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Sunshine arrived by 0530 Thursday morning in our Great Basin National Park campsite. The sound of the rushing creek was punctuated by the buzz of hummingbirds looking for nectar in the colorful prayer flags. We were soon underway, crossing more of the Great Basin.
The Great Basin is remarkable in it's series of North-South oriented mountain ranges, all pushed up by tectonic plate movement. Between these ranges lie flat basins. Crossing Nevada and Western Utah has a distinct pattern: long sections of straight flat basin, followed by a quick run over a mountain pass, then traversing another basin. Beautiful scenery, no wind today to bang us around.
Highway 50 across Nevada is famous for this type of geography. And while the collective small town chambers of commerce call it the World's Loneliest Highway, instead, Highway 21 across Southwestern Utah is truly empty.
When we finally crossed the desert and approached the Utah highlands, we stopped for fuel, where Reverend Chuck inadvertently overfilled his engine oil. If you don't know, running too much oil in an engine can cause over-pressure in the crankcase and cause a blown seal. ("No, it's just vanilla ice cream.") So we found a shady spot by the
Highway 21
Straight road ahead.truck pumps, tore into the BMWs skid plate to access the oil drain plug, and drained out his oil. It was a fun interlude that justified carrying an extensive tool kit. Gotta love the German Proxon sockets!
We chose to camp at the primitive high country campground at the North end of Zion National Park. Twenty miles of beautiful riding finished in a short section of dirt that led to Lava Point campground. The nearby viewpoint looks out over the canyons of Zion to the South.
It was a dry camp, small and quiet. Annie, the local seasonal ranger, steered us to tomorrow's breakfast. Grilled chicken Caesar salad for dinner and a great fire. No stars however, as the cloud cover would portend of things to come.
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Bruce H
non-member comment
I am sure liking this...
I am sure liking this ride report. I have been without a bike the last two weekends and am experiencing withdrawal... My final drive ring bearing dumped so am waiting for parts stuck in customs. With luck they will arrive next week and the following weekend I will again get to ride. Keep the photos and ride descriptions coming.