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Good morning Farmington! The suspense builds as I head over to the window to see just how wet I am going to get riding today.......not at all! Nice and sunny out! My bike looks pretty wet from last night but it looks like I'll have a clear day of riding.
Quick little continental breakfast at the hotel plus the smallest cinnamon roll I have ever seen. Well, can't expect too much from a free breakfast, I guess. On the road with today's destination of making it as far as at least Four Corners.
First picture stop is Hogback, which I guess is just some very odd rock formations. I took a picture of the sign describing it and all I can say is the formations were very odd looking indeed. Waterflow, NM is not much better looking than old Hogback either and I saw no water flowing anywhere. However, Waterflow does have a Hogback Church of Christ. I couldn't stop laughing at the whole concept that someone thought it was a good idea to name their church "Hogback Church of Christ" The usual odd jokes were running through my mind. You know, the jokes that have a punchline like "and all you hogbacks, up here with me".
I didn't slow down for Shiprock much except for a couple of quick pictures. For starters, the landscape in this area is so weird; it made me think of a landscape from one of those old movies. I also had to get a picture of what has got to be the most blatant copyright infringement I have ever seen. "Thatsaburger"! Sounds just a little like Whataburger, huh? Now, if there was a reward for finding this kind of stuff. I zoom out of town and I still can't imagine a town of that size with no place to stay! Lots of what looks like transient people but nowhere to lay down your head! I guess this isn’t a very welcoming town. One of those, leave your money at the door and go home kind of places, I guess!
I get just north of old Shiprock and there before me lays the longest straightest stretch of road. It seems to just go on and on until it disappears into the horizon. This is pretty darn flat land, so when I see this odd mountain looking kind of mound, I have to get a picture. No way is this thing natural; somebody put it there because it is so out of place. Obviously New Mexicans are serious gun toting folks because I get to the "You are Leaving New Mexico" sign and it is just as shot up as the Welcome one. So I guess they shoot to keep you out and then they chase you out with gunfire if you manage to get in.
I’m crossing into Arizona, which is new since I changed my route home a little. I haven't been in Arizona yet. I did learn here that the actual town associated with Four Corners is called "Tec Nos Pos". Now, since I speak Spanish, I feel comfortable saying that this means "Techies may not pass" but, I could be wrong here since it is not written in Spanish! I stopped in at a trading post just to see the wares. There are a funny couple of grumpy old guys running the place. The first thing out of their mouths is "we sell real Indian jewelry, not that crap they sell at Four Corners!" This is especially comical because these grumpy old men look pretty darn white to me and the folks I saw at Four Corners look very much Native American! I know, I know, stereotyping but let’s be honest.
I decide what the hell, I'm at Four Corners, I'm going to pull in again and take a closer look at the wares! The stop is worth it. As soon as I pull in, the only place to park my bike is right next to three guys on Harleys. They are riding two motorcycles and one three wheeler. Two of the guys look like they are straight off the farm in coveralls and the lingo. We talk for a while as they get ready to leave and I get ready to go check the place out. It turns out the guy on the three wheeler is 70 years old and the father of the other guy in coveralls. This older gent had to pay big bucks to convert his bike to three wheels but he said this was the only way he could keep riding with his son. They were on their way home to Missouri! Friendly bunch, these good old farm boys! Wait a minute; the one in the back looks a little like Bo Duke, Dukes of Hazard anybody?
Four Corners is also associated with Wellington, UT as well since it touches Utah. I opt to walk around the entire vending area with a first stop at the Navajo Fried Bread booth. I got myself a very tasty chunk of fried bread sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Yum! I figure I better get my tourist picture of the tried and true "I can stand in four states at once pose". My pose is simple though; just straddle the state lines and wallah! I figure I’ll go simple and nobody will be laughing at me like I was at others! I spent a while walking around to the different booths before going back to the very first one I had checked out for a nice little trinket for my wife. I had to have a picture of the actual person who made it of course and she was more than willing to pose with my trinket.
At this point, I have spent several days riding the roads of America and am still surprised by one thing. I have yet to see a rattlesnake, dead or alive! Something is wrong here because we used to see them plenty when I was a kid on road trips. I figured, I won't run over one myself but if I found one, I might help myself to the rattle! No such luck. Well, on the road and into Utah. I have found one thing and that is that my fellow motorcyclists are a rather friendly bunch. They all want to talk when you stop for gas or to stretch. They even pull over if they see a motorcycle stopped out in the middle of nowhere. I stopped to take a picture of the Welcome to Utah sign and immediately, a biker pulled over to see if I needed anything. Feels good to know we are all watching out for each other.
