Time to leave the Utah Canyons behind us. Do I have any regrets regarding our fleeting visit to this fabulous area of the USA? .. Well, I have only one, which is that I missed visiting the tiny Ghost Town of Grafton, known mostly for the scene from the 1969 Western movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where Paul Newman rode on a bike with Katherine Ross, accompanied by the Oscar-winning song Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. It might have been a bit hard to find in any case; allegedly just a short ride west from Springdale (the gateway to Zion National Park). A new [on-line] friend of mine, Chris, from Pennsylvania, put me on to this little gem around three weeks ago, but sadly the visit slipped my mind, even though at one point I could have been no more than 3-4 miles away. Ho-hum!
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But as I was saying, it’s time to leave the Utah Canyons – but by which route? The original intention, based on my UK-based pre-planning research, should be to scoot back down the 191 to Monticello and then hang a left onto US-491 (aka Hwy-666) all the way through to Cortez in the neighbouring state of Colorado. All too simple really .. and I want to show my riding buddies - Mack & Dave – something different. So I suggest that, instead, we ride northeast from Moab and skirt the boundary of Arches NP by following the Colorado River’s east bank along Hwy-128 which should be the scenic way of getting up to Interstate-70(E) from Moab to the city of Grand Junction, in Colorado.The ride along the Colorado River (Hwy-128) mostly didn’t disappoint, although the last few miles up to I-70 were a little cold, windy ... and boring.
27 miles (24 minutes), after ramping down onto I-70, we cross the State Line into Colorado ... and needless to say - we stop and take the mandatory pic(s)----------------------------
Minutes later, as we race eastwards, our global position reaches N39 13.79, W108 54.58 and it then it occurs to me, at 75 mph - in a rather odd sorta way .. I suppose - that this location represents the highest latitude that we’ll reach ‘out west’ – indeed, at least until such time as we ride northwards again into the heart of West Virginia in exactly seven weeks’ time, during mid-May.
And it is right here that ..
firstly Mack on his Connie and then ..
.. Dave on his ST1300, overtake me with some ease and with a smile or two - and I'm already doing at least 10mph above the speed limit .. dang!----------------------------
Soon we're into the busy city of Grand Junction, which is familiar territory to me, as we pass by the motel 'Two Rivers Inn' on N First Street, the very place I stayed over last year on the night of Thursday, August-16.
Ahhh?! .. the memories.
Turning right after 'Junction' onto Hwy-141 and the ride on down to Gateway, is much as I remember it from last summer .. except for the difference in temperature. 
The ride after Gateway was a combination: (a) of stunning scenery .. 
.. (b) mixed with a couple of farcical encounters
the predominantly male, road-rage expression of 'Dozy Cow' sprang to mind here .. and 
.. (c) after passing through Naturita, apart from the odd up-hill 'twisty' skirmish, well, this bullet-shot road sign sums it all up; flat & dull, mostly a cold-and-dead-straight .. oh-so boring ride down to Cortez, where we booked into a great [for a change!] little Super-8 motel, run by pleasant front-of-house staff.And best of all ... (d) The Italian meal we enjoyed across the road was, without doubt, the best fare of the trip thus far.
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Saturday, March-29
And on the following day, so it came to pass ..
.. that for the second time in my life - as a personal pledge to myself last summer - I stood upon a quadripoint, in the Navajo Nation Tribal Lands, where the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet; which is indeed, the only point in the whole of the USA where four separate states touch each other. My 2007 and 2008 North American tours are now conjoined
Job done then.Now it's time to move onto my next 'special' iconic landmark
Involving a southbound ride down US-163 to Monument Valley, which has been the scene and home of several John Ford movies - and other filmography, but is particularly special to me because it's here, at this very spot, where the acclaimed actor, Tom Hanks, in his 1993 movie Forrest Gump, after running to-and-fro across America for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours stopped and said: “I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go home now” Not like me then .. cuz I'm stayin' [here in America] - at least until the end of May .. :o)
we pass on the western side ..
.. to this downhill view ..
.. and stop for a while in a left-hand side lay-by ['turn-out' in US speak] 
Back on our way, into Arizona, and 140 miles [225 km] - 2¾ hours later, we see this magnificent, near traffic-free, sight. Click on the picture above - or click on this link ..... Now don'tcha just love Arizona?! - :o)
We end the day in Page - just south of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area .. 'tis been a grand day out today.
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Sunday, March-30
There were always reasons to visit the Glen Canyon area, not least of which was to see the Horseshoe Canyon located just to the west of Page township. But after a brief telephone conversation with Nashville-based Uncle-Phil [Derryberry] that took place around a couple of days or earlier, the new primary motive to stopover in Page is that it would put us within easy striking distance of the Grand Canyon’s dramatic North Rim. At an elevation well above 8,000 feet [2,450 m] the North Rim is around 1,000 ft higher than its more popular and ‘touristy’ counterpart – the South Rim .. better go take a look then, eh?
