Discovering Utah - The Dirty Way

After last week's dirty adventure, I decided to check out the map and find another interesting dirty route for our ride today.  Bingo!  No, Pinto!  We are going to Pinto, UT.  We had been to Pinto before, about two years ago, but from a different route.  This time we were going north on Highway 18 and would make a right on Pinto Road which is about halfway between Central and Enterprise, UT.  This should take us to Pinto and then on to Irontown and eventually Highway 56.  Okay, the course was set, the weather was perfect and our bikes were crying to be let out of the garage!

We left the house shortly after noon and took one of our favorite roads, the Gunlock Rd. to Veyo where we turned left on Highway 18 heading north.  Scooting along at a good clip it didn't take long and we were at the designated turn for Pinto.  We made the right turn onto a gravel road.  More like a gravel highway!  It was smooth, wide and fast!  I did stop to put the Beastie Bike into Enduro Pro mode and Eric changed his traction control on the Super Tenere.  Off we went.  It was tempting to really turn the throttle but we passed a sign that said something to the effect of "SLOW DOWN - THIS IS "NOT" A FREEWAY!!!  So, out of respect for those who might live along this road, we kept our speed much lower than conditions would allow.

Initially, the surface was pretty hard with little pebbles and the dust wasn't too bad.  Of course it wasn't bad for Eric, he was in front of me, lol.  I kept enough distance that I wasn't engulfed in dust but I still managed to get plenty dirty :-)

Yup, that's me.  Here I come around a corner, up on the pegs, looking forward, practicing all those skills I learned at the ADV Woman Rally and Rockmor.

The road was like this for quite a ways and then it began to narrow and became a one laner.  We rode into and out of Pinto (sorry no pics).  There are maybe a half a dozen homes out there in the middle of nowhere.  We continued on toward Cedar City and Highway 56.  Shortly after passing through Pinto we had a truck approach us from the opposite direction.  Since the road had become so narrow, we pulled over and let him pass.  He was considerate, slowed down and waved as he passed.

We motored on.  The road surface changed many times.  Sometimes hardpack with pebble gravel, sometimes looser with bigger rocks, sometimes it was grey and sometimes it was red.  When we hit rough stuff, I refused to acknowledge it!  I just looked ahead and rode over it!  Pffttt, there!  Take That!  I do not acknowledge your ugly, scary, slippery surface - you don't exist!  I have BEASTIE BIKE and I can go anywhere, lol.  Hey, it helped in my mind to think that way :-)

After a bit, we came upon this place all boarded up.  It had a nice circular pullout so we went in, parked and took a break and a lookie lou.  Well, to be entirely honest, Eric pulled in and told me on the comm what was there but I was going a wee bit too fast and hit the brakes in order to pull into the drive.  Ummmm, yes, I slid a bit.  YIKES!!!!  That's a big bike to be sliding around!  I gently let up on the brakes, re-applied and was able to slow down enough to make the turn without turning upside down.  Yippee!

 An old, decrepit wagon was parked in the front yard.

 Along with an ancient hay mower.

 Pretty cool stuff out in the middle of nowhere.

 Turns out this is a Utah Historic Site along the Iron County Utah Centennial Circle.  Who knew?  Page's Ranch.

 Apparently, Page's Ranch was an important place back in the day.  It was along a major transportation route and also served as a hotel and rest stop for travelers.

This home was also unique because of it's architecture, a two wing style home that was not the ordinary style here in Southwest Utah.  Quite the palace of its day.

Here I am being tour guide with a long shot view and....

a close up shot!  The house is boarded up and is private property although it has the historical markers and signs.

 A look around found this stock pond surrounded by cattails off to the left of the house.

 Eric caught a pic of me wandering about...

 It was a very lovely place to spend a few minutes and take a break.

 I found this paddle boat pulled up into the cattails.

 Then, I found this mini-campground behind the house.  Power, water, picnic tables, port-a-potty (no photo of that).  We decided this must be the family homestead and peeps still come out here.  There were plenty of cattle around along with round up pens, etc. so I suspect they bring in their RV's and camp here while rounding up the cattle.  Bet that happens in a few weeks as the weather is beginning to change.  Anyway, I thought it was just awesome!

 This sign was on the front of the house.  I really don't think there were any cameras but I could be wrong.  Maybe we were on candid camera!  hahahaha

 It was just a totally cool place to stop and look around.

