The main focus of this trip was going to the ADVrider Death Valley Noobs Rally. I’m not a noob, but it’s Death Valley. I’ve never been there! It would be hard to find a better way to explore the area.
In my usual fashion, I had to make the trip a bit more complicated and longer. There was supposed to be a Utah Trails club event in Emery. So I had been planning on attending that. Thanks to an Atmospheric River it was cancelled due to too much snow. I love seeing it like this when I’m heading out on a trip
I decided to still stick to that route, so I could see a few other things along the way. I also left a day later. As I didn’t want to drive in the massive snow storm that was blowing in that night. That plan didn’t really workout… I woke up to more than the predicted 1 to 2 inches of snow on the ground. No way was I going to let that stop me from leaving. It did make the going a great deal slower. The roads got much better as I headed farther west. The roads in Santa Fe were horrible.
Stopped at the Continental Divide from here out the roads were much better.
I still stopped off in Farmington to get some new tires on the KTM from Brian. He had me try a new front, that I really do like. I got to see his new shop space. We recreated the first bike picture from when he moved into the current shop. I’m so happy to see him doing well.
The new shop that is opening May 1st.
The first bike moved into the “old shop” ten years ago.
From there I was off to the Navajo National Monument. I really like to make sure I hit a national park or some other interesting site along the way. It was a great lil camp ground. My set up is almost too big for their spots. Which is a nice change from most places.
It was a pretty drive. Totally worth the extra 3 days it took.
After that we were off to the Pink Coral Sand Dunes in Utah. It just sounds amazing. It was too. The sand really is a great pink color. I managed to snagged a camp spot with electric, since it was so stinking cold. Using a space heater let me conserve propane for the trip.
I wish that I had realized that I was going to be driving past antelope canyon. I would have made a reservation to explore it.
By the time I got the sand dunes it was late afternoon, super windy, so I just unloaded the KTM. First thing up was getting things set up in the trailer, getting a shower, then taking Sable out for a long walk. The dunes were super cool. They have board rentals; you can board down the sand dunes!! There were a lot of people doing it. Fun to watch.
One of the rules is to have a Whip flag on the vehicle, I don’t have one, but I did sneak out there at dusk so I could play a bit in the sand. I can see where having a sand tire (paddle) would be really useful. So that I didn’t cause any trouble I made sure to stay away from people. Next time I’m going to have a flag so I can play more.