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