road designation changes to RT 222, and you will be heading southeast through heavily forested terrain, which is a fun ride. From Brighton, it is a twisty 12.8 miles over Guardsman Pass to Midway. You will be headed south as you come
into Midway, and you will intersect Main Street which runs east-west. Midway attained some fame during the 2002 Winter Olympics when it was the home of the cross-country and biathlon events at Solder Hollow just outside the city limits. The town of Midway was founded in 1864 as a mid-way point between neighboring towns in this agricultural area. Today, Midway is becoming a high-end residential area and prices for homes and at shops in town reflect that. You will find a number of good restaurants as you ride east along Main Street. For affordable food and refreshment, try the Fill’er Up Coffee Station or the Café Galleria on Main St. Continuing east on Main Street will bring you into Heber City. If hungry, Heber City is minutes away, and Sundance offers some good, though rather pricy vittles. Heber City was settled in the late 1850s as
pioneer settlers found the surrounding val- ley a great place to farm and raise cattle and sheep. Like Midway, this once quite com- munity has become a residential area for more expensive homes, and the north- south Main Street, a.k.a. US 40, continues to add stores, shops and restaurants. If hun- gry when in Heber City, try Chick’s Café between First and Second South on Main; Chick’s is one of the oldest continuous
operating cafes in Utah; famous for break- fast (yes, served all day). The Spin Café at 220 North Main has good sandwiches and a dozen flavors of gelato. There are a number of other good food emporiums, all on Main Street. For a cool ice cream treat, stop by Granny’s at 500 South Main. Heber City is home of the Heber Valley Historic Railroad, known locally as
with the top of the lift at 8,250. You can ride the lift in the summer and walk down. When you leave Sundance, continue on
the
Heber Creeper. This narrow-gauge railroad is from the mining days when ore was car- ried from the mines, and today it is a scenic and fun ride through Provo Canyon. The RR depot is at 400 South and 600 West, some six blocks west of Main Street. Even if you don’t take a ride, visiting this historic railroad yard is worth the time. Leaving Heber City, ride south on Main
Street, US 40, and when the road forks at a traffic light at the south end of town, turn right onto US 189, Provo Canyon Road. You will ride past scenic Dear Creek Reservoir as you head down the canyon. In 14.5 miles down the canyon from Heber City, you will turn right toward Sundance, a property made famous by its owner Robert Redford. This ski resort is just two miles up the Alpine Loop canyon road and is well worth a stop to walk through. The resort is home to a good sandwich shop, a decent bar, a very good restaurant, an outdoor amphi- theater for evening concerts, nifty shops, and great hiking; of course, the winter ski- ing is good, too. The walk around the small resort takes 15 minutes and is a good excuse to get off the motorcycle and smell the fresh alpine air. Base elevation is 6,100 feet
the Alpine Loop canyon road. This is a nar- row, twisty blacktop road with many blind corners. There is no center line on the pavement over the mountain top, so watch for oncoming cars that think this is a one- lane road. The views from the Alpine Loop are magnificent, going from mountain vis- tas to dense forests of aspen trees. There are only a few turn-outs for viewing; so ride slow to see as much as you can and watch the road markers, as there are a couple of side canyon roads, and you want to stay on the primary Alpine Loop, RT 92. You will be over the mountain side and headed down American Fork Canyon in about 27 miles. As you get near the mouth of American
Fork Canyon, you will come to Timpano- gos Cave National Monument on your left. You might want to stop here and check out the cave information at the visitor center. If you have time, consider taking the cave tour. The hike to the cave is 1.5 miles and has an elevation change of 1,092 feet. There are three interconnected caves, and the entire tour, including the trail hike up and down, takes a few hours. Timpanogos Cave provides some of the best spelunking in the country. When you leave Timpanogos, continue west down American Fork Can- yon, staying on RT 92. This will intersect with I-15 in 11 miles. Head north on I-15 to get back to Salt Lake City.
February 2017 BMW OWNERS NEWS
83
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100
