Three of us from Aurora, MN are making the 1600+ mile trip to Marysvale, Utah to meet up with
more friends for a few days of ATVing on the Paiute Trail in the beautiful mountains there. Myself (Outlandish), BigJake and PoPoTom
will be
meeting up with Quadaholic and his Mrs from California and 25th Infantry from Ohio and several others may be joining us also.
On the road day one: We made pretty good time with only a few slow downs for road construction zones.
We are staying in a Motel 6 in Avoca, Iowa near Omaha, Nebraska.
The rooms are pretty nice and resonable.
We've traveled 540 miles so far out of about 1600. It was a pretty uneventful ride with nothing to look at except wind towers,
corn and soybean fields and with the ocasional unpleasant scent of hog farms thrown in for good measure.
On the road day two: Ugh, long day. Started out pretty early, hit some heavy rain and thunderstorms out of Omaha. Lots of corn again. LOL
We traveled 730 miles today so tomorrow should be a piece of cake. The views on the drive south west of Denver on I-70 are spectactular to say the least. Sorry pics were taken through truck window at 70mph.
Unfortunately this morning I get a call from home. Someone cut the sidewalls on all my truck tires. That kind of put a damper on my day. Anyway we are in Glenwood Springs
in a small budget motel (have to buy new tires now LOL) and should be arriving in Marysvale in the early afternoon tomorrow.....
On the road day three: Heading out on the last leg of the road trip.
Then 3 days of wheelin.....Can't wait. 6am and headin out.
We Have Arrived! Getting settled in. Found out I have no cell service here but the wireless internet works OK. Rooms are clean and a decent size. Fridge and microwave but WHAT?? No coffee maker. UGH!
Wheelin day one:
First day out started with a hearty breakfast from a little cafe called the Prospector Cafe
The six of us headed out on a fairly easy ride today climbing to 10,000 feet and decending deep into the valleys. The scenery is extraordinary and the weather was good with highs in the lows 80's to 60's at elevations.
We only did about 60 miles today because Tom's wheeler was having a real hard time at higher elevations so we called a dealer, Jorgensens Motorsports 30 miles away and explained the situation. They said they were busy but could squeeze him in. Seems his home dealer never cleaned his air filter when he had it serviced before the trip. We all thought they had jetted it wrong but the pre-filter was clogged.
Jorgensens derserves a big thumbs up for helping us right away.
Other than that we had a great time, a little dusty and only got a few pics but will be doing many more miles tomorrow.
Pics from day one. Trail 77
Wheelin day two.
Cold start today. Had to dress warm and then peel off clothes in the afternoon. Today was an awesome ride! We rode to the top of Monroe Peak. The views are incredible. Here are some pics. More to come....
Pics from day two. The ride to Monroes Peak.
25th Infantry
These cows think they are bighorn sheep
Taking a morning break
Mountain top lake
Me dressed for winter LOL
Monroe Peak, view of 3 towns
Half way up
Our leader, Quadaholic and his Mrs
PoPo Tom
more soon
Wheelin day three:
Beautiful day today. Had breakfast at the Prospector again and started out at about 9am. We climbed to the top of Mount Baldy (12,000'+) and then beyond to some very beautiful camping areas.
The weather was great and except for the dust it was a perfect ride. I sure wish we had more time here but hopefully next year for a longer stay. Quadaholic and I have already been discussing this.
Pics from day three. The ride up to Mount Baldy
About half way there
Valley view
Animal switchback trails
Mount Baldy
Outlandish
Quadaholic #1 trailboss
Outlandish
PoPo Tom and Big Jake
more soon
more soon
more soon
more soon
A short clip. Shaky and poor quality but all I have. Music by my friend Bill Mitchell
Heres a video of some of the pics 25th Infantry took. Music by my friend Bill Mitchell
My opinion of the Marysvale ride:
Pros:
The trails... The trails are everything you could want (except mudding). Wide smooth service roads, tight, steep twisty switchbacks, rocks, climbs and some very serious black diamond stuff. It's all there.
The locals...The locals that we met and talked to were very friendly and quick to answer any questions we had. Also riding on the streets is the norm and most times there are more wheelers than cars on main street.
The scenery...Words and pictures cannot explain this. You have to experience it in person. Amazing.
Motel 4 U. We stayed at the Motel 4 U and I have to give a big thumbs up to Mary and her husband, the owners, for running a nice clean and reasonable motel at a great price. They were very helpful and answered our questions about the trails. It's located at a great location too, right on main street.
The Prospector Cafe. Nice little "hole in the wall" kind of place. Good breakfast served fast.
Jorgensens Motorsports. These guys went beyond the call of duty to help Tom and Paul out with some needed repairs.
Cons:
Business hours of operation.(this is my only real beef) Convenience store and restaraunt hours of business were a pain. Open late, close early. I personally like to get an early start on the trails. Tugs did have pay at the pump for gas but if you needed anything else, 8 am weekdays, 9 am weekends.
Conclusion:
This was without a doubt the very best ride I have been on. I only wish I had more than 3 days out there. We spent 6 days in the truck and slept in 4 different motels going to/from Marysvale but the 3 days spent riding there made it all worth it. Spectacular is the word that comes to mind....Highly recommended!!
