Blast from the past in Southern Utah, part 1

On the Face book "Utah Motorcyclist" page, rider "Kaylee" puts out the idea for a ride to Moab to see the oldies car show. Moab is about 250 mostly good miles from my home, a couple of other riders say they are going...it's all sounding good, I'm in!

I grew up in the muscle car era, and owned a couple - scoping out cars of years gone by sounds like a great way to spend a weekend!

I meet Ken and John in American Fork, we gas and go.

Ken has restored five old cars with his kids so he is rarin to go also.

It's a COLD ride so we stop to warm up at this isolated gas station.

I got a drink, but.........no snacks...

We pass through Price, then not long after we run into this Army convoy.

Because of our stops and sightseeing we end up passing the long, slow, convoy three times.

One of our stops was in Green River, Utah. We take a photo op at the Golden Ratio sculpture.

Speaking of old cars.....

We ARE briefly here, but soon we're off again, we have to ride I-70 for 45.4 miles (The Chevy 454 cid was one of the biggest muscle car era engines)

We exit I-70 and get on beautiful hwy 128 (...hmmm, the Z28 Camero comes to mind!)

Ken gives the "V" or "Peace" sign, as in "V-8; Mind blowing, raw un-adulderated, window shaking, power kind of Peace" yea, that peace sign.

We make it to Moab, secure our room and cast about for a ride to finish off the day. We opt for hwy 211. The turn-off for 211 is 39.6 miles out of Moab, and....you guessed it, the 396 is another Chevy muscle car engine.

For safety's sake, always hula hoop while crossing the street...

Part 2 of the ride is on ... part 2.

Blast from the past in Southern Utah, part 2

On highway 211 into Canyonlands National Park.

 Kaylee at Wilson's arch.

We have dinner at the Moab Brewery. Very busy, lots of atmosphere, interesting ceiling decor, and good food! I get the Shroom burger...very nice!

I'm amazed at how many cars there were there for the event. Everything from Vipers to Volkswagon beatles. Numerous Corvettes, and Cameros. Tons of trucks. Millions of Mopars, Jillions of Jeeps....ok, slight exaggeration there...

The cars are displayed at the city park during the day. We arrived to late to see the cars in the park, however, lucky for us most of the cars join an after dark parade up and down main street where crowds gathered to watch the spectacle.

The streets were lined with enthusiasts. The crowd was loud but friendly. It was very entertaining to watch the people on the street interacting with the people in the cars. Occasionally one of the cars would "light em up" much to everyone's delight. The Leo's presence was heavy, but they seemed reasonably tolerant and part of the party.

 And one of my all time favorites, the 70 Chevelle SS. Sweet!!

 I'm pretty certain this is a Henry J.

Build jobs.

 After oogling at cars we go to Frankie D's to watch this band. Sadly I didn't get their name, but I'm told they will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The band was good, the bar was lively, and I wallflowered the night away..

440 miles today - also the size of a mighty mopar musclebound mill.

It's Sunday, and I want to be home by mid afternoon, so I'm up and on the bike by 8:30

Because I didn't get very good pictures of the cars last night I keep my camera ready so I can get some on the way out of town.

There was something there for everyone.

 On the way home I stop into the Diamond Fork hot springs for a relaxing soak

283 miles today (another great engine size from days of yore).

Just under 700 miles for the trip. Lots of fun, met two new Biker Buds, and had a super time!

The Moab car show is going to be an annual event for me. Next year we'll get a hotel closer to the action and take parade chairs.

Good times!

Cache Dash

At the Havasu V-Strom rally, last week

 John aka jdubyap, handed me the Stromtrooper Cache.

So now I have to find someone to hand it off to, A Strom rider from Oregon, Blake aka Tater (but my runaway mind keeps calling him Topper because he spends his days in the tops of trees), offers to meet me in Austin, Nevada and take the Cache. Blake is riding to California to spend time with family, Hence the Austin meet-up spot. This will be a quicky ride down to do the hand off and then back home (the lawn needs mowing..).

I leave on CHILLY Thursday and head south.

 Finally I reach Austin, where Blake is waiting for me. We each get settled in our rooms then we take the short ride to the local hot springs (15 miles out of town).

 The springs are kept clean by local volunteers. There are three spas. We choose this one.

 Yes, 132 degrees.

You control the temp of the hot tub by moving the pipe back and forth to put more or less hot water into the tub.

These fish seem to thrive in the crystal clear warm water.

After a very nice soak we return to town and have dinner here. The chicken fried steak was reasonably good.

Our lodgings.

Austin is a pretty cool town, they call it a 'living ghost town'.  It's a fun place to visit, and if you are staying overnight I highly recommend the Pony Canyon Motel. It's old and small, but spotlessly clean and friendly!

 Austin.

 Mainstreet. 

 Blake suggests the "Castle" for the hand off spot.

This castle was built by Anson Phelps Stokes in 1897 as a summer home for his boys. It was occupied for about 2 months, June and July, in 1897, but has been empty since.

No explanation as to why it was abandanded.

 The hand off.

The current care-taker of the Strom-Cache;

Blake.

We decide to ride Nevada SR 722 to Middlegate where we will have lunch and then part ways - Blake will continue to Santa Cruz, I will ride south and make a loop back to Utah.

 A ranch alongside 722

 A few miles east of Middlegate on US 50, a shoe tree.

 Middlegate, come here hungry and be well fed! The mushroom burger fit both my requirements for excellence: big, greasy, and tasty...

 Gabbs, Nevada church.

 The sky is busy while I'm riding to Tonapah.

 Not everyday you see a boat converted into a lounge in the middle of the desert.

I'm a little hungry, so I stop for a quick bite, but the menu here is not what I expected...

 Tonapah main street.

 Previous generations fought so hard to win what our generation is so blythely giving away... how sad.

 Mural in Tonapah.

 I was hoping to observe some secret plane flying as I rode through, but this is as close as I got...

US 6 was dedicated to the American Civil War Veterans, named in their honor.

 Lots of long, straight, lonely roads in Nevada.

(from Tonapah to Ely)

 Ely mainstreet.

I stay in Ely overnight, and head for home the next morning.

 Hat tree south of Wendover on hwy 93

I make it home a little after mid-day. It was a cold ride, but I'm so happy to meet Blake and ride a few miles with him. What a great guy!

Day 1 was the coldest - 465 miles.

Day 2 was the most fun - 403 miles.

Day 3 was the windiest - 222 miles.

1090 total - any ride is better than no ride!