Thursday, July 2, 2009

Panguitch, UT



Today's weather was not expected but welcome for the 68 miles to Panguitch. It was cool, in the low 70's, overcast, and it even rained for a little while. There were two medium climbs to contend with. The first turned out to be a very pleasant, gradual up hill ride through green meadows and trees to the 7500' summit. But what a contrast on the other side as it was a steep descent into a rocky canyon. Bob swears that all the way across the country, with a few exceptions, the climbs are less steep west bound than east bound. Are there any geologists out there with a confirming theory to support the observation or is it just wishful thinking? (Jim B., Bob is glad you did not provide the elevation gain in Utah comment before he started across. Please hold off on Nevada until we get across! It's better not to know.) The purple flower picture is from Kodachrome Basin, south of Cannonville.



The second climb scaled the cliffs that form Bryce Canyon National Park. (There are lots more motel rooms available here, and better highways than in the mid-90's.) Bob was wearing his Danish Post jersey today, a gift from our Danish exchange student, Ditte. As Bob was stopped in a parking lot to take a picture in the park, a man came up and asked "do you have an inhaler"? Or at least that was what Bob thought he heard. In reality the man was from Denmark and was speaking Danish. He was on vacation with his family and recognized the jersey. On the descent from the Bryce summit there was a very pleasant five mile bike path through Red Canyon. It was nice to get away from the traffic for a little while.

Since we arrived relatively early in Panguitch we decided to make the hour drive via I-15 to Cedar City to visit a bike shop and take care of that troublesome bearing. It started to slip in low gear on the steeper climbs yesterday so it was time to fix it. The route tomorrow goes over a big climb to Cedar Breaks National Monument and down into Cedar City. We plan a rest day on July 4 in Cedar City since we are ahead of schedule. It will give us a chance to see how they celebrate the 4th in Utah. Sally is checking out the local newspaper calendar of events.

1 comment:

  1. We camped in Kodachrome Basin a few years ago and loved it. Hopefully the rubber rabbit bush in not yet in full allergenic bloom. We also enjoyed the bike trail through Red Canyon. You're beinging back fond memories....
    Jim and Ida

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