Tuesday morning came up kind of overcast but still dry. I’d been able to leave my tent door open for ventilation during the night 
so was able to pack camp directly. As I headed out to follow US 191 to the north it was clear that there was weather trouble ahead. 
So I stopped to put my raingear on. 

In 10 more minutes I was in a cold thunderstorm downpour with water on my faceshield and fog from my breath on the inside. 
I had to ride pretty slowly and as I descended into the gorge there was basically none of the breathtaking views I remembered 
from last year.  Eventually I came out of the rain but it was still pretty chilly so I just kept the raingear on. Took UT 44 to Manila 
then north on WY 530 to Green River.

On the way to Manila   .... Utah that is.

Refueled and lunch in Green River. Removed raingear. 

Green River decisions

Found WY 372 and headed toward  US 189 and LaBarge. I was back into raingear as I encountered showers here and there.  

Following the Green River valley on the way to LaBarge

Lower portions of LaBarge Creek road - all is well.

About 20 miles in I came to  mudholes across the road. The first groups were pretty small and I could find a way around them but 
I kept encountering groups and then finally a group that looked like no easy way to pass.  So I thought about it- I’m alone. I’m on a 
big motorcycle that’s loaded with camping gear, my tires have tread for 90% road. And as far as I know, the other end of the Grey’s 
River road is 100 miles just like this.  So I turned around and went back to pavement.

Too many mudholes too early in the leg. Last picture is leaving the area. Very pretty in the afternoon light.

It was time to find a campground. So I zoomed off on WY 351 to what my map showed as a campground on the Green River. 
What I actually found was more like a boat put-in and the water had recently been very high so there were many deep puddles in 
the area plus lots of bugs. No go. 

A possibility I’d heard about came to mind and I rode up to the Big Piney airport building.  The note on the door gave several phone 
numbers for pilots needing odd hours fuel service and it indicated the pilot’s lounge and restroom door was unlocked. So I called the 
number and explained to Shelly that I was a pilot on a motorcycle trip and asked if I could pitch my tent on the airport for the night? 
She was very nice and invited me to do so and to use the pilot lounge restrooms. Yay!  

Funny thing was that all the grass around the buildings looked like grass but the grass was growing out of 50% small rocks. 
Very unpleasant surface for tenting. Plus the airport is up on a bit of a mesa and the wind was blowing about 15 mph. 
Ultimately I found where grass had been mowed at the base of a hangar on the downwind side and the rocks weren’t quite as 
numerous. So I pitched my tent out of the wind and used the restroom to wash and have a shave.

Ending with a sunset view after a good face wash and shave.

Last Modified: 1/29/2021