DAY 73

Torrey, UT to Capitol Reef National Park, UT

It's a very short day today, only 20km or so, all downhill, to Capitol Reef National Park, a place that isn't really mentioned much as far as Utah destinations go, so we A) don't know what we're in for and B) have little to no expectations. 

Well, it's incredible. 

The descent into the park is breathtakingly good, past the red and gray rocky backbone that forms the waterpocket fold of Capitol Reef. It almost looks excavated, at least hardly natural, how the earth and rock is mounded and crumbled at random. Towering sandstone cliffs, part and parcel of anywhere in Utah, rise roadside. 

We pitch a tent in a former Mormon settlement, Fruita, which is now part of the Park. Fruit trees and golden autumn colours line the Fremont River. It's as nice a campground as we've stayed. We spend the afternoon hiking through a rocky, sandy weathered gorge to a viewpoint over it all, and on the return leg stop at some Native American Petroglyphs of Bighorn Sheep and Demi-God creatures, dating from roughly the 1500's. We can't believe the comparative little-rap Capitol Reef gets, it's quiet and it's stunning.

Sidenote: Ada completes a child's activity book to earn her Junior Park Ranger Paleontologist Badge, which is fastened proudly to one of her front panniers for the world to see.  You have to complete as many activities in the book as how many years old you are.  There are a maximum of 12 activites.... but the badge rules!

DAY 72

Boulder to Torrey

Long steady climb to our second highest pass yet, 9,600ft through thick Aspen forest.  We reach our record speed on the descent, Lukes GPS clocking 66km p/h, although Ada was definitely going faster, but she is not allowed the control of the GPS....

We spend the night Warm Shower-ing with Lyman Kinney in Torrey, eating well and playing the board game Catan.

Sidenote Luke is a sore loser at Catan.

DAY 71

 though

Escalante to Boulder

Uphill, uphill, uphill... Downhill through red/white sandstone caverns and canyons.  We stopped at Calf Creek and had a healthy lunch for a change.  We'd given up on trying to be healthy as it is rather difficult if not impossible at times.  

With a 4,300ft climb looming on the morrow, and a town only 20km away, we decide to push to Boulder, uphill, uphill, some parts 14% uphill!  The scenery was just absurdly good, we are very spoilt.  And despite it being a very tough UPHILL ride, we both really enjoyed it in a sick sadistic way.

DAY 69

Rest Day - Bryce Canyon

The night is easily the coldest we've spent yet, well below the -5 benchmark we experienced in the Grand Canyon. It's still so cold by morning that our cooking-stove fuel won't light! Looks like it's uncooked pop-tarts for breakfast. Before long we begin our hike into and around Bryce Amphitheater, combining 3 trails into one day-long walk. It's such a pleasure, the erosion of rock by millions of years of rain and snow is incredible. We'll let the pictures do the talking.

Sidenote: We clocked 4,000 km's yesterday, a big milestone.

Sidenote: For those of you who have been initiated with the Martin family card game of switch, today Ada hit the holy grail: black two, black two, joker, joker, red two, out.

DAY 68

Hatch, UT to Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

Guess what!? Another flat tyre this morning, making for a rotten old start to the day. But we get over it very quickly. We're on highway 12, a stunner. There's a bike-path skirting the road and we ride through typical Utah red-rock country. We arrive at Bryce Canyon National Park late in the arvo, set up camp, and take a quick hike along the canyon rim at sunset and are blown away by the views! The Canyon forms an amphitheater of red and white and orange sand and rock spires, called hoodoos, rising like castle walls. This sneek peek makes the wait to explore it tomorrow unbearable! It's like Christmas.

DAY 67

Kanab, UT to Hatch, UT

Buffet breakfast again. No flat tyres for once. Fairly average day. Ada buys some crystals from a rock shop. In Hatch we stay up to 1am watching Family Feud and Jerry Springer's new show Baggage, our two favourite things on American TV. That's about it.

DAY 66

North Rim, Grand Canyon, Arizona to Kanab, Utah

It got super cold overnight, about -5, but our sleeping bags held up. We have to backtrack back to Kanab, which sucks, but it's all downhill and will only take one day this time, which is great. We average our fastest overall speed for the day, which at 23 km p/h (considering we're descending about 4500ft) shows what a snails pace it is riding fully loaded. Who cares though? Considering we've already ridden this road there isn't much to report, except for the gourmet hamburgers and locally renowned cookies we down at Jacobs Lake for lunch, and the 5th flat tyre we've had in 3 days, which although frustrating at least we've getting very good and quick at changing them. Back in Kanab we stay at Parry's Lodge, where John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Gregory Peck, and a bunch of other Western Hollywood stars have stayed while filming in this beautiful part of the country.