The Dirty Seven – (Gala and Doug Sly, Joanne and Larry Kennedy, Greg Giles, Larry McRae, and Warner Griswold) experienced a once in a lifetime tour from Las Vegas to Grand Junction Colorado – approximately 850 miles (22 days).
We left Henderson/Las Vegas at 6:00 am to beat the heat on our way to the Valley of Fire State Park (appropriately named). We soon realized that you can’t out run 104-degree (40 Celsius) heat unless you’re staying in a motel with A/C! We arrived at the campsite, and the heat sucked all the fluids and energy out of us even when we were in the shade. We decided to leave the Valley of Fire after only one night and to spend two nights in Mesquite, Nevada in an air-conditioned hotel knowing we wouldn’t have a chance to see the beauty of this park.
To combat the heat, we requested the support vehicle to stop every 15 miles or less, and we purchased mass quantities of Gatorade type drinks to help eliminate our dehydration problems.
The second night’s camp brought us to Sand Hollow State Park in Utah where we had a group campground that turned out to be no more than a concrete slab, steel girders, picnic tables, and no shade. We also had 25 mph winds with gusts up to 35 mph that blew sand everywhere. We placed tarps across the girders for shade and wind protection, and we were able to cook dinner and breakfast thanks to Larry’s cooking equipment.
After Sand Hollow we rode to Zion National Park and then on to Bryce National Park. In between we spent a night at Hatch, Utah elevation 6,900. In the morning we awoke to 3/8” of ice in our water buckets and frost on our sleeping bags – what a change! In Bryce everyone took in the sites and checked out the park’s Hoodoos. From Bryce we had a lovely ride to Escalante State Park that had a nice lake to swim in.
The next day’s ride to me was the most beautiful ride I have ever ridden. In the morning we rode to Boulder, Utah along the wind and water carved canyons of the Escalante River and Calf Creek. Our eyes never seemed to be on the road, but on the natural beauty of the area. Everywhere we turned was a photo shot! That afternoon we had the entire Burr trail to ourselves. Less than 5 cars passed us in 30+ miles, while we gasped at the rock formations and rode in the shade of a high cliff creek. That night we free camped just below the dirt switchbacks of the Burr trail.
The next morning we rode the Burr Trail (12 miles of dirt road) on our way to Bull Frog, Utah and beautiful Lake Powell. Larry McRae was able to find us a good campsite with shade. However Mother Nature brought us 104-degree heat again. After two nights at Bull Frog, the group decided to take the ferry across the lake to Hall’s Crossing and ride directly to Natural Bridges National Monument skipping Hite, Utah and an additional 50 miles and 3,500’ of elevation gains. We had reservations about our decision because we wouldn’t be able to start riding until 11:00am because of the ferry schedule. Well, we all suffered getting to the campground that evening even though neither the elevation gains nor the mileage were excessive. Again a decision was made to spend only one night at Natural Bridges and to head to Blanding, Utah for a hotel room.
As we left Blanding we climbed to Monticello, Utah, and found ourselves riding across farmland on our way to a free camp along the Delores River in Colorado. Once we reached the river, we didn’t find a place to camp with shade! We decided to combine two days of riding into one so we continued to Naturita, Colorado. We were all glad to leave the river and the biting deer flies (even through our clothes). There is nothing like pedaling and seeing fly shadows drafting you! Some of us rode the entire 103 miles that day with a terrific tail wind, while others sagged off and on to complete the extra mileage. That evening we had burritos – make your own. Thankfully Doug was able to purchase fresh off the grill 14” tortillas from a local restaurant, as our tortillas were drowned in the ice chest.
For the next two days everyone took it easy as we headed for Grand Junction for three nights. The last day in Grand Junction was a 47-mile ride around the Colorado National Monument, which was spectacular!
The heat made this trip very arduous , and we all sagged at some point. However, this trip will not be forgotten and will always be treasured and remembered by the seven of us. Special thanks go to Greg Giles for all of his baked cookies, bread, and cobblers, to Doug and Gala for their home made Key Lime Pies, and to Larry McRae for his continual supportive effort as the support driver and as the camp/cook coordinator!