We felt pretty fried by the time we dragged into Moab last night, so we've turned over a new leaf and are working harder at getting out the door earlier in the morning so we can complete more of our ride before the serious heat kicks in. We did well this morning, showing up for breakfast at a nearby diner soon after it opened at 6, and were on the road by 7:45. Our reward was a refreshing ride nearly all of the way to Dead Horse Point.
I've ridden to Dead Horse Point before, back in 1991 on a tour from Grand Junction to Durango: [page 495327]. This day, which also included a ride through Arches National Park, is one of my favorite cycling memories - I've bored friends and family many times over the years by relating the night I wild camped on the rim of Dead Horse Point. I'm understandably anxious to see it again, and to see what has changed in over twenty five years.
A lot has changed, I soon discover - some good, some less so. On the plus side, it is vastly more pleasant and safer to get from Moab to Arches and the turnoff to Highway 131 (the road to Dead Horse) because of the new paved cycle path. When I was here before, the only option for these twelve miles was to bike on the shoulder of Highway 191.
On the other side of the ledger, the area is much more developed, commercialized, and busy. The most obvious sign of this is the commercial development at the turnoff to 131 - before there was nothing at all if I remember correctly, but now it is a virtual theme park. Also, 131 itself is much changed.. Before, this road was a virtually empty shoulderless two laner and had a few free range cattle in the road, but it's not like that now - it is still a two laner but has an eight foot shoulder, and it carries much more traffic.Most of this is traffic to the Islands in the Sky section of Canyonlands, which is now accessible by paved road.
One thing that hasn't changed though is the land. It is still an awesome ride, and Dead Horse Point feels almost beyond description - it must be one of the most dramatic vistas accessible by car that our country has to offer. It was wonderful to see it again, to refresh some long dimmed memories, to imagine which juniper tree I pitched my tent next to, and to share it with Rachael. I feel lucky to have made it out here twice in my life.
The ride back is mostly downhill, and went quickly. It was getting hot though, and we were both quite happy to stop off at the new cafe at the junction when we got back and cool off with gelato and frozen yogurt.
Elevation gain: today, 3,300'; for the tour, 37,900'.
Another look at the bridge across the Colorado. This time we're looking north, at the impressive red sandstone cliffs that line the river. I think this is the Wingate formation, but it might be the Entrada - the same dramatic formation that we'll see in Arches National Park.
These are cliffs in Arches National Park, which we'll be back to visit in a day or two. I took a photo now as we biked by the entrance on the bikepath because we won't see this vantage point again.
At the beginning of Highway 131, the road to Dead Horse Point. This is also the access to the northern section of Canyonlands. This is all so different than when I biked here 27 years ago. The road is much wider, and has shoulders. It is also much more developed than it was then, with a theme park, dinosaur statues and a cafe at the highway junction. The incredible geology is still as it was though.
I was startled to see an oil mining rig out here, on BLM land near the state park. The next time you're tempted to hop in your car on a discretionary jaunt, imagine your fuel came from up here and feel a little guilt.
After we branch off from the road to Canyonlands, we're back to the narrow, shoulderless two laner I remember from my past visit. All it's missing is the free range cows standing in the road and the cow pies to navigate around. This last seven mile stretch, imaginatively referred to as the Big Flat, gently rolls along at 6000'
The famous view of an entrenched meander of the Colorado River, 2000' below Dead Horse Point. I remember seeing a photo of this in my Geology 101 class 50 years ago - it was the first time I heard of this place.
These swatches of color are solar drying lagoons for concentrating potash, mined for its use as a fertilizer. It is pumped up here from the mine below by the Colorado River. The mine is one of three operated by Intrepid Potash, the largest potash mining company in the country.
Desert Princes Plume, another desert plant new to me identified by Dr. Shaneyfelt. One reference said it was a plant known to prospectors because it is an indicator species for selenium.
Coasting downhill toward the highway. The next 15 miles are nearly all downhill, which is a good thing - it's really hot again today, up into the nineties. It helped that we're starting to get a bit of broken cloud cover and would at times bike under a thin shadow like the one moving across the sandstone ahead of us.
