Making a Grand Circle by Motorbike

Zion. Bryce Canyon. Capitol Reef. North rim of the Grand Canyon. Arches. Canyonlands. These are the national parks of the Colorado Plateau. Together they form what is known as the “Grand Circle,” but each is a geological treasure in its own right.

Visitors come from around the world to see their magnificent rock formations. Most tour by car or RV, but my husband, Joe, and I prefer to go by motorcycle.

Motorcycling is our hobby, and we do it with the same gusto that golfers and boaters pursue their hobbies. For the past several years we’ve taken motorcycle trips around the Southwest, and, while each state has its own beauty, our Utah tour was unmatched for the variety of the terrain.

My husband and I share one bike. He drives the motorcycle (I don’t know how), and I ride behind. We have a communication device, though, hooked up between our helmets so that we can talk while driving.

The Grand Circle was our Memorial Day trip last year, although we chose to do only a part of the tour. It is possible to see all the parks in one trip, but we try not to plan too aggressively. We like to leave room for detours.

Several things are necessary for a good bike ride: great scenery, lots of curves and hills--even at slow speeds, taking a curve is fun on a motorcycle--and light traffic. The last thing you want is to be stuck behind a long row of cars, eating exhaust fumes, while waiting to get into a national park. Our five-day Utah trip was a delight because the traffic was much lighter, even on a holiday weekend, than we had expected.

We left our home near Phoenix and after about a three-hour drive were just south of the Arizona-Utah border in the Vermilion Cliffs wilderness area, where we took a detour in the name of natural science. In recent years the nearly extinct California condor was reintroduced into the wild near the Grand Canyon, not far from here. The 28 condors are carefully monitored via radio transmitter by members of the Peregrine Fund, and 20 or 21 condors still live in the area. Joe had found some notes on the Internet (https://www.peregrinefund.org) about where the birds might be seen. We travel with a portable Global Positioning Satellite device on our motorcycle, and with the right navigation coordinates we were able to stop at a remote site to take a look at these winged giants for ourselves. Although the birds soar at significant altitudes, we spotted 10 condors with our binoculars, or about one-fourth of all the California condors living in the wild. This detour was well worth the time.

As we headed west into Utah, the terrain we were traveling across was relatively unknown until 1996 when President Clinton’s proclamation established it as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The park’s 1.7 million acres seem to rise in precise sections from southern Utah to Capitol Reef National Park, and it does indeed resemble a grand staircase.

Later we picked up Utah Highway 9, heading west toward Springdale, Utah, a great little town from which to base our Zion activities. The highway runs right through Zion itself. Although it was nearing 5 p.m. as we arrived at the park entrance, even the promise of a hot shower and a soft bed waiting ahead didn’t stop us from taking in the gorgeous sight unfolding around us. The park’s rocks and cliffs, glowing orange in the late afternoon sunlight, gave us a taste of the next day’s explorations.

We had reservations in Springdale for two nights at the Novel House Inn, a B&B; where the theme of each room’s decor is a well-known author: Twain, Dickens, Tolstoy, Bronte and six others. The rooms’ furniture, linens and, of course, books all tie in. We stayed in the Kipling Room, a taste of 19th century British colonial India, complete with mosquito netting and a pith helmet.

The Novel House welcomes its guests each morning with a breakfast of casseroles, breads, fruits, juices and coffee. The family-style seating encourages conversation and much advice-giving about Zion. Those we talked to urged us to take the trail to the Emerald Pools. And that’s where we headed.

From Zion’s south entrance the Emerald Pools trail head is about a four-mile drive. The hike is relatively easy--it took us two hours--and the views are spectacular. We always pack a water carrier and hiking footwear for just such opportunities, and this was a fantastic reward for being prepared. There are three natural pools, with the top one cascading in waterfalls, and they almost seem to be laid out as if by a landscape engineer’s plan. The pools are named for emerald-green plant life shimmering in the water.

For lunch we stopped at the Zion Lodge, where the simple meal was excellent and the ambience was priceless. We felt as if we were at United Nations headquarters rather than in an American restaurant: Five languages were spoken at the tables around us.

Zion’s history goes back millions of years, and over time streams and rivers, such as the Virgin River, continue to sculpt away at the soft sandstone. After lunch we took a small road down to take a look at the river.

One great advantage of traveling by motorcycle is having a 360-degree view of these magnificent rocks; and the haunting sound of the winds as they passed through the cliffs and canyons would never reach us inside a car.

For our first dinner in Springdale we hit Zion Pizza & Noodle, a restaurant located in an old church. As you might guess, they do pastas and pizzas, and they do them fast and tasty. The second night we strolled over to Flanigan’s Inn and Restaurant, where we dined on trout encrusted with pumpkin seeds and salmon in a Mornay sauce.

