Monday, May 11, 2015

Motocaching the Grand Canyon State - Final



Along Highway 130
33 degrees at this summit
"Look Out" cache on Hwy 36
A cold front had moved in the evening before I departed Ivins.  Even so it wasn’t too cold in Ivins but that changed as I headed north and gained elevation.  I did have to ride the Interstate to Cedar City for about 50 miles.  Just the other side of Cedar City I exited the Interstate and got on Highway 130, a nice country road with almost no traffic.  I stopped for a cache soon after leaving the Interstate but did not find it.  I stopped for another one at the summit of a pass with the same result.  This was the coldest part of my journey.  It was 33 degrees and snow was on the ground but it had melted on the road.  I stayed on what I would consider this same road all the way to Eureka, UT, although the numbers changed several times – 21, 257 and 6.  I passed through Milford and stopped at Delta to gas up and warm up.
Lunch in Tooele park
At Eureka I veered northwest on Highway 36.  My bad luck on finding caches finally changed and I picked up five along the way.  After gassing up again I stopped in a park at Tooele (pronounced too-willa) and ate my lunch.  Although it was sunny and getting warmer it was still a bit chilly.

Bonneville Salt Flats
Newfoundland Evaporation Basin
Eventually I got to Interstate 80 and turned west toward Nevada.  I was excited to cross the Bonneville Salt Flats for the first time which the map says is the Newfoundland Evaporation Basin.  It looks like a white lake.  At my next gas stop in Nevada I called Clint to let him know I was going to be late getting to Gooding.  I knew this route would be longer but I hadn’t realized how much longer.  I remember the last time I took the part of this route in Nevada heading to Clint’s it was late afternoon and the sun was directly in my eyes.  This time it was so late that the sun didn’t bother me.  It was about 9:00 o’clock by the time I reached Clint’s having traveled 626 miles.  It was my longest day having been on the road for about 14 hours.  He had a mouth watering pork loin ready for me and I was ready for it.

With a good night’s sleep and breakfast under my belt I left Gooding about 7:00 the next morning.  I took the Interstate to Boise and for the first time on the whole trip I had a nice tailwind.  I stopped at the BMW shop where I had purchased my bike last year and got a replacement low beam bulb.
"Sukattuk Kuuk" cache near Banks, ID
I took Highway 55 north out of Boise and only stopped for a couple of caches on the way home as I was ready to be home.  I got home about 3:00 pm having traveled 383 miles for the day.  For the trip I traveled over 4,000 miles averaging about 450 miles per day while stopping to log an average of 8 geocaches per day.  There were a few other stops for ones I didn’t find.  I would have preferred a more leisurely trip but nine days is a long time away from home.  This was my eighth state to get geocaches in every county by motorcycle.  That’s a pretty big chunk of territory.  Next on the list is to finish Colorado this summer with Yancey.   M/W





  

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