 Here is the view from the other direction.  Beautiful mountains just starting to show some fall colors.

 Yeah, this picture just to show DIRT.  I was riding DIRT on the Beastie Bike and I was liking it!

Okay, enough of that, eh?  Oh, no, wait!  It's for SALE.  You could own this piece of paradise along with it's awesome history.  You can read about it here.  Page's Ranch.  Actually, someone buy it and let us come visit and camp there!  You can rehab the house, clear out some of the cattails at the pond and have your own oasis :-)

Rest stop over, we mounted up and continued on down the road.  Now, it was quite narrow but still a good hard surface.  There was a pile of loose gravel in the center but I didn't need to ride there!  We were looking for the Irontown cut off but apparently we missed it.  No sign :-(  So, we ended up on Highway 56.  No problem.  We made a left turn and a few miles up the road was the main entrance to Irontown!  Another left took us down a paved road (used to be gravel just a few years ago) and we arrived at Irontown, UT.  There is a nice community of homes there.  Appears some are full time use and others must be part time.  Regardless, it is quite nice and quiet.  At the end of the road was our goal, Old Iron Town State Park, Historic Site!

Yippee!  We parked our bikes on the now paved parking area and took a gander.  It was so interesting that I got all caught up in the history and the Discovery Loop Trail.  Had I known, I would have left my jacket on the bike.  Oh well....  Here we are, Welcome!

 The parking area with an information kiosk and of course, my beautiful Beastie Bike!

 Just another stop on the Iron County Utah Centennial Circle!

 What's this?

 It's big!

 Oh, it's one of the two Charcoal Kilns here in Irontown and the only one remaining intact.  The history here is fabulous and I really enjoyed taking the loop.  Follow along here and you can take it with me!  Read more about it here Irontown.

 A view from the inside.

 Sorry about the hand shadows :-(  But you get the idea :-)

 The rubble remains of the second kiln.

Yeah, the signs and trail got me hooked.  I had to take the trail and discover all the gems, jewels and odd things along the trail.

 After the main feature of the Charcoal Kiln, the next stop was some info on Utah Junipers!  First the information sign and then the real thing!  This was a giant Juniper!

Next was the Pinyon Pines.  If you have ever used pinenuts, this is the tree from which they come and they are very expensive and delish!

More Utah flora.  Quite interesting considering we have many of these plants in our own yard.  Now I know what to do with them :-)

 The Squawbush?  Who knew?

After a bit of a walk (in the hot sun with full gear), I came upon The House!

 Then the Big Sagebrush - gosh, we have a LOT of this around!

 Next was the Rubber Rabbitbrush - who knew?

 Pinto Creek - couldn't get there because of the fence.  So, I have no idea if there was water there or not.

 The trail somewhat deteriorated from a sandy well marked path to rocky, better watch your step kind of rocks and stuff.  But it was still lovely and enjoyable.

 Along my walk I spied this guy trying to hide from me.  See him?

 And then, back to the kiln - here is a pic from the back side.  It's still big :-)

 Back to the kiln and then off on another path took me here!

 

 I finally caught up with Eric who had gone the opposite direction than I.

 Back at the parking area we found a nice, clean restroom.

 And, bonus, a covered picnic area.

 What a beautiful place to take an hour or so and discover new stuff.  I'd been here years ago and it has been greatly improved.  A great place to explore, take a break, enjoy!

 Hahahah, my honey give me the obligatory grimmace, I mean smile :-)

 So, that was pretty much it for dirt exploring today.  We only rode about 20+ miles on dirt but they were a wonderful 20+ miles!  It way upped my confidence level.  I didn't have a single F bomb and only a few OHS or ICKS or GACKS!  It was a no cuss ride :-)

The rest of the way home was all pavement and I was "on" so the ride was awesome.  We hit some nice twisties on Highway 18 just out of Enterprise all the way to our original turn off for Pinto.  Zoom, zoom, zoom.  It was just incredible.  Again, Veyo to Gunlock to home.  Always a fantastic ride with lots of twists, turns and good fun.  I think our total was about 150 miles today.

I guess now I'll have to find a more challenging dirt route since today was relatively easy.  That's okay.  I'm ready to move on and improve my dirt skills with the Beastie Bike.

Next week we're going to Gerlach, NV so I'll have an entirely different story to tell.  Hope you stay tuned and hang in for the Gerlachfest Blog :-)  Used to be what happens in Gerlach stays in Gerlach.  However, with today's technology, anything is fair game.  Hahahahah.....watch for it!

