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Day 2 in Zion National Park dawned bright and clear. And chilly. Our "kickstands up" time was set for 11 am so most of the riders took advantage of the late departure and went hiking. As I couldn't go I'll have to rely on the others for photos. Watching the sunrise work it's way down the west wall of the canyon was fascinating. The scale at Zion is a bit overpowering. No matter where you go you are surrounded by 1,00 - 1,500 cliff faces. The Virgin River is the culprit here. It's been cutting through these walls for millions of years. It's really an awesome sight.
As we were suiting up and getting ready to leave, I discovered a disturbing situation. Yesterday, while at the Harley Shop in Mesquite, Moe had picked up a small stuffed duck. Why, I don't know. But he had this duck. He put it on the back of my bike as my new mascot. (I'd left Harley Bear back home in Philly). I didn't mind so I let the duck ride. This morning I discovered the duck gone and a ransom note in my handlebar pack. Some no-good-nick has kidnapped my duck and they're looking for money for his safe return. They should know that I do not bargain with terrorists or ducknappers. I vowed to find these nefarious bum(s) and get my duck back without lowering my bank account balance. I'll keep you appraised.
So, we left Zion and went on our way to Cedar City. The roads between the two are truly beautiful and a motorcyclists dream. The road up out of Zion is not for the fainthearted. Lots of switchbacks and not much railing. It's a long way down but you try not to think about that as you scrape your peg on yet another sharp turn. Then it's through the Zion tunnel (no lighting inside. It feels a little like Roaring Thunder, the roller coaster at Disney. We stopped at Checkerboard Mesa for a photo op. A nice couple from North Carolina (not all that far from Greg & Alice) copped some t-shirts for taking lots of pictures of us (with our cameras). Once we finally cleared the Zion area we made a beeline for Cedar City where the Utah Shakespeare Festival was going to serve lunch for us. But between us and Cedar City was Cedar Mountain.
It was chilly when we started out this morning so pretty much everyone was in their leathers. Chaps and all. As we started the climb up to the summit of Cedar Mountain we started to see snow on the ground. Brenda remarked on how nice it was to see some snow. She thought it pretty and she was right. But then we started to see more snow. And more. Finally, the snow covered the ground everywhere but on the road. An it was cold. 34 degrees F. We had over 30 miles of high elevation riding to do and we were freezing. I hadn't put on my full gloves but instead had my finglerless riding gloves. Halfway through the trip I had to stop and change them. As we're motoring along you could see riders placing their hands on engine covers and exhaust pipes trying to keep warm.
But make it through the pass we did and down into Cedar City. The Utah Shakespeare Festival had a party waiting for us. There was food and a tent and lots of people. They even had a tent! In addition to feeding us (the food was great... especially the deserts) they also raised over $1,900.00 to donate to the cause. We met lots of wonderful people and even got a tour of the theatres. Their outdoor venue is is patterned after drawings and research of sixteenth century Tudor stages.(except for the golf cart) It looks like a great place to work.
The LRLR would like to thank Richard Girtain for coordinating the event, Rachel Mann for getting the donations and raffle together, Lew Haslem, Phil Haslem and Michael Kartchner for the food and Amanada Carraway (PR) and Scott Phillips (Executive Director). We also want to thank Bill Byrnes, a Director of the ESTA Foundation and Dean of the College of Performing & Visual Arts, Southern Utah University for his help. Not only do we greatly appreciate the donation but also the time and energy that went to showing us a great time. You guys are the best.
But, like all good things, it had to come to an end and we were back on the road again. But not before Ritch thought he lost his keys and we had to break into his bike case looking for them. He found his keys in his pocket, of course. This is also when I received the second ransom note.
Our next stop was Bryce Canyon. This place is special for me. I've been there a number of times and every time is better than the last. It's hard to describe this place except to say the scenic artist and the foam guys did a great job. The photos will have to speak for themselves.
Dinner was the usual raucous event full of kazoo distribution and t-shirt give-aways. Tomorrow it's breakfast at the lodge on the rim of the Canyon and then off to Moab. If you're following us on a map , here's a route since we left Las Vegas:
NV route 159 south out of Blue Diamond. Then it was NV 160 East to US 215 north. That put us on I-15 north up into Utah where we picked up Ut route 9 east. We got on US 89 north in Mt. Carmel and rode it up to Long Valley Junction where we turned west onto Utah Rt 14. That took us up and over Cedar Mountain (through the snow) and into Cedar City.
When we left Cedar City it was back onto I-15 for about 25 miles, then east on Utah Rt 20 to US 89 south down through Panguitch. From there Rte 12 took us over to Bryce Canyon and Ruby's Inn, our home for tonight.
Tomorrow... Moab and Arches National Park.
Have a great night.
Bill