27/12/2024
Final itinerary just gone up for the Cowboy Ride '25.
Some incredible riding instore, with a slight reworking of last year's route to take in Moab and the epic Route 12 through Utah...
Still a couple of places if you're keen.
www.dorothysspeedshop.com/thecowboyride
THE COWBOY RIDE ITINERARY 2025
DAY ONE - The start of the adventure!
After a night in Vegas we’ll head to the rental location on the south side of town. There you’ll meet your steeds, saddle up and together we’ll head east. We’ve an easy day in store, avoiding the interstate as we skirt around Lake Mead and onto to the towering Hoover Dam. We’ll stop at the old mining town of Chloride on route to Kingman and start of our journey along the longest uninterrupted stretch of Route 66 the next morning. We might do Oatman this evening, or first thing the next morning, depending on how we’re doing; Oatman being the old town in the hills where wild donkeys roam. Our Cowboy Ride has begun.
DAY TWO - The best of Route 66
Following breakfast at an iconic Route 66 diner we continue east to Peach Springs and Seligman. The romance of the old Mother Road calls loudly out here. You’ll be free to ride your own pace; no turns for 90 miles, with an abundance of places to stop for photos and souvenirs. Seligman was the inspiration for the Pixar movie Cars where we’ll aim for lunch. It’s a great old town, kept alive by a determined barber not willing the town die with the arrival of the interstate nearby. Williams follows, our place of rest for the night, a vibrant, lively Route 66 town with some great diners, bars and memorabilia. We’ll water the horses and prepare for Grand Canyon in the morning.
DAY THREE - Grand Canyon beckons
As we roam north to the edge of this gigantic rim, we’ll stop just south at the IMAX theatre to see what all the fuss is about. It tells a great historic story of the people who lived there, the battles that were fought for supremacy of it, and the aerial views that are taken of it today. Afterwards, take a real life helicopter flight if you want to (not included), or just head to the rim and spend some time just taking in the place. You can’t rush through somewhere as vast as this with no take it in. Ride the rim road, take lunch in the café on the edge. We’ll then head South East, via Flagstaff and on towards Meteor Crater and the town of Winslow. For those who know it, ‘such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford. Slowin' down to take a look at me.’ For those who don't know the relevance, the cafe on the corner is a great place to sit and people watch.
DAY FOUR - A night by Monument Valley. The best place on earth!
Having seen the crater and stood on the corner at Winslow, we’re going to curl to the north, riding the Apache lands of Arizona as we bear down on Utah and our final destination of Monument Valley. Here we'll find the mightiest of sights you ever did see, the towering Three Mittens of red flaming rock, made famous by the cowboys of the silver screen, being chased by the Navajo. We're staying at the wonderful Gouldings Lodge, just a couple of miles down the road, allowing us to take in sunrise and sunset, both as splendid as the other. We're in the thick of the adventure now.
DAY FIVE - The unsung greats; Moki Dugway, Mexican Hat, Gooseneck Canyon.... Forrest Gump road!
If you thought yesterday was good, then expect that to be surpassed with some of the finest riding and scenery you’ll see out here. Pause to see where Forrest Gump stopped running – reenact the scene if you like – then we’re off to Mexican Hat and Gooseneck Canyon, the latter a lesser known attraction around these parts but that’s no bad thing. The most amazing curves in the river, causing deep ravines to look down upon, with few other people there to spoil the tranquillity. Then it’s up the hairpin bends (only if you fancy it) of the Moki Dugway, a dirt road carved into the cliff that leads you all the way to the top of the red cliff wave, threatening to wash across the desert. No better view to be found but up here. Then down we go, east to Bluff and a fantastic Navajo Taco at a café beneath giant red rock formations, then onto Cortez and the aptly named Retro Inn for the evening, a blast from the past that will give you an idea what it was to roll through here in the glory days.
