Still trying to catch up on this blog. I'm getting this program and the nuances of uploading pictures figured out so hopefully this will continue to get easier and faster. Here's Zion and the Grand Canyon!After breaking down camp at Duck Creek Village we headed right down the road to Zion. The drive down the canyon is a spectacular view and a fun drive on the motorcycle. At one point while exploring the park we accidentally managed to get off of the designated trail and ended up climbing the mountain on a random path. It is easier than one might think to get off of the beaten path up there. We encountered two other guys who had mistakenly started off on the same path as we did and joined them in an effort to climb up to the correct, established path. To make a long story short, after climbing for about 30 minutes we all ended up without water and at a dead end at a sheer, vertical rock wall and any possible route protected by cactus. All four of us were forced to turn around and climb all the way back down to where we got off track, not too much fun. Plenty of water and sunscreen were absolute essentials all day long. The remainder of Zion was terrific.

After another long, hot day and in need of a bath, we decided that Lake Powell would be a great place to make our camp site that evening. Camping on the beach was free and we could bathe in the lake. So, after driving until dark again, we finally arrived at Lake Powell and drove down to the beach to make camp. At this point it became abundantly clear that we needed to stop trying to cover so much ground and to start making camp before dark! We found that it was necessary to drive approximately a quarter mile of sand in order to make it down to the beach to camp, and if you aren't aware, motorcycles don't fare particularly well on sand. Motorcycles heavily laden with two riders and travel gear are especially difficult to navigate on sand. I made one, brief attempt to test the sand road and decided to find a camp spot we could safely drive to. It turns out there is a NPS campground right down the road from the beach access and we headed there.
It was a POOR campground at best. Our site was completely covered in sand burrs and offered no shade or privacy from other campers. To make matters worse, the site cost $26 and showers weren't even included in that fee. You must pay extra to shower!!! Well, I wasn't going to pay more to shower, on principle alone. Oh well, our fault for waiting until dark to find a campsite. Live and learn.
We weren't about to let one, less than desirable evening of camping dampen our spirits, and we set off the next morning with renewed vigour and with our sights set on the Grand canyon.

The ride from Lake Powell to the North Rim was a hot but enjoyable drive. Along the way to the canyon we came across a place called Lees Ferry and the idea came to me that it might be possible to stop and take a bath in the Colorado river. When I was very, very young my parents had made a trip trough this general area and I recalled a picture of one of my uncles taking a bath in a river. This seemed to be a novel idea and I was keen to give it a shot. As luck would have it, there was an immaculate paved road that led down the canyon and right to a great beach. There was a family fishing about 200 yds. from us but we decided that if we were discrete about it, we could get out and change into clean clothes without offending anyone. No problems. It was 106 degrees outside and the water was 45. Needless to say, it was a quick and freshening bath!
Onward to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Upon arrival at Jacob Lake we acquired a map and scoped out a secluded spot on the East Rim of the canyon about 50 ft. from the canyon rim. It was about a 4 mile drive on a gravel road but the road was good and it was daylight! We were able to get our campsite established and the bike unloaded completely with about 2 hours to spare to drive to the North Rim and catch the Canyon at sunset. It was spectacular; however, the temperature dropped quickly after sunset and the ride back to camp was a chilly one due to the fact that we had neglected to bring warm riding gear with us from the campsite. The fire danger was very high and in fact there was a fire burning at the canyon to the west of us. The wildfire was no threat to us but campfires were strictly prohibited and it would have been nice to have one that night. Not as cold as Duck Creek Village, but pretty cold nonetheless.
I was awakened at the crack of dawn by a woodpecker and decided I would try to get some good sunrise pics while Dex slumbered easily through the morning chill. We had decided the night before that we would drive back to the Lodge at the North Rim in the morning and have breakfast. This turned out to be a pretty good idea indeed and we both had the breakfast buffet. Our service staff was great and we stuffed ourselves until we couldn't eat another bite then dozed in and out on the deck overlooking the canyon while basking in the sun and warming ourselves like a couple of lizards on a rock. On a side note, I probably ate an entire pound of the peppered bacon from the buffet, it was brilliant!
Onward! We quickly packed up camp after breakfast and headed back out of the canyon. Dex had decided that he would like to see Vegas and we both agreed we should go back to Zion on the way and go see "The Subway", which we didn't have time to see on our prior trip through the park (mainly because of our aforementioned detour). Well, of all the people that recommended we go through Zion instead of Monument Valley, none of them ever mentioned anything about the lottery and it's not something I had ever heard of. You see, there are only a limited number of people allowed in The Subway every day and you must enter a lottery in order to have an opportunity to go. We didn't learn of this until we were back at the visitors center and well, we didn't get to go to the subway. A word to the wise... there is a two day and a two month lottery. Get registered before you go to Zion!
The drive through the Zion canyon was still awesome again and we saw things we didn't see the first time through. Hell, you could probably drive that canyon road 500 times and still see something new every time.
So, we were off to Vegas... we thought. It was blazing hot and as we were heading down the interstate towards Mesquite, NV. we encountered our first equipment failure. Two bungee cords gave up on us and we lost our tail bag on the interstate! Fortunately, Dex recognized that we had lost our bag immediately and we were able to stop and gather up our belongings, patch the bag back together well enough to carry on and we didn't lose anything! Upon gathering ourselves and our equipment, we rolled into Mesquite and needed to cool down and take a break. We searched a bit for a reasonably priced hotel as we thought a dip in a pool and some air conditioning sounded very appealing at that moment but nothing came of our efforts. After a quick Google search, the decision was then made to carry on to Lake Mead and to skip Las Vegas. After all, there is nothing for an 18 yr. old to do in Vegas anyhow. So, on to Lake Mead we went, in search of our lakeside paradise again. We did find the Echo Bay campground without any problems, despite the fact that it was almost dark again. We set up camp upon arrival and decided to do a little exploring before turning in for the night. What we found was a completely deserted campground, marina, motel and boat ramp. We began by walking down the boat ramp to get to the water. This boat ramp was enormous. You could have launched the Queen Mary from there. As we walked endlessly, in the dark, towards the end of the ramp it became clear to me why everything was abandoned. There was no water in sight. Granted, we could not see very far with our flashlight, but the boat ramp was obviously a long way from where the water level in the lake is currently. The motel was particularly creepy and disconcerting and neither of us could muster the courage to go inside any of the open doors. It was like something straight out of a horror movie. When we were done wandering about, we gathered up enough sticks, palm fronds and scrap wood to build a fire sufficient to make coffee in the morning and called it a night. It was probably still 90 degrees when we went to bed, difficult to get to sleep.
On another side note: as we were approaching Hurricane, UT we came across an accident scene still untouched by investigators. A Harley had taken a curve too fast and collided with an oncoming vehicle. The bike was lying on the side of the road, still unmolested since the accident. We had seen literally hundreds of other Harley riders that day and very few of them were wearing any protective gear at all. I imagined the riders of this bike were similarly equipped and were in BAD condition. It made me glad that we, at the least, had proper riding gear and the good sense to wear it. It sounds like these riders will live, the report doesn't say if they were wearing helmets. I sure hope so.
I don't know how to make an http link yet but here is the report I found concerning the accident. Copy and paste in your browser:

http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2014/06/07/ams-2-transported-by-mercy-air-motorcycle-collides-with-truck-on-laverkin-twist/#.U5bhYfldWSo

It's getting very late so I must get some sleep. I'll try to finish getting all caught up on the details of the trip to date, tomorrow. Good night.