Today was perfect weather for a most spectacular route - the Guoliang, Kun Shan and Xiyagou tunnel roads.
We retraced yesterday's route first. The village was having a celebration of some kind.
A videographer and photographer met us at the park entrance. I think we will soon be featured in an park video.
We rode the twisties...
..up to the top again. Note the "windows in the cliff walls - the road is in there.
Marilyn enjoyed the ride behind Mike. It's the second best thing, after doing it yourself.
A shallow river crossing...
Again, the views were spectacular along the Guoliang road.
Look at the smiles on those faces.
For the second time in two days we reached the bottom of the first tunnel road.
Our camera crew met us just before we took off for the next tunnel road, Kun Shan.
This road took us even higher into the cliffs.
How can riding get any better than this?
Up and up the road goes...
We ran into a little difficulty at this point. There wasn't enough room for David to make it past this van. He stopped and put his feet down. The road is very steep here. The motorcycle slid back almost 20 feet until we hit the right pannier on the wall and toppled over. No harm done. We got back up.
At the top, we waited at the entrance to the Xiyagou Road (road that leads to heaven), while John and Yingchu went into the nearby village to purchase entrance tickets.
This little boy at a nearby house was trying to "help" his grandfather with some yard work.
Our third tunnel road of the day was even more spectacular.
The morning break was at a visitor center near the top.
Two of our riders passing through the tunnels on the other side of the canyon.
The town of Qiaoshang, our lunch stop, has a beautiful waterfall and pagoda.
After lunch, we stopped to view the cliffs of Wangling Mountain. They range from 300 to 1700 meters in height. The farmers grow crops right up to the very edge of the cliffs.
Geoffrey noticed what looked to be stairs traveling down the side of a cliff.
We decided to check it out. Maybe we could climb down.
Another camera crew showed up and tagged along.
The stairs were locked, which is probably a good thing, considering their condition. There is a golden Buddha in the trees below.
Before exiting the park, we stopped to look at the memorial to the workers who created these roads for the local farmers to access the surrounding villages.
We still had plenty of twisties on the downhill.
This grandfather/granddaughter team did them with us (without safety gear?!)
At the bottom, we waited and watched the goats until everyone arrived.
The fun on the mountains was done, so we said farewell to the countryside...
...and hello to the city of Jiaozuo...
and its crazy traffic.
After dinner at the Days Hotel where we are staying for the night, we took a stroll around the block. We were mesmerized by diners sitting out on the sidewalk waiting for a conveyor system to bring them items for their hot pot meal. Cool!
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