SR-29

As I said in my last post, we were in EC at my parent's house for the weekend (Aug 1st) to play on Joe's Valley. They rented some wave runners for the day so I decided to ride up SR-29 which goes from SR-10 to just above the marina. I wanted to ride the whole length of the road so I headed N out of Caslte Dale to 29 and made a R towards 10. At the junction I snapped a photo of the "end" sign and turned around. This highway is lined with acres of farmland.


Before entering the town of Orangeville, you pass Emery Animal Health on the right. The only reason I mention this is because my Mom is the receptionist/office manager here. I stopped here to fill up on water, then said hi to my mom and my wife who were there to clean my dog's teeth.

After passing through Orangeville, you pass more farmland, cross SR-57, and get your first glimpses of Straight Canyon which climbs to the reservoir. Why they call it Straight Canyon, I will never know. It is not the least bit straight. The canyon itself is surprisingly flat. SR-57 sits at about 6000 feet. The reservoir is a little over 10 miles from 57 and sits at 7000 feet. It is lined on both sides with high, sheer cliffs of sandstone speckled with pine trees. Little Cottonwood Creek runs the length of the canyon and the water is the same beautiful turquoise color as the lake.

As you wind your way up, you pass an old coal car on the left that sits as a monumnet to early coal miners in Emery County. On the car is a plaque that talks about the Black Diamond and Oliphant mines which were in Straight Canyon.

The highway then continues on until you get to the first hill. If I had to guess, I would say this hill is a little over a mile and probably a 5% grade, so it is a good workout. Before ascending, however, you can just get a glimpse of the Joe's Valley Dam on the left in the distance.

At the top of the hill is the dam itself with a sign giving some interesting facts about the dam. Just past that, you get to see the reservoir itself for the first time.

The road goes on another four miles from here rising and falling only slightly as you pass the many small rivers and streams that feed Joe's Valley Reservoir until you reach the end of state maintenance. Straight ahead is a dirt road that climbs up and over the mountain into Ephraim, left takes you down the hill to the campground, marina and boat launch. Everything I read said this road is 21.7 miles. Riding the distance from Castle Dale to SR-10 and back made my ride 25.5 miles. I rode it in 1:41:45 at an average speed of 14.9 mph with a top speed (down the hill to the marina) of 37.2 mph.

I descended to the marina, changed into my board shorts, and ate a delicious burger and fries while I waited for my family to meet me. When they arrived, my dad filled out the paper work and I took K Jo off on one of the wave runners while Brett took the other to the only decent beach on Joe's Valley. For the rest of the day we motored on the wave runners, rode the tube of death, and just chatted and ate in the shade of the canopies. If you want to check out the pics, you can see them here. I didn't get the chance to descend the hill because it was too late, but it was nice to ride home with my arm around my pretty wife. All in all, a great day.

Chris