Dinosaur and Colorado Bench Ride

[macgart]

I took a ride out to Dinosaur National Monument on the Utah side with my wife to do some camping and riding.  We set up camp at the Green River Campground as home base and I rode from there.  The ride from Steamboat to Jensen, Utah was kinda dull and very windy.  There is not much to see along the way, lots of high desert and sage brush.  The campground was really nice and not very crowded.  We found a great spot right at the river and with lots of privacy.







The first morning I took a ride through the Monument and snapped a couple of photos of the riding







Then I rode out to an old homestead in Hog Canyon










I decided to go exploring after walking around the homestead for a while.  My map showed a road leading from the east end of the monument up onto Blue Mountain but it didn't show where the road goes.  So it was time for a bit of adventure.  I was riding alone and had not told my wife exactly where I was going because I didn't really know.  So, being the rocket scientist that I am, off I went.   

[macgart]

The road up onto the mountain can be seen in the middle of the photo




The road goes pretty much straight up the west side of the mountain and is fairly steep and rocky in places but nothing a KLR can't handle!  Near the top, the road becomes deeply rutted in places.  Thank goodness I have 606's on my bike as the soil is pretty loose also.






Once on top there were many roads to choose from.  Since I had no map of the area or gps, I decided to take photos of the intersections and of my odometer in case I had to backtrack.  I knew that Echo Park was to the east, so I just kept picking roads that headed in that general direction.



 A view of Blue Mountain from the south



Eventually I crossed the Dinosaur Monument road that goes north from Colorado



From here I turned north and intersected the Echo Park road.



I headed down into the valley.  Sand Canyon is at the bottom of the valley and is spectacular to ride through.

[macgart]

Sand Canyon









I then rode down into Echo Park canyon



I found some petroglyphs along the way



Then I came across Whispering Cave, the air coming out was about 55 degrees and I could feel it from the road.

[macgart]

Then on down the road to Echo Park campground



I came across this old homestead or ranch house along the way



After I came back out of Echo Park canyon, there's no way to loop it, I decided to take the road less traveled along the Colorado Bench.  The road base turned from pretty solid to ruts covered in silt or sand and riding became more technical.  The worst part was that I couldn't see the ruts beneath the silt.  This caused me to nearly crash several times.  Some of the sections were worse than the sand monster on the White Rim Trail even though they looked easy.









The road seemed to go on forever and other than at the exit of Sand Canyon I never passed another vehicle.  I stopped at several overlooks for some great views.





The first photo is of Castle Park and the second is of Harding Hole.  On one of my wrong turns I ended up at a ranch that is at the bottom of Harding Hole toward the upper left of the photo where the river bends around.  After about 40 or so miles the road finally became better with less sand and a more solid base.  I rode through an immense valley and into a burn area that has started to regrow.  Eerily beautiful.






My only companions were these guys



Even though it was a lonely ride it was absolutely amazing.  More to come...

[Green Machine]

Nice photos 

 

[macgart]

I crested a ridge and the landscape once again turned expansive.  There was little sign of human habitation other than a few cows here and there.  It made me think of what it must have been like for the original homesteaders.  Along the way I realized that I had left my tool roll at home and I changed my riding to a more conserative mode.






The roads just seem endless



Then I came across this homestead in the middle of nowhere





A view looking down on the homestead from the ridge, the homestead is in the center of the valley



I then worked my way west along Moffat County road 18 back into Utah and came out on US 40 between Dinosaur, CO and Jensen, UT




All in all a pretty good ride.  I did about 140 or so miles off road and had a great time.  I took lots more photos but don't want to make the RR too long.  I hope everyone enjoys the report.

[Benson]

I enjoyed it, great job, excellant pictures.

[rainier_rider]

I like the vastness. It amazes me how folks lived way out there a hundred plus years ago.
 

[Hondo]

GREAT REPORT MCGART!

I've been wanting to get down there for a while & your report mtivates me even more.

[revs]

To think I drive through there every week and didn't even think there was that many homesteads out there.  That would be a great ride.

[bdrake]

Enjoyed that report macgart...glad you didn't need your tools! 

[macgart]

Thanks everyone, I have lived in Colorado for 15 years now and that was my first trip through that area.  Having the KLR has opened up parts of the unknown that I never thought I'd visit.  Echo Park and Sand Canyon are reminiscent of Moab in their beauty and the inability of photography to capture their scale and magnificence.

I enjoy doing ride reports because I love reading those by others.  They are always a source of inspiration to ride.

[gunny]

most excellent  you all out there in the west are so lucky.

[caborado]

Nice ride & report... 

[macgart]

most excellent  you all out there in the west are so lucky.

You are so right

Seriously though, I do love living out here.

[JonnyOneMoon]

Thanks for the report Macgart! I love that area, it is so uncrowded and it's easy to go all day not seeing a soul. I need to get back out there soon!