Day 7 - Ely, NV to Flagstaff, AZ 

486 Miles

On Day 7 we left out of Ely, NV, crossed back over part of Utah and down to Flagstaff, AZ.  However, the ride was so much more than just that.  We started off at Gale Tire in Ely where they got me right in and replaced one of the trailer tires and at a great price.  Thanks!!

Then, the awesome varieties of scenery along the ride were breathtaking.  In and out of the mountains, up over passes and down across high desert versions of prairies, meet-yourself curves and miles of straight nothingness...except for the stunning mesas against the backdrop of the views!  Below will be another too-long batch of photos for folks to expand at will.

On top of all of this was the day itself.  9/11.  Our thoughts kept moving back to the day at hand as we passed through little high desert towns and villages that showed as much patriotism as one could wish for in any city of any size. However, the stand-out town for me was Newcastle, UT.  A quaint little town west of Cedar City.  It was while riding along on US56 through the outskirts of Newcastle that I started noticing the flags.  Many (and I do mean MANY) of the homes or farms had one or (most with) two flags on a variety of poles at the end of their driveways.  And these weren't old, aged flags from some past occasion.  These were bright, new flags purposely positioned to align the roads and make a statement.  Newcastle, I humbly tip my hat to you.

Then we came out the eastern side of Cedar City (home of Southern Utah University), where we went up and over Blowhard Mountain and through Dixie National Forest by way of Cedar Canyon; a neat winding road reaching up to almost 10,000' elevation.  Today there was a marathon going on and runners were observed for most of the length of the canyon.  That was also where we saw an old lava flow that looked like it had flowed for miles.  These photos do not do it justice.

As we went back out into the desert we still could not overcome the awe of seeing the many varieties of mesas across the backgrounds.  We've got too many examples below.

Then it was across the head of the Grand Canyon at Marble Canyon.  This is where the Colorado River flows from Lake Powell and enters the canyon.  We could see the scar of the upper canyon from a great distance away.  This is what it looked like overhead.

As I told Denise, we accomplished what Evil Knievel did without all the hospital bills.

Finally we reached Flagstaff and hooked up with Alex, Christy and the children.  This was my first time seeing our newest and youngest granddaughter and she and I hit it off from our first encounter.  Read that as she smiled and cooed each time I held her.  Well, with the exception of when she got hungry.  Then again, what's not to love about a less scary version of Santa Claus?!

With dinner accomplished and the bike in bed, we've all tucked in to get some rest.....except me of course.  Chris T., You owe me for this.  :-)