonito, CO where we had breakfast at the dining car restaurant, the terminus of the Chamas and Tolpec scenic railway - picture below.

Old steam engine used on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad

 We went north to Alamosa, then turned east and picked up CO 10 which joins US 50. By this time we are in the Colorado plains, which are not unlike the Nebraska plains and the Kansas plains. We picked up a fierce crosswind in the afternoon, which carried with it the fragrances of the Kansas feedlots and a Tyson slaughterhouse. We are in Garden City, KS, and will continue on US 50  tomorrow. The weather was cold this morning at high altitude, but became hotter as we descended out of the mountains. It has been dry so far, but that is supposed to change tomorrow afternoon - thunderstorms are predicted along our route.