DAY SIX: The foot of the Colorado Rockies; Durango, a great town to roam
A shorter day today; straight through to Durango if you like; a cowboy town in the foot of the Rocky Mountains, which is a great place to roam around; shops, bars, civilisation. Meanwhile, if you have the stamina to climb, then on route to Durango let’s head for the dizzy heights of Mesa Verde National Park, where ancient Puebloans civilisations lived in cliff top cracks, building stone houses and keeping heads low from prowling enemy. You can scrabble the rocks and investigate the old ruins. Best of all, it’s a great road to the top, then back down as we all reconvene in Durango at the bar for a well earned root beer or two.
DAY SEVEN - The Million Dollar Highway and onto Moab, home of Canyonlands and Arches National Park
Depending on the weather we’ll either back track slightly or head up on over the magnificent Million Dollar Highway, so called for the cost it was to make it, or for the value of the views that you get up there. Two rivalling folklores, but the same incredible road that carries you up the shadow of the Rockies, past the old (but still thriving) mining communities of Silverton and Ouray. We then swerve west, over wild baron landscapes, probably where bison once roamed, until we eventually drop down into the valley of canyons and incredible rock arches, with two nights in the adventure capital of Moab. We've two nights here so go off and water Arches National Park and Canyonlands, or lay low and recoup after a week on the road.
DAY NINE - The best is yet to come; Route 12, a rollercoaster of a road leading to Bryce Canyon
The road climbs out to the Interstate briefly, then shoots back south like a waterpark slide, gushing us through the valleys along which the wild rivers flow. We’re aiming for Route 12, arguably the best of all roads in America. It’s little known, doesn’t feature on too many tourist maps, but it’s a Tarmac rollercoaster for the soul, with epic views of tough, grey stone, different to what we’ve seen so far. We end up in Escalante, a one-horse town with a single street running through it. For the wilderness out here it’s a great place to water the horses and ready yourselves for the last epic adventures of America on two wheels. Zion, Bryce, Kanab… it’s all still to come. A long way to the bright lights of Vegas and journey's end.
DAY TEN - If you loved the cowboy films then you'll love this place; Kanab, centre of wild west universe!
We’re not far to Bryce Canyon National Park this morning, home of towering rock spires to better any cathedral. Take your time to visit the many viewpoints or wander down into their shadows and climb down to feel them for yourself. It’s a great, magical place to be, with our destination of Kanab the setting for many western movie locations. It’s not a long day today, giving us time to unwind in the evening and enjoy the BBQ brisket in the diner down the road. It’s not a fancy place, tucked behind the back of a Navajo giftshop, but pile your plates up and stick your napkin in your shirt because you’re going to need it tonight.
DAY ELEVEN - One final big ride, or take it easy and make your passage to the promised land; Zion
Two choices on this one. Take the easy road to Zion, a heavenly National Park which you won’t believe is real. I won’t say too much about the road to get there, I’ll leave that as surprise, but once the darkness of the tunnel comes to an end, you will really think you’ve found paradise. Do some hiking there, take in the sights, because in the belly of the valley we’ll be staying the night in the town of Springdale. Alternatively, for the mad heads, we’ve got a 200 mile loop on offer if you fancy it, taking in some incredible open landscape riding, across mighty iron bridges, through serpentine pine forest flanked roads, visiting incredible inland lakes, and eventually back around to Zion for our last group meal of the journey. Hi ho silver, Las Vegas awaits.
DAY TWELVE - Homeward bound, or on to Death Valley...
Well, this is it; back down to Las Vegas for a lunchtime drop off of the bikes. It’s a couple of hours on the freeway, or if you’ve still got it in you, we can take one last epic ride, this time through the Valley of Fire National Park that blesses us with calmness and time to reflect on the miles we’ve covered, as Sin City slowly loom into view. We drop the bikes off, breathe a heavy exhale, or, for the masochists, we take in two more days of riding in the depths of Death Valley, and all that that entails. Great to ride with you all. Yahoo.
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