Late December Lake Powell Road Trip

[Frulk_imp]

Day One part two:

Some clarification: I stated earlier in this thread I was heading to Grand Staircase. I meant Capitol Reef. I live in this state and know better but always mix them up. Grand Staircase is further west and south and the only access from where I'm at is Hwy12 over the Boulder Plateau. At this time of year that's iffy on a bike considering the altitude is almost 4,000 feet higher from my current location.

Comments on the top box: One thing I didn't think about when mounting it is how much room I'd have when swinging a leg over the bike. I just kind of set it close to back of the seat more concerned about handling (trying to keep weight closer to rear axle). As it turns out even with heavy insulated boots it wasn't a problem clearing the box. Don't think I hit it once. The next thing I was concerned about was the effect on handling at speed (think tank slapper here). I got over the ton in gradual steps heading south to Hanksville. No issues whatsoever. Solid as a 4X4. Zero feedback/shimmy and so forth.

So, at the east entrance to Capitol Reef I made the decision to turn south to Notom. This was based on the white frost strips I could clearly see in the middle of the road in the shadows of the canyon.

Heading due South To Notom is a picturesque 12 mile +/- section of tarmac that eventually ends and turns to gravel and goes further down to Bullfrog and connects with the Burr Trail switchbacks.

This spot was an option for a campsite but I wanted to take pics at Goblin Valley so I nixed that. I'm looking southeast towards the Henry Mountains



Looking north to the Capitol Reef east entrance. The pics of the area just don't do it justice. The scale of things is hard to quantify. The sheer vastness of the area is lost unless you're standing right here in it. One of the reasons I have the bike in almost every pic is my meager attempt to provide some scale.








Heading back into Goblin Valley State park. This is Temple Mountain in the back ground:



The campground is to the left in the shadows of that wall:



Self explanatory:



Dinner and desert. 2 Cheese quesadillas with tobacco and a Melvin's Beer. Then port from a titanium bottle (imparts no taste) and chocolate. Besides myself there were two other spots in the campground taken. A woman with Colorado plates and a family in a decked out Mercedes Uber Van (seeing many more of these around here, almost all with out of state plates).



My views from campsite for sunset:



As the cold started to nibble at me from the edges I decided to strike up a fire. Moving closer I sipped the port while Dark Side of the Moon played over the ear buds. No wind. No noise. Just those hoodoos looming over me with the ever consuming darkness enveloping us both. It had a very surreal feel to it all, magnified significantly by Pink Floyd.



I have to end it here due to the 10 pic limit. Have a few more pictures of the first day to post and then will get on to the second day.