erixun
My helmet is on too tight....
I rode on Hwy 12 to and out of Esclante. If you ever get a chance to ride this highway I highly recommend it. In my opionion it is one of the most scenic rides anywhere. If you go from Torrey Utah to Panguitch Utah you get to see alpine forest type scenery to red rock desert scenery, all in one ride. Words just can not describe it. Anyway like I said, if you have not done it, and get the chance, you need to.
Next on the list was way up in Duchesne Utah. Pronounced 'doo-shane'. If you want to have fun with the locals, stop in the area and ask about what there is to do in 'Doo-Chez-nee'. You get some interesting looks. State highway 72 was a fun ride, there were absolutely no cars on this stretch of road. I think I passed one truck the entire length. (Loa Utah to I-70) Just make sure to fuel up when you can, sometimes a gas station is no where to be had in this area.
The memorial site in Duchesne, Utah. It pays tribute to a lot of different branches and services.
This actually was one of my favorites out of the sites this year. It was the Navy WAVE memorial. I bet there are not many of these around, and it was really nicely done. After this I headed east on the 'dinosaur highway' towards Vernal Utah. Next stop was Fort Duchesne.
The Utah Indian Veterans Park- another one of my favorites, it was very well done.
Fort Duchesne is on the Uintah and Ouray reservation, which is home to the Ute Indian tribe. From here I went to the site in Midway Utah. Along this ride I passed a BMW rider who had a flag stuffed under a net on his rear seat also doing the Tour of Honor. He followed me all the way into Heber Utah. I stopped and spoke briefly to him, he told me that he already hit the Midway site, but the gate was closed so he hiked to the top of the mile long trail. I never did tell him that I had already hit five other sites so far and started last night at 10:30 PM. I don't know if he would have believed me.
Gate to the memorial site in Midway Utah. It is on top of this round hill and has a spiral road or trail that goes around it to the top.
As the BMW guy told me the gates were closed. I was not looking forward to the long walk to the top. I looked at my print off screen shots that I had with me from the TOH website. Whew! I am glad I thought about doing that! Under the picture in the details for this site it said "This site is in a state of flux and details will emerge as riders visit. As of this writing, the site is only accessible by walking to the top of the hill. A photo of the entrance gate at the bottom is allowed." Score! After riding that far a walk would have done me good, but I certainly did not feel like it! So I just took the photo above and hopped back on, heading to the last memorial site on my list.
This is the Viet Nam Veterans memorial on the State Capital grounds. While not as impressive as the sites in Washington D.C., this one is very cool and well done.
I had to park across the street as this memorial is located on the grounds by a foot path, I did not think the capital police would find the humor of me riding the FJR up the stairs or on the grass and on to the walking path to 'take a picture'. That is Utah's Capital building in the background, it has several very neat statues and memorials on the grounds. After getting back to the bike I called home and let them know I was on the way back. I asked for a pizza to celebrate, my wife had one already ordered. I got off my exit and pulled into a local fuel stop to get an end receipt.
Me after I pulled into the garage...
According to the DeLorme InReach I traveled a total number of 1182.1 miles, the motorcycle odometer had 1,214 miles more on it. I used 30.434 gallons of fuel according to my receipts. I began the ride at 22:30 on 3/31/2015, ended it at 19:29 4/1/2015, a total time of 20 hours 59 minutes! I logged 16 stops, 14 stops for fuel and visit to memorials and two more for the start and finish. Temps ranged from 64 to 34 degrees, heated grips and a heated vest are the bomb. I took along snacks and drinks in my cooler, so did not purchase anything other than fuel during the day. I need to call and cancel my lost fuel card, and get a replacement road side assistance card, but with the reliability of the FJR do I really need it? My bike ate the miles up and never once hesitated or gave me any fits.
Ride on. B
Next on the list was way up in Duchesne Utah. Pronounced 'doo-shane'. If you want to have fun with the locals, stop in the area and ask about what there is to do in 'Doo-Chez-nee'. You get some interesting looks. State highway 72 was a fun ride, there were absolutely no cars on this stretch of road. I think I passed one truck the entire length. (Loa Utah to I-70) Just make sure to fuel up when you can, sometimes a gas station is no where to be had in this area.
The memorial site in Duchesne, Utah. It pays tribute to a lot of different branches and services.
This actually was one of my favorites out of the sites this year. It was the Navy WAVE memorial. I bet there are not many of these around, and it was really nicely done. After this I headed east on the 'dinosaur highway' towards Vernal Utah. Next stop was Fort Duchesne.
The Utah Indian Veterans Park- another one of my favorites, it was very well done.
Fort Duchesne is on the Uintah and Ouray reservation, which is home to the Ute Indian tribe. From here I went to the site in Midway Utah. Along this ride I passed a BMW rider who had a flag stuffed under a net on his rear seat also doing the Tour of Honor. He followed me all the way into Heber Utah. I stopped and spoke briefly to him, he told me that he already hit the Midway site, but the gate was closed so he hiked to the top of the mile long trail. I never did tell him that I had already hit five other sites so far and started last night at 10:30 PM. I don't know if he would have believed me.
Gate to the memorial site in Midway Utah. It is on top of this round hill and has a spiral road or trail that goes around it to the top.
As the BMW guy told me the gates were closed. I was not looking forward to the long walk to the top. I looked at my print off screen shots that I had with me from the TOH website. Whew! I am glad I thought about doing that! Under the picture in the details for this site it said "This site is in a state of flux and details will emerge as riders visit. As of this writing, the site is only accessible by walking to the top of the hill. A photo of the entrance gate at the bottom is allowed." Score! After riding that far a walk would have done me good, but I certainly did not feel like it! So I just took the photo above and hopped back on, heading to the last memorial site on my list.
This is the Viet Nam Veterans memorial on the State Capital grounds. While not as impressive as the sites in Washington D.C., this one is very cool and well done.
I had to park across the street as this memorial is located on the grounds by a foot path, I did not think the capital police would find the humor of me riding the FJR up the stairs or on the grass and on to the walking path to 'take a picture'. That is Utah's Capital building in the background, it has several very neat statues and memorials on the grounds. After getting back to the bike I called home and let them know I was on the way back. I asked for a pizza to celebrate, my wife had one already ordered. I got off my exit and pulled into a local fuel stop to get an end receipt.
Me after I pulled into the garage...
According to the DeLorme InReach I traveled a total number of 1182.1 miles, the motorcycle odometer had 1,214 miles more on it. I used 30.434 gallons of fuel according to my receipts. I began the ride at 22:30 on 3/31/2015, ended it at 19:29 4/1/2015, a total time of 20 hours 59 minutes! I logged 16 stops, 14 stops for fuel and visit to memorials and two more for the start and finish. Temps ranged from 64 to 34 degrees, heated grips and a heated vest are the bomb. I took along snacks and drinks in my cooler, so did not purchase anything other than fuel during the day. I need to call and cancel my lost fuel card, and get a replacement road side assistance card, but with the reliability of the FJR do I really need it? My bike ate the miles up and never once hesitated or gave me any fits.
Ride on. B
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