The host at the Budget Inn in Green River, Utah provided a motel breakfast of cereal, toast, and little muffins (that he'd made). As promised, the coffee was good, so all in all not a bad deal. Today was to be a relatively short distance on good roads, so I was in no hurry to get started, leaving a little before 8:30. A few miles on the Interstate and I exited at Utah 24 towards Hanksville. I had the road mostly to myself, and after 20 miles turned off 24 towards Goblin State Park.
I paid the entrance fee ($5 for motorcycles) and rode to the observation area parking lot where you can walk down to the valley and wander around. My motorcycle boots are not so much broken in as they are broken down, and not suitable for hiking. Still, I walked around for a mile or two and took many pictures. The day was slightly overcast and cool for the Utah desert, so it was a pleasant walk.
Millions of years ago this area was a huge inland sea, and the sediment at the bottom formed shale, sandstone, and siltstone. When the Colorado Plateau emerged, the sedimentary rocks were exposed, and over a period of more millions of years the wind and rain eroded the softer areas and left the goblins behind.
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| Isolated goblins stand out as you leave the valley area |
The pictures don't convey the weirdness of the valley - there are hundreds of the goblins all around you.
Back on UT 24 I stopped to take a picture of yet another interesting rock formation alongside the road.
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| On UT 24 outside of Goblin Valley |
As I neared Hanksville and the junction Highway 95 I began to see the distinctive red soil and red rock formations that line 95 south to Natural Bridges. Many years ago when Andrew was about 10 and we were on a motorcycle trip we stopped at a rock store in Hanksville. There were also many dinosaur bones, and the proprietor took us in the back where he had Andrew stand next to a thigh bone that was taller than he was (at the time). Alas, the store has been closed for many years.
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| The rock store in Hanksville, Utah - closed for years. |
Utah 24 west of Hanksville passes through Capitol Reef National Park, and it's a great ride with hills, curves, spectacular scenery, and many photo opportunities. Unfortunately, I was having too much fun to stop often enough to see all the sights, such as petroglyphs, an old schoolhouse made of red sandstone, a fruit orchard, and much more. However, I did make one or two stops. One of these trips I'll have to force myself to stop more often, maybe even go to the visitor's center. Maybe if I'm in a car...
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| UT 24 heading west through rock formations |
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| Rock formations in Capitol Reef National Park |
In Torrey I stopped at the Castle Rock Cafe for a slice of carrot cake (recommended by the proprietor and delicious) and a good cup of coffee.
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| Excellent coffee and carrot cake here in Torrey, UT |
Refreshed, I continued on 24, which gradually straightened and climbed to an 8400 foot summit. I rode by Koosharem and the landscape became the typical Utah high desert scenery.
UT 24 ends in Salina, and I stopped downtown at Mom's Cafe for lunch. In spite of Nelson Algren's admonition to never eat at a place called "Mom's", the food was quite good.
US 50 goes from Salina to I-15, and you go south on the Interstate for 10 miles and exit to continue west on US 50 to Delta. The ride from Delta to the Nevada border was boring as usual and hadn't changed since I was through there a few days ago. Or, for that matter the 20 or 30 times I've been on it over the years. In Nevada the road climbs over Sacramento Pass and the old, yellow truck with the Buick grill is still parked at a ranch on the west side of the summit. Farther on about 60 huge windmills turn slowly in the breeze.
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| A wind farm in the Nevada desert |
US 50 climbs over Connor's Pass before going into Ely. The day had become overcast and cloudy, and there were isolated pockets of water on the road, which let me to think that there had been a shower earlier in the day.
In Ely I saw a city police car waiting alongside the road with a radar gun, and farther on another cop was writing up an unlucky lady in a Prius. I also saw a State Trooper driving through town. I'm staying at the Rustic Inn, which is a bargain at $35 cash. The room is small and spartan, but it's also clean and it looks as though the place was remodeled not too long ago. Dinner at the Hotel Nevada in the old downtown was disappointing - I've usually had better luck with casino food.
Tomorrow will be a short day as I'm only going as far as Minden.
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