Mt. Carmel Junction, UT
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| I can't believe they got all of that on/in there! |
So far, so good.
After getting our bikes and loading the trailer in St. George Ut, we
headed off to Zion National Park.
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| Angles Rest |
I've been there twice before, and it always feels like an awesome first time. We had the choice of hiking the “Narrows,” which is basically wading upstream in a narrow canyon. Or, we could hike five miles to way above the canyon floor to Angels Rest in the 95+ heat, which is what I chose. Beautiful views and well worth it.
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| Zion Valley from Angels Rest trail |
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| Fron the Angels Rest Viewpoint |
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| At last we get started! What a great way to start. |
We finally departed the visitors’ center and drove up the steep road through the mile-long tunnel, which prohibits bicycles. After the tunnel and at the start of another one, we finally got to saddle up and ride at the 5,300foot elevation around 3:45 when it was about 90 degrees. Zion is so beautiful, so spectacular! At 6-32 mph, with 180 degree vision and unlimited sky above, you can really see a lot, and it’s easy to pull over and stop for photos. I still didn't stop and take as many as I would have liked. We rode only 16 miles (mostly uphill), but that was enough.
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| Along the road to Mt. Carmel Junction |
A swim and dinner at the Best Western. It's a really cohesive group of 15 so far. My dinner companion was a former Shakespearean professional actor. He does computer support for HBO in New York City for his day job but his avocation is teaching and directing fight scenes for theater actors. Our guide is French, who has lived in the States for 20 years. He also guides bike trips in France off-season, and used to have his own French restaurant in France.
Tomorrow, we ride 55 miles uphill to Bryce
Canyon NP. I can hardly wait! So far, so good!
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