We made it over the hills to Springdale Utah right at the entrance to Zion National Park. We spent three days there and finally got to ride up to the end of the canyon. It was about ten miles and 300 ft of elevation gain, so it really wasn’t a bad ride. The unusual part of the whole thing was that SW Utah had a 100 year storm the first two days we were there. It dumped something like five inches of rain in the area. This is a whole month’s worth of rain in two days. The local river, the North Fork of the Virgin River, overflowed its banks and came part way into the campground we were staying at. We were grumbling some as we toured the canyon the second day by shuttle bus. What we came to realize was that we were seeing dozens of water falls on every side; Water falls that had not appeared for eight years. It cleared up on Friday, and we rode up the canyon, but most of the waterfalls were gone again. What a privilege!
Saturday, October 24th, we pulled up stakes and headed for Grand Canyon Arizona. This is the second hole in the ground we came to visit. We grossly underestimated the time required to get there, and it was well after dark when we arrived. We did plan ahead, and made some reservations in Grand Canyon Village, on the South Rim. In spite of a lot of trepidation, we were able to drive straight to the camp ground, and the one site they held for us fit the rig perfectly. Sunday was a wonderful clear day. Somewhat cold, but sunny and nice. We pulled our tandem out of the trailer again and rode to Hermits Roost. This was another ten mile ride to the end of the road, and again we had about 300 ft of vertical gain to ride. The difference was the elevation. 7,000 feet. Both Judy and I were puffing like a couple steam locomotives getting up the first big hill. We were a little smarter on the return leg, and rode very slow up the hills. We also had time to take in two ranger led presentations, and learned about fossils and Phantom Ranch.
That brings us to Monday morning. We went to Flagstaff Arizona and tried to pick up our mail drop from my sister, Cher. Only half of it arrived, so we must go back tomorrow. Meanwhile we are near a place called Meteor Crater, Arizona. In the morning we will go stare at the third hole-in-the-ground. This one made by a meteor strike that hit the earth centuries ago. We plan to once again go by Tandem Bicycle. This time it is only five miles from where we are camped.. Riding should be easier since the terrain is flat and the elevation is only 5,400 feet above sea level.
Looks like we must head even further south. There is snow predicted for Flagstaff on Thursday. We plan on getting down out of these mountains very soon!
Judy and I send our love to all.
Bye Gary