Day 15: Riding in Butch Cassidy’s Shadow
Day 15 of the 1933 Harley-Davidson VL cross-country ride carried us west from Moab across Utah, through I-70 scenery, fuel-range planning, rain, and an evening at Butch Cassidy Campground.
Day 15 Ride Stats
- Date: October 3, 2015
- Start: KOA campground outside Moab, Utah
- Finish: Butch Cassidy Campground near Salina, Utah
- Distance: about 160 miles
- Route: Moab west along I-70 across the Green River to Salina stretch and on to Butch Cassidy Campground
- Motorcycles: 1933 Harley-Davidson VL and 1934 Harley-Davidson VLD
- Gas added: 4.283 gallons total
- Oil added: 0.25 quart total
- Roadside issues: none noted; waited out heavy rain by the highway and carried extra fuel for the Green River to Salina stretch
Day 15 Ride Journal
When you’re riding in Utah, it seems like every mile is filled with spectacular scenery. The shot above was taken alongside I-70 as we made our way west from Moab. I think I could have spent the entire trip in Utah, stopping at every overlook as I crisscrossed between national parks. There was so much to see, and I feel like we only just scratched the surface as we shot across the state at 50 mph.
As usual, our plan for the day was ride, get gas, eat lunch, ride, get gas, ride, get gas, eat dinner, camp. There was the slight possibility that we would have to change the plan if one of us ran out of gas on the 110-mile stretch between Green River and Salina, but with an extra gas can, we would only have to add “pull over, get gas” to the overall plan.
As it turns out, gas wasn’t the issue, it was the weather. As we neared the mountains of the Manti-La Sal National Forest, the sky grew dark and heavy rain was clearly on the horizon. We pulled off in a gravel lot by the highway and decided to try waiting out the storm.
Half an hour later we were back on the road, and although things were pretty wet, we had avoided the main body of the storm. The spray from the road soaked through the knees of my pants, but I was mostly dry when we pulled into the Butch Cassidy Campground.
I don’t think Butch ever actually camped at this exact location, but his hideout was in this general area, so chances are he probably rode across this patch of ground once or twice. Besides the usual amenities, this campground also had a small aviary. Chickens, doves, pigeons, turkeys, pheasants, an old peacock, and a variety of colorful birds that were clearly from overseas all bustled around for the enjoyment of the campers.
The real highlight of the campground was the lush grass field set aside for the tents. After the grit and grime of the last few days, it was wonderful to be on a nice green lawn again.
Around 7:00 we got a visit from our good friend Trip and his family, who drove all the way from Salt Lake City to see us. Although the four of them opted not to share my tent for the night, we still had a great time eating at the local Mexican restaurant and catching up. Amazingly, none of us have aged a bit since we attended high school together back in the early ’90s.
160 miles in the books.