Incidentally, Phil kindly enquired after Ellen’s welfare, and prompted me to, "Just make sure y’all don’t go leavin’ her on no road-side .. y’hear?!"
A timely reminder of this event, which took place in the Scottish Highlands during the summer of 2006
BUT before breakfast we learn that the North Rim doesn't open to the public until mid-May - weather [snow & ice] permitting. Humph!
So we take a ride across the nearby Glen Canyon Dam instead ...
.. which is impressive
Then onwards, just around the corner really, into Lake Powell Resort & Marinas, where we grab a quick bite to eat. The Lake's water level is clearly very low indeed, which is not surprising after five years of drought.
The Resort claims to harbour the largest fleet of houseboats in America.
We're aware that the wind speed is picking up .. and for the first time notice the threat of rain clouds rushing in from the west. So we literally get on our bikes and skedaddle south down on US-89. We miss the turning for Horseshoe Canyon .. Bugger!But hey, as Mack so eloquently put it - we just about all 'canyoned out' in any case.
There's room enough for one more BIG one though - tomorrow.
With some great views along the way.
The threat of rain is ever present. After around an hour we stop for a breather at the Navajo Native American township called 'The Gap' and strike-up a conversation with John (& missus) from Ohio, who is travelling in the opposite direction [he's northbound]. After explaining our intended overall route - ultimately up and through Pennsylvania to Cleveland, OH - John & the missus invite us to call in to see them, maybe have a meal altogether at their house, when we swing into their general vicinity towards the end of May ... "Heck, y'all can stopover too, if ya want" - and so we exchange phone numbers.You meet THE nicest people on the road, from time-to-time .. :o)
Just before we shake hands and go our separate ways John sniggers and tells us to expect a rough ride ahead, "By the way, yer dang-well headin' straight into a sandstorm just down the road yonder .. ain't never seen a sandstorm before, neither"
Methinks: 'No John, neither have we - let alone ride a motorcycle through one!'
'The next hour or so, just might be challenging'
20 minutes later and we're heading straight into the storm. 50mph [80km/h] winds from the west [our RH side] .. 
.. carries stinging sand horizontally across our track. It's quite an exceptional experience.
And for the very first time during the trip, as we approach our evening's destination of the township of Williams, Arizona, I see the odd speck here and there - on my windshield and visor - of rain. But in a trice we're through it, as if it had never happened at all.By 6:30pm we arrive in Williams - quite exhausted. This night, for the first time ever, I discover the delights of Tennessee whiskey .. :o)
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Monday, March-31
Little did we know it when we arrived yesterday evening - that we actually stayed the night on the Historic Route 66. 
What luck! We'll be back, that's for sure.----------------------------
BUT this morning, and 55 northbound miles later, we have a more pressing engagement .. THE Grand Canyon - South Rim in particular (which thankfully .. IS open .. :o)
It is difficult to put into words the first impression the Grand Canyon gives you. It's like having a spell cast over you. Your emotions are completely overwhelmed. I found myself giggling like a child ..
.. going ever so slightly giddy with it all - tingles in the tummy too
Did I ever mention that I can't stand heights by the way? It's only a mile down to the bottom yunno!
At the end of the day - still completely awe-struck - we snap a picture of the only two-headed, five-legged elk in existence .. ;o)----------------------------
Tuesday, April-01
[April Fools' Day]
Back into the Canyon.
For the first time I find myself on my very own, and steal around forty minutes or so to take in the splendour of the Canyon - right here, at this very spot. A surreal moment in my life, that's for sure. I won't forget the magic.
We notice that the sun is radiating a halo this afternoon, which is a clue to bad weather on the way. I hope not, as I'm looking forward to seeing the sunset over the Canyon this evening. Fingers crossed then. 
We descend into the Canyon for the first time, down a few hundred feet along Bright Angel Trail. A grey squirrel fearlessly screeches his presence from this rocky pillar. I guess he's pretty safe to do so [local birds of prey - Eagles, California Condors etc. accepted!] 
As it turned out, I had no need to worry about the evening's sunset. At 6:45pm this is the view, looking east, from Yavapai Point .. 
.. and at 6:53pm, from Mather Point.See how the colours have changed over the course of just eight minutes.
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It's been another truly memorable day; and one I won't forget in a hurry.
We retire that evening to one of the local haunts just outside the Park grounds, and get served-up with some fine fare by one of the local blind-and-pissed waiters. If only he knew and could see how funny he was .. really!
Just before bedtime Ellen discovers a new idea in bar stools. She likes ... and what healthy, normal woman wouldn't?----------------------------
I reckon she might be a thinking: "Life’s like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
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And that's all I have to say about that!