I pulled over at another Trading Post because it looked interesting. This one was in Wellington, UT. I have found that it is worth stopping every time something looks just a little off like this trading post. There was nothing anywhere near this place but the trading post and it looked very well maintained from outside. Inside, it has an extremely large selection of most anything you could think you would find in a trading post from hunting stuff to Indian jewelry including an RV Park Office. I aimed the bike north and got a good look at what I am heading into. Looks like trouble brewing ahead with another possible rain shower. And lucky Fred strikes again. I get to the point where the temperature is changing and it feels cooler. This tells me I am headed straight into rain but alas, the road shifts to the right and I bypass the rain yet again!
I see Wilson Arch ahead of me and decide this is another opportunity to improve on a prior photo stop and pull over. The rock formation of the arch is pretty cool looking and looks a lot closer than it is. I climbed part of the way up, as best as I could while wearing 40 pounds of leather, black leather in the sun, no less. I got a couple of good pictures and could tell the arch was still a ways off because I could see a couple right under it and from the size they looked, this was not as close as I thought. Boy, the landscape is red around here! Something from the movie Mission to Mars! Again with the movie references! Right after the arch is a canyon to ride through. In this canyon, I found many more examples of trees climbing the side. The roots are seriously exposed on these things!
Monticello, UT, home of Hole in the Wall! This time I opted to spend enough time there to get more pictures. Somebody here has a pretty good sense of humor with odd stuff like the jeep made from metal pieces welded together, which is a serious contender to replace my old Mazda truck, to the two story outhouse. Who doesn't feel like they work in the lower one?! Behind the store is an area littered with little exhibits like the gravesite of the original builders in a carved part of the cliff. I can also now say that I have officially found Bigfoot! This is another of their odd exhibits. I thought about taking the tour this time. I asked whether anything has changed and the lady said the place is exactly as it was when the original folks lived here so I already know what it looks like inside. I have a thing for caves so I remember this one pretty well. I asked if I could take some pictures during the tour and they said no. No pictures, no tour! There were enough metal sculptures here that I kept thinking to myself that I have got to break out my welder. I should go learn how to use it first but hey at least I own one! After a while of walking through the shade and enjoying the exhibits, I hit the road. I look at the sign exiting Hole in the Wall which pointed every which way and decided I would rely on my GPS instead!
I pulled over in Green River, UT. There was a "Horse Canyon" rest stop. There is really pretty landscape but no horses. Now, just like I contemplated about the missing cows, I am wondering where the horses are. Hell, if you have a sign that says horse canyon, you should have some damn horses. The only live animals I've seen so far are the suicidal squirrels that like to scamper across the road in front of me. I am starting to believe these squirrels have been watching the old commercial where the guy in the car swerves to avoid the squirrel on the road. I hate to break it to them but I am not risking going down on this 800+ pound bike to avoid a squirrel, just not going to happen!
Price and Wellington seem to be connected because I can't tell where one starts and the other ends. I had dinner at Arby's. I am surprised how bad my memory has gotten because I remember this stuff and all the other junk food I have had on this trip tasting much better a long time ago! Oh well, it's just another easy meal. I pulled out the old phone and brought up my hotels app. I had to chuckle because it showed two National 9 hotels. There is one here and one in the next town, which is just a slightly larger town. The one here is $15 cheaper but the rooms are identical. I even looked at the pictures for both and could tell no difference. I opted to stay in the smaller town especially since it looked real quiet here. The lady at the desk looked really bored since nobody seemed to be coming and going. She was nice and told me to enjoy my room because there wasn't much to see around here. I went to my room and immediately had to air it out. Wow, the smell of cleaner was wicked wild! Luckily, it aired out pretty fast and the smell went away. After a while, somebody else checked in and they ended up in the room next to mine. Now, I can tell from the lack of cars in the parking lot that this place is fairly empty. Why would you put somebody in the room next to mine? So I settled in for the evening and sure enough, the rain came. No huge deluge but a nice slow rain that helped put me to sleep. My end of day miles for today was 347.5.
Following is some detail on the pictures:
Pic 1 - Breakfast in Farmington, NM: Free breakfast at the hotel. Well, what do you expect? It was free. Quick breakfast and on the road to Four Corners!
Pic 2 - A Bright Morning: The view in Farmington from a parking lot. Nice dry day. Ready to ride!
Pic 3 - Hogback: Finally! Hogback explained in a way I can understand. At the very edge of Waterflow, NM where it appears no water flows!
Pic 4 - A Lot of Emptiness: And here's what that Hogback looks like. Odd!
Pic 5 - Church: That just doesn't sound right, does it?
