Moab, Utah was a great experience on this trip. There are many roads around the area that make for a great ride and the scenery is phenomenal. We stayed here for 2 days after arriving so we could visit Arches National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park which are known to have some of the most stunning sunset vistas in America.
We paid for a guided tour by a Park Ranger in Arches National Park called the Fiery Furnace. The hike is considered one of the most extreme guided tours the park offers. Along with that came some great scenery, history, and science. We also made sure to ride out to Dead Horse Point to capture a sunset.
We spent some time in Moab on Main Street during the heat of the afternoon. Doing so gave us time to visit local shops, eat at the local restaurants, and see the museum. This gave us some downtime to relax while the heat was at its highest to keep us cool yet active.
Heading Home From Moab, UT
We left Moab, Utah to begin our journey home. This would take us through Grand Junction, Co to the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway which would take us to an elevation of over 11k feet above sea level. As we neared the highest elevations snow covered the ground and the temperature plunged. It was quite a day of riding! To think we left Moab with the temperature at over 100 degrees to ride into the mountains and have snow! We stopped in Cedar Edge, Co where we had reservations at a lodge for the night. This would be the last day of our trip where we were taking our time on back roads and spending extended time at various sites.
Some Of The Adventures On The Ride Home
There were still great roads along the way home. US-92 and US-50 took us through some fantastic mountain scenery, lakes, and winding roads. CO-114 followed a river through a valley with tall walls on both sides and then out to some incredible high plains views and cool air at higher elevations. We also stopped at the Great Continental Divide at over 10K feet above sea level on CO-114 to take pictures. We don't have a Continental Divide where we live.
During part of the ride, Margaret suffered from food poisoning from a place we ate at in Cedar Edge. We had to pull over at every roadside stopping area so she could empty out. Once while she was in the restroom I was wandering around looking at the scenery and saw a small paper bag on the ground. I figured I would be a good Samaritan and pick it up to throw it away to keep the place clean. To my amazement, the bag was filled with rolling papers and a green medicine bottle that contained half an ounce of prescription marijuana! Funny to think we were in Colorado where it's legal and just happen to find that. I'm sure whoever lost it wasn't happy about it though. I emptied the herb into some bushes and threw the rest of the stuff away.
Two Days To Get Home
It took 2 full days to get home from Cedar Edge Colorado. The first day was very cool for the entire day. The mountainous roads were cool and there was a good chance of rain for most of the day. We only got rained on once for about an hour so it turned out to be a nice day of riding. The second day however was grueling. As we came back into Texas the heat climbed back up. By the time we got home, we were exhausted.
How The New 2015 FLHXS Performed
This was the first trip on my new FLHXS and the bike did well. There were a few issues that can be expected since it only had 1100 miles on it when we left. Again I took tools as always and was able to repair everything along the way.
The trip button stopped working during our stay in Cortez, NM. I think it was due to dust getting into the control housing from the dirt road we had to ride on every day. Eventually, I think the dust blew out because it began working again on its own. The infotainment center blacked out completely one time. I didn't do anything to fix that. We stopped to eat, came out, and it came back up and has been working ever since. The forward shift linkage came loose and was almost spinning on the shift shaft. I found that in Moab when we were washing clothes and our bikes. I hit it with the pressure sprayer and it flopped around. At the same time, I found my rear brake pedal was loose on the shaft so I tightened both.
The last problem I had was the rubber mount for the exhaust under the saddlebag slid out. The exhaust began rattling in the bracket. The rubber fitting had been put in backward from the factory. I repaired that along the way and haven't had any problems with it since then. Not bad for a new bike on its first trip with such low mileage and hardly any real break-in or road time.
Thanks For The Inspiration
It was a great ride and it was sad for it to end. I want to give a huge Thank You to J-Man on YouTube. His video on Utah Rt 128 Scenic Byway (which we rode) inspired us to make this trip.
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