Utah, beautiful Utah

    Utah has been on our "Ride List" for 3-4 years and it was worth the wait. What a beautiful state with all it's red rocks, pink sands, and darn nice people.

 

We stayed in Vegas the first night to ease the drive. And then visited with Mike and Tracey Carlow in St George, Utah. The guys golfed and then Mike made us a wonderful dinner, where we drank, ate and laughed til late. The area is so pretty, with rolling rocky hills, and the gorgeous red rock in the horizon. Their home is a block from this golf course ;) 

                                                              Green Spring Golf Course

 

The best golf cart ride ever!!! :)  

Danny with his buddy, Mike Carlow, who treated us to this fabulous day.

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Tuesday afternoon we arrived in Kanab, Utah, our home for the week. 

 

Kanab is known as Little Hollywood.
Many western's filmed here.

Cute picket fence house with wind chimes
 while we walked to lunch.

Utah Ride #1

      After checking into our room, we decided to hop on the Harley and just look around a bit...... Which lead us all the way to Lake Powell in Page, AZ. It's about a 4 hour drive, but we just couldn't stop ooohing and aaahing over the scenery. Besides, the sun doesn't set here until about 8:30pm.

This the Wahweap Bay The water is quite low so not many campers or boaters out today. 

Danny found a lookout in Page of the Colorado River and the Glen Canyon Damn.

I was blown away! 

Here is Marble Canyon lookout just behind the motels in Page off the 89. 

 It's an easy walk down the sand steps. You don't wanna miss this view.  

Steps to the Marble Canyon Lookout

That's a boat coming up the river. 

Marble Canyon Lookout

Utah Ride #2

Wednesday: Heading to North Rim Grand Canyon on the 89S where you leave the Red Rocky mts for a bit of wide-open views. 

Lots of wide open views through the Kaibab Indian Reservation & Fredonia area,

until you reach the Kaebab Forest of small Pines and Cottonwoods. Then it opens up to the most amazing view of the Vermillion Cliffs aka the Grand Staircase.

Small western places along the way take you back to an old western movie set.

Vermillion Cliffs 

Lookout of the Grand Staircase

                   

Ended this day in Page were we found a great bar, ate some burgers with some bloodies. Then ended up riding home while the sun set. 

It was a very full day with a peaceful end, even though we didn't see the North Rim. 

Utah Ride #3

Today's plan is to go back to St George and visit the Harley dealership to get some t-shirts etc. Exploring the Zion National Park on the way up and back..... oh my goodness. It was hard to comprehend the heights of these rocky mts, and the fabulous colors of the rocks, and the small pines just growing out of the rocky soil. It was a truly incredible site.

 

Ride along with us ;)

 

 Hwy 9, took us out to the cute town of Springdale where you can camp just outside the park. Then we headed into St George to find the Harley Dealership and get some lunch.

 

 

   

Our return trip included a side road that I read about on the Motorcycle Roads Forum. It was a nice change of pace and terrific views of the west side of Zion. Also, allowed us some room to get off the bike more and take some photos. 

This is Kolob Terrace Rd. just north from Virgin, Utah. The paved section of the road ends by the Kolob reservoir and campground, which looked closed. Perhaps too early in the season. 

Views of Zion from a distance are just as spectacular. 

We came back through Zion on our return trip to Kanab. Getting the reverse view of the park this time. 

Taken near Springdale, Utah. We had the most clear blue skies, and the temps were 70-80*.

Perfect week to come here. 

Utah Ride #4

Bryce Canyon here we come! The road to Bryce Canyon is large sweeping turns along the Virgin river with hot springs and pools of water throughout the canyon. Couldn't photograph them very well from the bike.

Lunch at Bryce Canyon Pines with a large group of organized bikers.

Bryce Canyon Tunnel 

Bryce Canyon, the Hoodoos

Bryce Canyon

We honestly thought we hadn't seen enough on this day and were tempted to keep on riding east, but came to our senses and headed back to Kanab. What a glorious trip this has been. 

Our last red Utah sunset.

Our Stay In Kanab:

 We chose the La Quinta Inn for our staging place. It was a great room, morning breakfast buffet with a large lobby and dinging area. The parking lot was roomy and great for our truck and trailer. It was a little off the main street, but the town didn't have alot of shopping that I was hoping for, but all in all it was a great location for us to get to all our rides easily. 

