I awoke not feeling too well, maybe something I ate last night. I managed to choke down the top of a banana nut muffin and a cup of tea. My roomie, Josh had gotten up at the crack of dawn and hiked up to the top of the canyon ridge. He was sprinting down as we were all packing up for the journey to Cedar City. We were due at 1:00 pm for a BBQ fundraiser hosted by the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
After plowing through more wicked headwinds north on Hwy 89 we turned left on Scenic Route 14, I realized what a dope I was when I put on my mesh gloves by accident at our morning fuel stop. Everyone else was way past me, only the chase car and I stopped to put on the right gloves. Like it would really help. My frigid fingers were stiff.
The temperature dropped as we climbed into the snow covered mountains. My outside air temperature gauge flashed at 36 degrees, warning me of the potential for ice. Hugh drifts of snow dotted the side of the road as we neared 10,000 feet up.
I caught up with the group to ride into Cedar City. There were folks from the Utah Shakes in the street welcoming us to town. After several photographs, we all chowed down on BBQ. Understand, this part of the country BBQ is a verb, not a noun. I tried a slice of the pork shoulder, it tasted great, but after three bites, I came to the realization my tummy was not ready for food. I napped in the lobby of the theatre while everyone got the nickle tour.
A group of small children walking down the street all got kazoos from Moe. They were thrilled. Kazoos are the calling card for the Long Reach Long Riders. They always manage to put a smile on everyone's face.
More headwinds slowed my on I-15 heading north towards Bryce Canyon. What a contrast to the sheer rock cliffs from yesterday. The dark red, wind and water chiseled hoodoos arise from the canyon floor in majestic spires. An easy hike along the rim of the canyon offered several stunning photo ops.
Several deer munch on the side of the road as we leave the park heading towards Ruby's Inn: our destination for the night. It's now a Best Western Hotel, one stop shop, grocery, gas station, drug store, all you can eat buffet, gift shop, camping store, and general tourist destination, but it's still run by the same family that built the first lodge back in the early 1900's. Dinner, bland by choice, seemed to settle OK.
Todays pix:
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