Triumphrat

Catenaccio · 07-10-2009, 01:59 AM

OK, so the big trip is planned for next week when my son and I go to the North Rim. He hadn't taken the Speed Four out since May as the battery died. All he needed was me to: spring for, charge, and install a new battery; book the motel room; and buy the gas and food. As a warm up to our big trip, we went up Cedar Mountain to Duck Creek. I wish there was a way to show all the beauty of the area, but turnouts are far a few between and I've already posted pics from most of them previously.

Here's a pic of the cliffs leading to Cedar Breaks National Monument.

And one of my son and the Speedy...

We stopped at the overlook to Navajo Lake. It was formed when a volcano deposited basaltic rock as a natural dam at the east end of a narrow valley. In the 1930s, a causeway was built across the lake allowing vehicles to get from one side to the other.

The advent of heavy equipment has since permitted a road to be built to circle the lake. Look carefully to see the causeway just above the tank.

The causeway forms part of a popular three mile walk and splits the lake into two distinct parts.

Catenaccio · 07-10-2009, 02:11 AM

Duck Creek for some reason is becoming a year-round resort community. It used to be the location of a small mom-and-pop grocery store and worm emporium for the fisherpersons who frequented a series of small lakes and the creek that feeds them. No more. Cabins and lodges are beginning to circle the meadows, 4-wheelers are everywhere, and the place has Polaris, Can-Am, and Yamaha dealerships. Go figure.

One end of town...

And the other...

I asked the clerk in the Yamaha dealership why everything was compressed into one little area. She said the county zoning commission had to make some adjustments before the area could really take off. Until then, the businesses had to situate themselves along a tiny road and in existing buildings or tear down old buildings and replace them with new in the same footprint as the old. Seemed a little screwy to me.

Here's the Yamiharhar dealer's cabin...

Next to the Can-Am dealership...

The Polaris dealership was located at the back of the Conoco/Phillips gas station. I was too busy buying snacks for my poor impoverished son to take a picture. Sigh.

hypervista · 07-10-2009, 08:17 AM

Thanks Catenaccio for sharing the pics and details of your warm-up trip. It's really nice to see you and your son sharing this experience. I'm new to riding and that's one thing that got me interested; I want to spend time with my son riding.
I'm looking forward to the pics and report of your North Rim adventure.