2003 Southwest COG Regional Rally Report

 

Blue Streak is resting comfortably in the garage after blessing me with 1,603 miles of smiles through the South West of this great land of ours.  We had perfect weather and the aspen trees picked last weekend to offer up their most brilliant and abundant colors. Against the backdrop of the red and orange rock of Southwestern Utah, this made for a memorable weekend of riding. I chose Panguitch, Utah as the home base for the rally based on its proximity to some of the best color country and parks in this part of
the country.  Within easy riding distance were Bryce Canyon NP, Zion NP, Cedar Breaks NM and Brian Head.  A little more riding took some of the attendees to Capitol Reef NP and the North Rim of Grand Canyon.

Fifty other COGers from,  as far away as Vancouver, Idaho, and Wyoming agreed that this was a good place to have a rally, and joined me for a memorable weekend.  Our rally motel was the Marianna Inn, and we couldn't have asked for a better experience.  Our hostess, Tarla, went way beyond my expectations and made everyone feel welcome and cared for.  From the little squares of plywood provided in each parking space to the stack of wood for the outdoor fireplace, every detail of our stay was planned for and accommodated.  Tarla also provided us with transportation when we needed a car to go to the grocery store and added lights to the large patio where we served up a delicious BBQ dinner from the Cowboy Smokehouse Cafe down the road. As I watched road-weary riders soaking in the hot tub while we swapped lies around a blazing fire, I knew that this is one place I would be returning to.  If you are ever in the Panguitch area and need a motel room, I highly recommend that you rest your bones at the Marianna Inn.
http://www.mariannainn.com/

On Saturday morning, we split up into small groups and had a very scenic and enjoyable ride of 250 miles through Escalante Grand Staircase NM, Dixie National Forest, and Torrey, Utah.  The first half of this ride featured some very nice twisties through some "Road Runner" cartoon scenery, and up through the blazing colors of aspen
trees in the hills of the Dixie National Forest.  It was hard to keep our eyes on the road with all the scenery to take in, but the road demands respect and the open range cattle can make things interesting.  The state of Utah must have known we were coming, as the roads were in beautiful shape with nice new asphalt almost everywhere.  I suspect that some "chicken strips" were worn off on.  After a nice lunch in Torrey, the second half of the ride was through mostly open country, swooping up and down through the low hills west  little more interesting and the addition of a herd of sheep made for some good brake testing.

Back at the motel, we rested up and had a very nice evening of BBQ and door prizes.  I would like to thank the contributors of our giveaways.  Kim Leong of California Sport Touring furnished some really nice items, and I would like to thank AAD Chad Olson for bringing these goodies with him.  Thanks Kim and Chad , http://www.casporttouring.com/  Thanks also to Murph  of  Murph's  Kits,  for sending along some really useful hardware and a gift certificate for his on-line store.  http://www.murphskits.com/ ,  Thanks also to David King, of King Airelines for his generous donation of two scenic flights over Grand Canyon.  A couple of lucky COGers will be flying high!  http://www.kingairelines.com/,   Thanks also to Jonathan Jensen for taking care of the dinner arrangements and to Harry Martin for the design and production of our
T-shirts, truly works of original art!

I chose the long and lonely route home, along with Harry Martin, taking Hwy 56 west from Cedar City, which eventually turns into the Extraterrestrial Highway.  For the first time, I got to find out just
how fast a Concours will go.  Nope, I'm not saying.  This is a whole other story, to be told later! Well folks, if you missed this one you missed a great weekend.  I have plans for next year's rally which you won't want to miss. Thanks for coming folks, see you next year!

 

SW-COG AD:  Kerry Perkins


Photo Link SW-COG Regional Rally 2003