goXplor Motorcycle Touring

Gateway Canyons -- The Experience

In far western Colorado, near the Utah border, there is a place where the planet opens up to tell an ancient story. At the confluence of the Dolores River and West Creek lies a remote adventure resort in the very heart of the American west. This is Gateway Canyons.

At Gateway Canyons Resort the experience is everything. They introduce guests from around the world to a place of adventure, discovery and solitude. This is a place to explore under brilliant blue skies, to discover treasures left in the red canyon walls carved by ancient rivers and winds and to breathe the air so fresh it renews the body, mind and spirit.

Gateway, Colorado, is located south of Grand Junction, Colorado, where the West Creek flows into the Dolores River. Surrounded by the Uncompahgre Plateau, Piñon Mesa and La Sal Mountains, this quaint, tight-knit community is embraced by tall canyon walls and cottonwoods and a vivid blue sky.

The first known homesteaders came to Gateway in 1884 in search of their fortunes. Fur trappers, miners, and ranch families all tried their luck in this rugged southwestern landscape. In 1903, homesteading families built a small, dirt-floored cabin to be used as a schoolhouse. The next year, the post office was established and the name “Gateway” was chosen for the small settlement.

Don't Overplan Your Travels

"Ordinary travelers through life try to control everything, in order to protect their delusions from the nasty shocks of reality. What they get is uptight and paranoid; the music is stilled. By preplanning every aspect of their trip, whether vacation trip or life trip, they think they can circumvent the unimaginable flow of natural process (also known as Fate or the will of God). What they manipulate are puny imitations of reality, scraped bare of energy. Vagabonds know better, and book the details of their trip with an agent called Chance. Giving up control of your life frees you from the illusion that you can control it, and this freedom in turn connects you into its awesome energy and unlimited potential."
--Ed Buryn, Vagabonding in the USA (1980)

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Peering carefully over the edge of a steep desert canyon, you see them: buildings as high as many in use today, clinging to or chiseled out of the rock walls below. At first you see only broken lines of stone, circular amphitheater-like enclosures and wide passageways — then, in an instant, all before you transforms. Suddenly there are people, brightly clad, busy and contented, bustling along within what are clearly streets, homes, and gathering places. These canyons are not just precipitous faces of sandy rock; they are a portal to human history.

Around 14 centuries ago, the nomadic Anasazi people chose to settle down and build permanent homes near their planted crops. As the tribe prospered, members migrated outward to build "cliff dwellings" in a variety of locations — Mesa Verde chief among them. From this network of cities, Anasazi culture flourished for hundreds of years. Then, approximately 400 to 500 years ago, the Anasazi vanished suddenly and mysteriously.

Today, Mesa Verde is one of the premier archaeological preserves in the U.S. park system and a walk-in time machine. Strolling among these once-thriving settlements will transport you to another world.

Destinations: License to Chill

By Grant Davis

THE BITTER END, ON THE REMOTE NORTHEASTERN TIP of Virgin Gorda, is a sprawling community of people with one thing on their minds: boating. (Other times motorcycles...) In addition to the club's 78 rooms, freshwater swimming pool, and teakwood Clubhouse restaurant, there's a marina with charter-boat service, a dive shop, a market, a pub, and 70 boat moorings. All the action takes place offshore, specifically in the protected waters of three-square-mile North Sound, with the club's flotilla of 100-plus vessels, ranging from sea kayaks and windsurfers to Hobie Cats and 30-foot oceangoing yachts. This is no mellow-rum-drinks-on-your-private-beach kind of resort: It's a playground for Type A's in topsiders.

Early Summer In Escalante

A small group from BMW Riders Club of Denver set out on a quick, but satisfying jaunt through Southern Utah to join the European tourists visiting Bryce Canyon. Don't miss this route at some point this year.

Traverse Colorado as you wish from Denver to Green River Utah on the first leg of a 4-day, 1,200 mile circuit. Green River is an easy departure point for points south with your pick of hotel rooms and decent restaurants before the twisties take you toward Bryce Canyon National Park.

Road adventures are the best, and dual sport is limitless...so give yourself 4 days at least, or take off the rest of the year...

Grand Teton National Park

An amazing place everyone should experience.

Located in northwestern Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park protects stunning mountain scenery and a diverse array of wildlife. The central feature of the park is the Teton Range — an active, fault-block, 40-mile-long mountain front. The range includes eight peaks over 12,000 feet (3,658 m), including the Grand Teton at 13,770 feet (4,198 m). Seven morainal lakes run along the base of the range, and more than 100 alpine lakes can be found in the backcountry.

Elk, moose, pronghorn, mule deer, and bison are commonly seen in the park. Black bears are common in forested areas, while grizzlies are occasionally observed in the northern part of the park. More than 300 species of birds can be observed, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons.

Scenic Drives

Many turnouts along park roads offer exhibits on park geology, wildlife, and plants. Turnouts also provide safe places to enjoy scenic views and take photographs. Do not stop in the middle of the road to view wildlife.

The Teton Park Road follows the base of the Teton Range from Moose to Jackson Lake Junction.

The Jenny Lake Scenic Drive skirts Jenny Lake and provides spectacular views of the peaks; the scenic drive is one-way and begins just south of String Lake.

The Signal Mountain Summit Road climbs 800 feet (242 meters) to panoramic views of the Teton Range, Jackson Hole valley, and Jackson Lake