It's hard to believe it was a fall back plan! A 10 trip day trip to Utah was a spur of the moment idea after another trip fell through.

My friend Ken and I trailered our bikes to Moab. He didn't feel like riding the interstates on his KLR, and his new VW camper make it an easy choice. Making us 3 for 3 in the good decisions department was taking along my Airheads Club Directory. We needed ideas on where to park a van and trailer for the duration so I called the first name in Moab. Tom answered and invited us to his house, gave us the key to his shop/office complete with shower and made us breakfast every day we were in town. Got to love these Airhead guys, turns out Tom was born the day before I was in the same hospital in Milwaukee.

I'd roughly mapped out an approx. 1200 mile figure 8 route across southern Utah. Planning a trip in this area may be easier than anywhere else in the states. There is an staggering amount of information about the history, geology, inhabitants, roads, parks etc. Our trip which included 300 off road miles, went through or skirted 17 National Parks, Forests, Monuments and State parks. We had temps from 90 degrees to below freezing. The scenery ranged from incredible vistas, and wonderful green canyons to ancient Anasazi ruins. The wildlife we saw was equally diverse from tarantulas and scorpions to peregrine falcons, antelope, desert bighorns and elk.

Some highlights of the trip may help relate what Utah has to offer. Dead Horse State Park just north of Moab is a don't miss, the 30 mile out and back road is incredible and the vista with the Green River 2000' below and the beautiful Manti la Sal mountains in the background in one direction and the White Rim in the other is unforgettable.

If there are better motorcycle roads than the 220 mile 2 lane from Hanksville to Hurricane there can't be many of them. Scant traffic, beautiful flowing curves, gorgeous scenery from alpine meadows to Dakar rally like dunes and rocks. Two especially wonderful areas were the Dixie National Forest with aspens and pines and elevations over 9000' and the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. There is a section through the latter with a much higher than usual pucker factor. Imagine twisting 2 lane, no guardrails, little to no shoulder, drop offs over 1000 ft. both sides, scenery you have to struggle not to look at. And did I mention the rental RV's mostly driven by German tourists who are also trying hard not to gawk.

Brian Head Panquitch Scenic By Way, Hwy. 143, is another one you'll want to ride. No traffic, mountain curves and the almost ubiquitous spectacular vistas.

The off-road opportunities are mind boggling. We chiefly visited 3 areas and barely scratched the surface of these. The San Rafael Swell is remote and rugged and largely unvisited. Check out Goblin Valley State Park if you're here. A fun river crossing of Muddy Creek was one of the highlights on this loop. The Burr Trail is a historic route across the Waterpocket fold and runs South of the Henry Mountains There are some amazing switchbacks in the middle of the trail, where you lose 800 ft. in one half mile. This section is in Capitol Reef National Park and there's lots of places to explore. We camped in the Henry's at a little 8 unit campground, 15 miles off the pavement. Not another soul was camping or on the road. Elk Ridge is a huge area, abutting the south end of the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park. This area includes Dark Canyon Wilderness Area, the Abajo Mountains and part of the Manti La Sal National Forest. It's easy to get 75 to 100 miles off the pavement in here. We spent a memorable night camping above a small canyon listening to Elk bugle the whole time we were there.

Southern Utah is one of those places that you won't begin to see in one trip. You could have a wonderful trip by simply not planning a strict route, just follow your nose and pay attention to local knowledge. But do plan your gear and bike prep. Services are few and far between and what's there will often not have what you need. Utah has only one BMW dealer and it's 200 miles north of Moab in Salt Lake City. It doesn't matter what type of motorcycle you are riding, off road or on or dual purpose you'll find unlimited and unique opportunities in Southern Utah.

Jeff Trapp