Cheers and thanks for following along,

Cletha

A Dirty Little Ride

This morning we got up fairly early (for me, not so much for Eric), geared up and headed out to Enterprise, UT where I had found a dirt route I wanted to check out.  It wasn't a long dirt ride, but it appeared to be a relatively easy, forest service type road.  I really want to get comfortable and up to some semblance of speed on this type of road.  So, I picked a route that would take us on dirt/gravel roads and end up on pavement.  We were going to go through Utah and into Nevada with the goal of brekkie/lunch in Caliente, NV.  Yippee....here we go!

We rode up UT 18 to Enterprise where we turned left and rode until the pavement stopped.  But, we didn't stop!  We kept on riding. Well, we stopped long enough to change the modes on our bikes.  I went from road mode to enduro pro (not that I'm a pro or anything).  I admit, I was SLOW at first, being cautious, and a bit intimidated.  As we rode along, I found my self going faster and faster  Our goal was to intersect NV 319 and ride into Panaca and then Caliente, NV for brekkie/lunch.  The gravel section to Caliente was only about 20 miles and all fairly smooth.  No panics along they way.  Sure, sometimes I went slower than Eric, but, heck, I'm not Eric :-)

For the most part, the road surface was great but every once in a while, just when you're getting all relaxed and thinking this isn't so tough, then BAM!  You hit deep sand or loose deep rocks!  Good wake up calls.

We stopped to take some pics at the Utah/Nevada border.  We both laughed at how shot up the signs were.  Some were simply not readable because of all the bullet holes!

A photo of Eric's bike at the Old Ebron Road.  We might find out one day if there is a New Hebron Road!

 Here we are at the state border,

 Some peeps just can't help themselves, I guess!  The sign is almost unreadable because of the bullet holes.

 We had a nice little rest stop here at the state border.

So, on we go.  Nothing but dirt as far as one can see.  Yup, this is definitely a dirty ride!  especially for me because I was riding behind Eric.  We tried to keep a good distance from each other but we still wanted to use our Sena units to communicate.  Needless to say, I got REALLY dirty ;-)

We found the Nevada portion of the road to be much rougher than the Utah section. Lots of surface changes and I finally realized I could go much faster if I stood on the pegs.  Now, I know this, but for some reason my pea brain didn't engage until we were about 12 miles into the dirt section.

After a 20 mile jaunt we exited the dirt road on NV 319 and rode pavement through Panaca and on to  Caliente for brekkie!  We usually eat at the Branding Iron in Caliente but thought we would try the Knotty Pine Restaurant for a change.  It had decent reviews so what the heck?  Not much for ambiance and decor but the food was decent. They also have a small cocktail lounge with slot machines.  We didn't partake in any gambling, just had our meal and discussed where to go next.

 Eric plays a couple of different motorcycle "tag" games and he needed a visitor center photo.  We knew there was a visitor center up the road at Cathedral Gorge State Park (NV) so we backtracked and stopped at the visitor center which ended up being closed.  Oh well, we went ahead and rode into the park.  I'd never been there.  Been past it many, many times but never actually went into the park.  The road was paved for the most part and then maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile of gravel/dirt.

At the end of the road there are some awesome rock formations along with a covered picnic area.

Before you reach the end of the road there is an old water tower that was built by the CCC in the 1930's.  It's pretty cool.

We had decided to backtrack again and take the dirt road to Beaver Dam State Park (NV).  On our first dirt road (Crestline), we had passed a sign that pointed to Beaver Dam State Park so we figured we would go the the Park and then hook up with our beginning road and back to Enterprise and home.  The direction sign said 28 miles to the park.

The road surface to Beaver Dam State Park started out really decent.  I was back up on the pegs and moving along nicely.  Actually, I was feeling a wee bit smug.  This wasn't so difficult!  My Beastie Bike just flew over the dirt, gravel and even the big patches of sand.  The sand made me nervous but I just looked ahead past the sand and my bike simply floated over it!  Hooray!!!!  Good thing I was going at a decent clip because I think that sand might have taken me down in a heartbeat :-)

We came to an intersection where we could turn left and eventually get on Crestline Rd. (the one we initially took) and back to Enterprise or we could go straight to Beaver Dam State Park.  Since the park was only another 5 miles, we decided, heck, let's go for it.  Hahahahahaha (famous last words - kind of like, here, hold my beer and watch this!).

