Well, we thought it would warm up. We took off in light gear but ended up bundling back into rain/windbreakers when we pulled over after 20 minutes and the thermometer in my pocket was still reading in the mid 50's. Kept good time the whole day. SR-143 had a sign at the beginning warning "THIS IS NOT US-89". That is an understatement. Long winters, logging trucks, snow plows and chains provided us a road that nearly oscillated us into submission. The scenes were worth the drive, but not a favorable 2UP motorcycle road by most measures. We lunched at Brian Head and could hardly fathom that this is the warmest time of the year. Burr. 

The ride through Zion (see video) was made for motorcycles and convertibles - the breathtaking scenes are almost all "up". After an hour of riding into the setting sun on the way out, we got a tad weary as we then had to zigzag through St. George to snag two of the last three rooms in town. I won't say who was having a convention there, but they used up a lot of accommodations.  300+ miles for the day.
Next: St. George to Palm Springs (Hoover Dam)

Tip 4: Lisa recommends books on CD for the passenger. They keep the mind exercised on those long stretches of western highways. Anti-shock CD players with an inline remote can be found for $15 (batteries last 15 hours or so). If you have the time before the trip, preload the book on an even tinier MP3 player.