Cedar City Getaway Sept 2011

We went to the BMWMOA getaway in Cedar City, this was our second year in a row to attend this event.

Here is the route we took. The first two days we stayed in Page, AZ. Then on to Cedar City, UT. for two days during the Getaway


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We left Wednesday morning, beginning mileage


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North bound out of Vegas on I-15


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Riding through the Virgin River Gorge, always a good twisty ride, although the highway is not in the best of shape and has a lot of traffic


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Almost to Utah


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We had a gift card - thanks to my sister, Susan - for a Crackerbarrel restaurant, so this was our first stop, rocking chairs, breakfast & morning coffee in St. George, UT.


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Headed east on Hwy 9


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Before we arrived at the Zion west entrance, we passed a helicopter with search & rescue doing some training on lifting out injured or stranded hikers...I don't think I'd want to be the person on the end of that line


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Riding through Zion National Park


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Spectacular scenery


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We stopped at the east entrance to get the required photo


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The same entrance - 16 years ago, when I took my future bride (Donna) on her first ride, we and the bike have changed just a little since then...1995 - using (gasp) film in my Nikon FE 2, hot leather jackets, and old full face Bell & Arai helmets


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On Hwy 9, east bound


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We drove through a long single lane tunnel


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Another smaller tunnel


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The riding and scenery was just perfect


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Made a pit stop at a little Art gallery, took a few minutes and just enjoyed the morning


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On Alt 89, headed east, does it get any better than this ??


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View looking back west, with Hwy 89 in the distance, from the Le Fevre overlook


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We took the southern route into Page on Alt 89, almost to Marble Canyon, AZ.


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Our hotel in Page was right next door to a Mexican resturant, we had a very good dinner there, had a few frosty adult beverages and called it a day.

Thursday we took a tour of Antelope Canyon.
The ride out from Page to the canyon was another adventure - down about 3 or 4 miles driving in a very silty bumpy river bed, in a big diesel pickup - don't think even a GS could have made it down to the canyon area, as the river bed was deep in several places.
As a serious amateur photographer, I had always wanted to visit this place. Unfortunately, all the 12 pm tours were already booked, (I tried booking this tour 3 weeks ago) so we had to go on the 9:30 am tour, the lighting wasn't the best, but I did get a few good shots...


Waiting to get in, this canyon is very narrow, several times - we had to stand against the wall to let the earlier tours walk by on their way out.

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The canyon was just spectacular


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I spent most of the time looking up, to get what natural sunlight I could, it was very dark at the floor in several places. The tour took almost an hour, it seemed to go by much faster. I took over 70 pics, and banged my head several times in the dark narrow spots


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Donna did the had part, carrying all the gear, while I did the photography. The canyon walls had thousands of white crystals - so when I used the flash for this pic, they reflected it back.


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Out of the canyon, back into the desert


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Our tour guide, Henry - from Antelope Canyon Tours, INC. He did a great job keeping our group together, didn't lose or leave anyone behind.


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We had planned on riding the bike back out to Marble Canyon after the tour, but we were both covered with the red silt. So we did some laundry, had a few frosty beverages, and had dinner at John's Texas BBQ. Our hotel was right next to all these places, so we didn't have far to walk.


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We were up and on the road Friday morning with the sunrise


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Riding over the bridge by the Glen Canyon dam


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Lake Powell at sunrise

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Pulled over at a parking area to get this one


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Donna enjoys the sunrise


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We had the road, Hwy 89, all to ourselves


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West on Hwy 89, towards Kanab, UT.


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We stopped at Tod's, in Long Valley junction, to enjoy a cold drink. As always, the Beemer attracted a lot of attention, visited with several other bikers, who were out enjoying the day


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We took Hwy 148 north and stopped at Cedar Breaks national monument. They had finally constructed a park sign, so we took the required pic to add to our album


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More spectacular scenery


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A rare pic of Donna without her helmet


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We continued on Hwy 143 to Parowan, Ut. and had lunch at a very good cafe, then down on I-15 to Cedar City. Again this year, we decided to not to do a group ride, but had a fun evening meeting other BMW riders. I believe there were about 95 riders at this event.


BMW's at the Crystal Inn.


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Saturday morning was very cool, the temp was 54, according to the scrolling sign at the IHOP. We had a good breakfast there, put on our cold weather gear and hit the road at 8am. Destination - Bryce Canyon


East bound on Hwy 14, going up to about 10,000 feet


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We took Hwy 148 past Cedar Breaks, then east on Hwy 143. We hadn't traveled this road before, so it was a new way for us. The deer were out enjoying the morning, 4 times we had to slow way down while they crossed the highway - but always fun to watch


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Red Canyon - on the way to Bryce


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We decided to try a different plan for Bryce Canyon this year, we went all the way south to the end of the park, then worked our way back, stopping at all the different overlooks.

Rainbow Point


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Black Birch Point


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Ponderosa Point

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Aqua Canyon


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Natural Bridge


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We saw many of the other BMW riders in Bryce, hopscotched with them through out the day. We stopped at the general store near the Bryce Canyon Lodge and had lunch - biker style


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Heading back on Hwy 14 - which has to be one of the best roads in southern Utah for riding


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Fall colors were not quite at their peak


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We made it back to Cedar City about 4 pm, cleaned up and went down for a frosty adult beverage and attended the BBQ buffet that the MOA provided. Donna had her door prize ticket drawn for a Touratech baseball hat. Nothing for me this year. Had a nice evening visiting with other BMW riders and their spouses. A nice finish to another wonderful day of perfect weather and riding through some beautiful country.


Saturday we headed out around 9 am, followed some other BMW's west on Hwy 56


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We stopped at Beryl Junction and had some more coffee. We were told to stop in Veyo, UT. and have some pie from a little bakery there


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South bound on Hwy 18, more good riding all to ourselves


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Coming into Veyo, UT.


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We stopped at the recommended bakery and had our breakfast


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Now this is breakfast - Donna had the chocolate, I had the coconut cream


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We stopped and went through the Snow Canyon State Park, which is just north of St. George, Ut.


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We took Old US 91, bypassing the Virgin River Gorge and came out in Littlefield, AZ. A long and lonely road


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Took a nice long break in Mesquite, NV. The last 70 miles back to Vegas are always the longest of any trip


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Not very often I get to pass an airplane on the Beemer


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South bound on I-15


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Almost back, Vegas in the distance


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Back home - 947 miles later


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Another great bike trip, the Beemer ran great, no issues to deal with, just riding and enjoying the scenery.

Thanks for the ride. Great pics!:wave