Our schedule called for us to be in Bryce Canyon National Park on the third day, so we took U.S. 89 through Dixie National Forest on a leisurely two-hour ride northeast. My first sight of Bryce transported me back to childhood: The park’s rock formations look like meticulously constructed sandcastles topped off with pinnacles and spikes, with colors running from terra cotta to pale peach. Native Americans call these spikes hoodoos.

According to Indian legend, Bryce was built as a city for the people of the god Coyote. But the people worked so long on beautifying their city that Coyote became angry. He turned all the people to stone and dumped the paints they were using over their heads. The legend says that the rocks are actually the people, still standing there with the paint dried on their faces.

By the time we finished gaping at the beauty of Bryce Canyon, it was nearing lunchtime. Back on our bike, we traveled northeast on Route 12 until we stopped in the town of Escalante. Our rule of thumb when looking for a restaurant is to pick the one with the most trucks parked in front of it. In Escalante this was the Golden Loop Cafe, and we weren’t disappointed: hamburgers, sandwiches, soups and pies, all homemade.

The trip’s one sticky moment happened after lunch. Somewhere along the way Joe had lost his keys to our bike’s metal luggage boxes. He asked me for my spare set, and I knew exactly where they were: right where I left them, back home. Fortunately, a gas station mechanic had bolt cutters to cut open the locks. That problem resolved, we traveled north on Route 12 toward Capitol Reef, making several unplanned but worthwhile stops. The first was south of the town of Boulder, Utah. As we passed between mountains, the road announced several scenic overlooks, and from one spot we took in a panorama that included parts of Utah, Arizona and Colorado. And we weren’t alone in admiring the view. A German couple traveling from Las Vegas in an RV stopped to chat as a herd of elk grazed nearby.

South of Boulder we made a stop at Anasazi Indian Village State Park. The Anasazi were a Native American people who vanished around the start of the 14th century. The park is the guardian of the remains of one of their villages, and there is a small museum on the property depicting the life of the Anasazi.

This was our longest day on the road. We covered about 215 miles and spent the night in Torrey, a town west of Capitol Reef National Park. Our room was at the Best Western Capitol Reef, and we had dinner at the Capitol Reef Inn and Cafe. The short wait for a table was made pleasant by browsing through their gift shop, devoted to Native American crafts. The Native Americans who once lived in the Capitol Reef area called it the “land of the sleeping rainbows.” And the next day we learned that their description is accurate: The rocks here are brilliantly colored and patterned. But the park’s name actually comes from the geological curiosity of white-capped, dome-shaped sandstone that looks like the Capitol’s dome in Washington. Another spectacular view we glimpsed is the Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile-long fold in the earth’s crust that runs toward Lake Powell.

The Capitol Reef scenery was as breathtaking as the national parks we’d visited the previous days.

Then we turned back to head south on Route 12 and the final leg of our trip. Again passing through Boulder, we hooked up with the Burr Trail, a road in the middle of controversy. Opened a century ago, it’s 70 miles that run through Capitol Reef, then turn southeast toward Lake Powell. Part of the road is paved, allowing more tourists, but environmentalists are concerned about harm to the delicate balance of flora and fauna there. We found it to be a beautiful drive and an ideal motorcycle road, boasting fabulous views and intriguing canyons. And we were completely alone.

The end of the Burr Trail took us close to Lake Powell. Bridges are not an option here, but at the Bullfrog Basin Marina we were able to catch a ferry across the lake. Most everybody waiting in their cars for the ferry was dressed in shorts and bathing suits, while we were in leather jackets and dying in the heat. After all those days traversing mountains and deserts, for just $3 we added a 20-minute water crossing to our trip as well.

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GUIDEBOOK

Parkland Trek

Getting there: From Los Angeles it’s about an eight-hour drive on Interstate 15 to southwestern Utah.

Where to stay: The Novel House Inn, 73 Paradise Road, Springdale, UT; telephone (800) 711-8400; $90-$105 double. Best Western Capitol Reef, 2600 E. Highway 24, Torrey, UT; tel. (435) 425-3761; $79 double.

Where to eat: Zion Pizza & Noodle Co., 868 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale; tel. (435) 772-3815. Dinner for two, about $20. Flanigan’s Inn and Restaurant, 428 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale; tel. (435) 772-3244. Dinner for two, $20-$40. Golden Loop Cafe, 39 W.Main St., Escalante; tel. (435) 826-4433. Dinner for two, $10-$15. Capitol Reef Inn and Cafe, 360 W. Main St., Torrey; tel. (435) 425-3271. Dinner for two, $15-$35.

Park information: Anasazi Indian Village State Park, tel. (435) 335-7308; $5 per vehicle. Capitol Reef National Park, tel. (435) 425-3791; $4 per vehicle for scenic drive. Bryce Canyon National Park, tel. (435) 834-5322; $10 per private vehicle. Zion National Park, tel. (435) 772-3256; $10 per private vehicle.

For more information: Utah Travel Council, 300 N. State St., Salt Lake City, UT 84114; tel. (800) UTAH-FUN, fax (801) 538-1399.