Up with the larks and Round em horses up !

Dead Horse Point, UT and The Arches, UT - 243 miles
Excited or what! I wanted at least on one morning see the sunrise on something spectacular - I chose Dead Horse Point about an hours drive out of Moab. Fascinating stories and anyone interested should pick up the same book I'm reading called'Last of the Robbers Roost Outlaws Moab's Bill Tibbetts' by Tom McCourt. Certainly puts you in the feel of what used to happen out here - interesting to say the least.
Wicked Brew in Moab opens at 6 and serves coffee to die for plus amazing banana and pecan muffins for that extra but of energy which I know I'll need on those steep and windy roads.
Quickly get out of town just after 6 and climb climb climb to the point of no return overlooking the most incredible. view to Canyonlands - the story goes that wild mustangs would be chased and rounded up to this point high over the Canyonlands and the Colorado River valley with no where else to go so prize wild horses were for the taking for those brave few.
Couldn't resist on my way back to just get a taster for famous The Arches and bought a great day pass for the bike for just 5 bucks! Incredible, that wouldn't even get you across London for that price!
Realised the distances in the park and as ever the rapidly declining fuel tank so turned around after about 10 miles.
Lunched in the exquisite award winning hotel on the Colorado Rivet and then thought another adventure was in store.
Geared up the bike and rode a couple of miles north into The Arches Nation Park. Although it only appeared to. be about 40 miles round the park it wasn't mentioned that to actually view the handful of Arches you had to then walk, hike whatever quite a distance. You can imagine I was bike attired and it was hot so walking uphill in the heat was not particularly enjoyable - but hey the views were great!
Spoke with a couple of really cool bikers from California and Arizona who already discussed tips on the future route over the Sierra Nevada - thanks!
What I thought would be a casual little ride turned out to be about 4 hours - got back around 8 and just plunged into the pool for sanity's sake!

To top it all I can't believe it, saw the sun rise and then eating out under the stars saw the big fat full moon rise over the blackened hills - wow what a day!

Lost hat in Mexican Hat ....

Mexican Hat, UT to Moab,UT - 142 miles - Rte 191
Ready to rock n roll at 6 to get a Mexican Quesadilla at the cafe next door and head on out - but the head was the problem cos couldn't find my helmet- where could it be?
Searched high and low and even imagined wearing my bandana for the rest of the trip but reality took the better and realised had left in the reception which was now locked up as everyone was still asleep OK Mr Mannering don't panic, I'll have bkft and call them - thank heaven for mobile phones! Phew yes they'd open the front door for when I get back and voila I had my helmet back.
Back on the road it was cool and clouds covered the sky - got my first glimpse of the Mexican Hat Rock , a real phenomena of a small rock delicately balancing on top of a larger one - must have been like that for thousands if years.
Again phenomenal (I'll use that word a lot now!) landscapes through the red rock valleys and then into blue and grey rock valleys a mega change within just a few miles.
Travelled swiftly into Moab, an adventurers and extreme sports capital
which lies besides the Colorado River.
Desperately needed something to protect my hands which are slowly getting fried- got a light pair of bikers summer gloves which I'll cut the fingers off as only need to protect the upper side of the hands which are exposed when driving.
Practicalities aside drove along the Colorado River to next destination - beautiful and good enough now to stay for the next couple of days. This has to be one of the best places ever - more follows...

Ships and Monuments on the skyline..

Durango, CO to Mexican Hat, UT via Shiprock NM, 4 States Corner NM/UT/CO/AR and Monument Valley,UT - 240 miles
Oh boy just reading that impresses even me - this was the one day before all else that I had waited to experience for so very long and was I disappointed? You must be kidding it was f..ing A mazin!
Left around 6ish with the route approximately prepped with unknown routes to take and also to avoid the heat later. Beautiful green Colorado got increasingly dry and arid the nearer II got to the New Mexico border - so quickly another world with the farmlands smaller and looking a little worse for wear unlike their Colorado neighbours. Did see some lovely Hereford specimens though!
Headed to Shiprock thinking it was just the rock but unknown to me it was actually quite a large town where I took my first detour of the day! Yes I saw Shiprock from a distance and it was getting further away from me - again I knew that wasn't right but the signage as one native Indian told me when I asked for directions, was that the sign could quite easily have been painted over or vandalzed!
So I turned back over a dual carriageway thankfully empty and headed back into town and out on the right road. Again you could only see it from a distance but mighty impressive and an important place for Indians.
So enroute headed over to The Four Corners Reserve where all 4 states cross over - wasn't that impressive with stalls selling nicnaks but fun stretching into the 4 States.
Quickly left having paid 5 dollars to enter and headed to Monument Valley where so many films have been made and one of John Wayne's favourite places.
I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but the atmosphere was electric and was fortunate that again not many people. Sitting on a stool just looking over the Kats and other rocks was awe inspiring and the light on the red rocks created even more depth.
Reluctantly I left and again drove through spectacular landscapes just 30 miles to Mexican Hat for a night stop over - the place is famous for its swinging steak BBQ's - sitting out under the sky, listening to a local band and talking with the locals was a great end to an amazing jaw dropping monumental day ...

Four letter word here ... Fire !

Saturday - 45 steaming miles on the narrow rail track, Durango, CO to Silverton, CO
Durango is probably known worldwide as having one of the most scenic narrow gauge lines anywhere, twisting up and up into The Rockies until it reaches 10000ft high Silverton, originally an important silver mining town.
A beautiful 4 hr trip in an open sided carriage, following the fast flowing river with incredible views over the mountain ranges which just get higher and higher - apparently in this area alone in Colorado it has the highest density of peaks exceeding 14 000ft - that's big and we saw over 10 of them.
Started chatting to a Harley guy who had driven across from Chicago averaging a measly 800 miles a day / is that possible?
Strange weather here with not much snow over the winter with the mountains now normally still being covered in snow but it's almost disappeared - this means the ice flow has been minimal which means the river levels are low and everything very dry - they're seeing massive numbers of natural fires across Colorado and saw helicopter ready to take off with bags of water.
And Silverton what a step back in time with a population of just 400 in the winter. Wide empty high streets with iconic western looking property frontages - again a photographers paradise.
Back in Durango just happened to walk into the international award winning photographer Jeff Jessing's studio and fell for some amazing photographs of the area and where I'll be visiting in the next day - most importantly for me on buying any art is to ideally get to know the artist and understand their motivation and if there are good vibes as these are pieces you have to look at and enjoy daily - we you can guess, I got 2 pieces shiped over to Boston .. he he!
www.naturerevealed.com

Oh yes one of the best meals so far has to be this evening at the cool Cyprus Cafe with a mix of Mediterranean meeting the mountains by well known chef Alison Dance
www.cypruscafe.com