We had some really good meals during our stay in Kanab: the area does cater to healthier choices, such as vegan, and even though they have full bars, they are only allowed to pour 1 oz of hard liquor per cocktail. But, we did find some good wine choices ;) 

Wild Thyme Cafe was close to our motel so we ate here the first night. They had some great food. Most all guests are hikers, not bikers! haha

The PeekABoo Pizza place was a tasty vegan Pizza place. Didn't realize it was meatless.... but server mentioned it right away.

Rocking V Cafe was fun, delicious and located in an old historical building. 

Sego's was on the classy side and specialize is small sharable portions. Very good. 

Grilled Caesar 

Pork belly & watermelon

     steak bites with cauliflower 

  

*** since there's no helmet law in Utah, we got cleaned up and took the bike down the road to dinner and let the hair go wild.... relax it's like a block away.

Leaving Utah....can't stop taking pics. 

Til next time....cheers.

Reunion of Cousins in Scottsdale AZ

"The Friesian Fillies"

FEB 3-6, 2022

DAY 1

Girl's trips are the best....especially if you get to reunite with your favorite cousins. Left to right is me, Christina, Anita, Rena & Ada. Elly had planned to be here with us, but couldn't make it this time. 

And how about this for accommodations?

Winery Suites

Three of us stayed in the Viognier Suite, and two in the Toscano studio next door. We had a full kitchen and lots of room inside and outside for gathering. The winery Suites is a 10 minute walk from downtown. They were so quiet and the rooms were great with comfy king beds :) 

After settling in on Thursday we headed downtown for dinner at Olive & Ivy. We had a great bottle of wine and delicious meals. Very popular place, highly recommend. 

C H E E R S   TO YOU

A N D   T O  Y O U 

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DAY 2

Friday was a full day, starting with a nice easy morning in the suite.

 Anita & Christina brought a great assortment of morning treats, coffee & tea. 

It was the perfect way to start our day and enjoy conversations in our pj's :) 

We had some fun browsing the downtown shops and trying on hats and sifting through their

 T-shirts. There's a good mix of Western and American Indian apparel and souvenirs in downtown Scottsdale. 

Traditional Hat Pose 

Conversation Piece (?)

Cute Alleys everywhere

We found a great corner restaurant towards the end of the downtown, with hopes of doing some wine tasting by the name Grape Vine...haha, got that wrong. We settled for cocktails and a hearty Grande Nacho plate. 
 

Beautiful landscapes everywhere 

The Valley Ho 

The Valley Ho Hotel is just a short walk and for our use with the suites.

A gorgeous hotel with a unique modern and mid-century design. 

🍸 Yes! we sat poolside order drinks and soaked up the sun for awhile. 

In the afternoon we took a tour of the Desert Botanical Gardens. Just 10 minutes away from downtown Scottsdale yet worlds apart.

 It's an easy stroll of 5 different loops of cactus, butterfly gardens and 

sculptures nestled throughout the gardens. 

Who knew there so many different cacti? 

Chihuly glass sculpture amid the cacti

The garden is a photographer's dream with it's colorful backgrounds.

Group selfie :) 

Cornucopia Chihuly Sculptured was the main attraction.
Dale Chihuly, Summer Sun Collection

🍴Dinner tonight at Kelly's at Southbridge was more casual and just what we needed after our full day. Another great meal together followed by a nice evening walk back to our room. 

The cleanest downtown ever! 

Horse Sculpture downtown


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DAY 3

   We had hopes of a quaint Farmer's Market just a couple blocks away, bringing back some fresh goodies, and enjoying the gorgeous warm winter day. 

🤠But, alas it was Western Days in downtown Scottsdale and there were parades to be seen, artworks of local artisans, the Western Museum and beer gardens to hit! haha

Cowboys

HAHA....never miss a photo booth.

Western Parade was very nice.

Horsehair pottery

The Museum had lots of interesting items.

Interesting 3D wall art in the Western Museum

*** back to the rooms***

🍷Our afternoon was spent chatting and sipping outside on our front grassy patio with a good bottle of Oregon Pinot from  The Four Graces curtesy of Anita. 

Beautiful afternoon with a little warm breeze. Perfect for wine on the patio.

Later in the evening we played a game of Heads Up! 🤣so fun

Well kept landscape at the Winery Suites. Conveniently located is the Cornish Pasty Cafe just across the road. It's the first time for a pasty for most of us. We ate here a couple times.

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DAY 4

Anita and Christina started their drive home Sunday morning. While Rena, Ada & I hung out until our flights in the afternoon. We took another stroll around downtown followed by a visit to the RV resort were Jim & Rena reside during the winter months. We 'get' why they love it here.   

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Valle del Oro, Mesa AZ

Cheers Scottsdale, until next time.