Pic 6 - Alien Landscape: Now that's some alien looking landscape! Looks like something out of a movie. Shiprock, NM, you are a strange place!
Pic 7 - Copyright Infringement: Copyright infringement anyone? My Texas folks will know what I mean. That's Shiprock, NM for all the court papers people!
Pic 8 - The Endlless Road: As I leave Shiprock, I wish you could see this as I am seeing it right now. The road just keeps going and going until it disappears into the horizon. Awesome sight!
Pic 9 - The Only Rock: Wow. Maybe that's the ship rock of Shiprock, NM!
Pic 10 - Adios: Adios New Mexico. It's been fun!
Pic 11 - Hola Arizona: Hello Arizona! I haven't been in Arizona on this trip yet. Let's see what it has to offer.
Pic 12 - Huh: So the actual name of the town associated with the Four Corners Monument is "Teec Nos Pos". I think it means "Techies may not pass".
Pic 13 - The Return: I'm back!
Pic 14 - Missouri Farm Boys: Met some Missouri farm boys going cross-country at Four Corners. They are really Missouri farm boys, father on trike and two sons. They were funny folks just headed home too.
Pic 15 - Yum: Nothing like a little Navajo fried bread to get the blood sugar levels up! These guys at Four Corners know how to fry some bread!
Pic 16 - Look Ma: There you have it. I just had to do the touristy thing and take my picture on the four corners. I thought about doing it twister style like everybody else but there's a danger of my not being able to get back up!
Pic 17 - The Artist: Guess who is getting a little trinket from Four Corners?
Pic 18 - Hello Utah: Hello Utah! Well, so much for Arizona and Colorado. Disappointed I never found a dead rattlesnake on the road. I was ready to cut the rattle off for my bike! I guess I can mark Aneth, UT off my list of must see places. It isn't here where the GPS says it is!
Pic 19 - The Trading Post: Just a chance to stretch the legs in Blanding, UT. Pretty bland place this is!
Pic 20 - The Rain Cometh: Pretty ominous looking. Here's hoping I get lucky and work my way around this.
Pic 21 - Wilson Arch: I know I saw Wilson Arch on my way down but now I have a chance to see it much closer. I have gotta climb a little. On this map, this would be near Monticello, UT.
Pic 22 - As Close as I'm Getting: By climbing a little, I meant little. No way can I haul myself wearing 40 lbs of leather up further!
Pic 23 - Mars Maybe: Also at Wilson Arch. Everything is seriously red around here!
Pic 24 - The Canyon: And this is looking across the road at Wilson Arch. So, this is like going through a canyon.
Pic 25 - The Running Tree: Hey, just ran across another of these walking trees!
Pic 26 - Metal Mania: At Hole in the Rock for a better look and found this contender for replacing my Mazda.
Pic 27 - Two Seat no Waiting: Strike a chord with anyone?
Pic 28 - The Tour: Cool little exhibits.
Pic 29 - I See Dead Folks: Mini cave with the grave-sites of the folks who built the hole on the wall house and lived in it.
Pic 30 - There he is: I even found Bigfoot!
Pic 31 - Storyboard: I didn't take the tour cause I've seen it and nothing has been changed. Also, they won't let me take pics!
Pic 32 - More Metal Mania: I need to break out my welder!
Pic 33 - The Carving: I bet that took a while!
Pic 34 - Which Direction: Now if I can just remember which way I'm going. Road sign out of Hole in the Wall.
Pic 35 - Missing Horses: Pretty area but where are the horses? No animals for quite a while actually except for the adrenaline junkie squirrels that keep running out in front of me. Sooner or later, one is not gonna make it! Come on, Green River, UT, get it together!
Pic 36 - The Valley: We'll, this is one view of horse canyon valley. You can tell from the background, the weather that's been chasing me all day.
Pic 37 - More Valley: And this is another.
Pic 38 - Arby's Time: Dinner at Arby's of beautiful downtown Price, UT. Well that's another belt loosening session. Lucky for me, none of the fast food places I was craving have turned out to taste as good as I expected!
Pic 39 - Seeing Doubles: National 9 Inn. Funny but they have two places about 6 miles apart and the exact rooms differ by $15 just because the other is in a slightly larger town. This particular one is in Wellington, UT.
Pic 40 - Overcleaning: Home for the night! Nice and clean but I think the cleaning people must be paid by the amount of cleaner they used. I had to leave door the open a few minutes to air out.
Pic 41 - End of Day Miles: Not bad mileage on a day that had consisted of dodging rain. Saw some bikes pulled over putting rain gear on. I said to hell with it and my leathers kept me dry. Hit a 5 min spot with Ketchikan rain but otherwise just light rain. Gonna rain tonight!
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