 See how nice the road surface is?  I was already feeling confident and heck, only another five miles in and five back out.  No big deal, right?

 Wrong!!!!  The road went up and down and up and down and winding around and around and then....a rather steep, nasty, rough, big loose rock section with a very sharp turn at the bottom of the hill.  There was no line to take it was just ugly, sharp, nastiness!!!  Of course, no pictures.  It was all I could do to hang on.  As a matter of fact, halfway down I killed the Beastie Bike.  Oh no!!!!!

Crap, I managed to keep the bike upright but I was stopped and in 2nd gear with my left foot on the ground (tippy toe) and my right foot on the brake.  I suppose I could have just pulled in the clutch and started out in second gear but it was steep and scary and I just wanted to tractor down the hill and make the sharp turn at the bottom.  If I took off in 2nd, I was afraid I couldn't slow down enough to make the turn and I didn't want to FALL OVER!

I told Eric (who was around the corner and out of sight) what had happened and to give me a few minutes to sort things out.  Eventually, I put my right foot down and shifted into first gear, pulled in the clutch, started the bike and froze.  Heck darn.  I was just feeling so totally confident and then this!  Piss.  I quickly realized there was no way for me to turn around where I was and really had no choice but to go down that damn hill.  A few deep breaths, I slowly let out the clutch and picked up my feet.  As soon as I started to move, I stood on the pegs and just tractored down the hill and managed to get around the curve.  Whew!!!  I was sweating profusely!  Gack!  I HATE that stuff.

Fortunately, that was the worst of it and the rest of the road was pretty much okay.  At least I made it to the park!  We took a break here.  I really needed it after tackling that nasty downhill section.  While I had a smoke, Eric rode around the park a bit to see what is there.

 I see lots of dirt, lol.

The weather was perfect, not too hot and no wind.  And we had the place all to ourselves.

 After resting up a bit we headed back out of the park.  Of course my mind was stuck on the nasty section.  I got around the curve and just looked where I wanted to go and my wonderful Beastie Bike took me right over that rough stuff like it was nothing.  Yippee!!!!   Hahaha, after that section, the rest of the road seemed like a highway.  Five miles out of the park we turned right toward Crestline.  They had just graded the intersection and part of it was very loose, big round rocks.  Damn, I did NOT want to ride on that.  So, much to Eric's dismay, I rocked and rolled my bike until I could turn sharper and miss most of it.  Yay!  Onwards!

We were riding along nicely and then, around a curve was a road grader and guess what?  It was grading the road.  There was a big berm of rocks and dirt right in the middle of the road.  Fortunately we were able to get past the grader by riding the left side of the road.  Then, around another curve, another grader!!!!  Did the same thing and waved as we passed.

We noticed the road surface improved once we got back into Utah.  On our start we had seen 3 wild horses and on our way back one of them literally jumped across the road.  Eric put on the binders!  Nobody got hurt :-)  It was actually pretty cool.  It's open range in this area and we ran into several herds of cattle but they were too intent on munching whatever they could find to bother with us.

Next thing we know, we're back on the pavement.  We pulled over so I could change the mode of my Beastie Bike to road from enduro pro.  It always makes me laugh out load.  When in enduro pro, I'm like a ballerina on my tippy toes and when I put it in road mode, it just settles down and I can flat foot again.  I think this will make me giggle every time for as long as I own this bike!

We rolled into Enterprise, UT for another quick break.  I spied these two bikes out front.  One from Idaho and one from Utah.

 Yup, it's an R100GS!!

 Jut another picture of my bike because I love it so much ;-)

Our ride home was uneventful.  We both managed to get some tags for the games we are playing which was an unexpected bonus.  We had ridden about 70 miles of dirt/gravel and maybe 200 total miles.  When we got home, Eric took the air compressor and blew a good deal of dust and dirt off the bikes.  I'm afraid it's going to take more than that to be clean again.  Probably never will be clean again, hahahaha.  That's okay.  I'm sure I'll get caught in a rain storm eventually :-)

It was a great ride.  Beautiful weather and I had picked a great route that was challenging at times but not beyond my abilities.  This is exactly why I bought the Beastie Bike - so we can do some forest service type roads and expand our horizons.  I'll be planning more off pavement rides soon so stay tuned!

As always, thanks for following along.  More fun planned very soon!

Cheers,
Cletha