Days 9 - 14 Bryce Canyon to Home (Final Post)

I arrived home on Saturday evening, and now I'm trying to catch up and finish this journal of my adventure. These photos of Bryce Canyon were taken the evening of June 17th and the morning of the 18th. On the 17th, I could only take photos from viewpoints where I could leave my bike running and keep it in sight while I enjoyed the view, since I was trying to charge the battery back up after my little issue at the lodge. The light was fading, but it was pretty with the sun and shadows playing on the rocks.

In Bryce Canyon you can't really see the sights from the road, due to a ridge between the road and the edge of the canyon. The road through Bryce is only 18 miles long, and there is limited parking at the viewpoints, so many visitors take advantage of the shuttle buses that run all day and drop folks off and pick them up at each viewpoint. If I had more time, I probably would have opted for that instead of riding and parking at each place I wanted to see.

I know it must seem that I'm posting every single photo I've taken, but believe me, this might be 25%, if that. The beauty is breathtaking, and I just can't get enough of it. I'm going to be buying some new digital frames for my house so I can look at these for years to come, along with photos from the other trips I've taken over the years.

I hope you enjoy looking at this landscape as much as I did riding through and around it. After Bryce, I rode Utah Highway 12 from Bryce to Torrey, then on to Hanksville on Highway 24 and out to I-70. At that point I was riding to Silt, Colorado to visit my friends Yvette and Joe Blanc, whom I met several years ago with this VROC group I belong to. I've made so many friends within this group over the last 20 years. I was kind of late getting to their house because I spent longer than I had planned at Bryce, then it took a lot longer than I thought to ride from there to Silt due to the great curvy roads and beautiful views I just couldn't get enough of. What beautiful country. I think Utah must be the most awesome state in the Union.

Joe and Yvette prepared a wonderful meal of Navajo tacos, complete with homemade green chile and the "tortillas" that are a family recipe of Joe's grandmother's. They're actually a fried bread, light and airy, and delicious!

Enjoy!

I'm not sure when the fire occurred that created this landscape,
but it sure was a contrast to the views that were across the road.

Bryce Canyon's "Natural Bridge"

60 million years ago, Bryce Canyon was a lake. Mother Nature is amazing.

Next time I come here I'll be sure to be wearing walking shoes. The trails are awesome.

It's so interesting to see how the erosion has washed the soil from around the tree roots.

I wonder how long it took to wash away this much soil from under this tree,
and how much longer it will be able to stand on its roots.

This woman was enjoying a quiet spot out on a point. Well, quiet until I walked out there :)
She's from Virginia, and her son and his wife live in Athens, Georgia and graduated from UGA. Small world.

I wasn't about to get too near the edge. I'd fall just because I could.

They say that eventually the hoodoos will collapse.
I'm glad I won't be around to see that happen.

A quick trip into the Visitor's Center (wow, that was a zoo!), and then I was off to ride to Torrey on Highway 12, then on to Silt via Highway 24 and I-70. It was a long ride through there, and I sure was glad to see the gas station at Hanksville! I was in the same situation in this same town back in 2015 when I met my friends Sue and JJ at Lake Powell. That time I came in from the other direction, and I wasn't sure I was going to make it that time either. I'm so glad for my bike's large gas tank!

These next photos are from Highway 12 between Bryce and Torrey. I'm so glad Sue and JJ told me about this road, I may have taken the interstate highway for time's sake if they hadn't. I would have hated to miss this!

More giggles? Looks promising!

See that road? That's where I'm headed :-)

Gotta love those switchbacks!

I love the colors in the landscape.

I hope that's not a big hole over that hill!

You can see forever from up here.

I thought I was done with the rocky landscape when I started through this area.

I love Aspen trees. I miss those from my time living in Colorado.

Back to the rocky landscape :-)

At this point I had burned through 3 camera batteries and filled the SD card, so I didn't get any more shots on my way to Silt. My hotel rooms every night of this trip were like a giant charging station. I had camera batteries, cell phone, hot spot, everything charging in every outlet most nights.

After a great, but much too short, visit with Joe and Yvette in Silt (which is between Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs off of I-70 on the western slope of the Continental Divide), I made my way out of the mountains and down to Denver, then to Henderson, Colorado, where I spent 3 delightful days with my friend Sue Cahlander (for 35+ years), and her husband JJ and daughter McKenna. I've probably only seen Sue maybe a half dozen times in the past 30 years since I moved to Atlanta, but we always seem to just pick up where we left off. A true friend for life.

These photos are the Rocky mountains viewed from I-70 through several ski areas including Arrowhead, Beaver Creek, Vail and Breckenridge. It's always sad to get to this part of my return from the west, because I know that when I get down to Denver, the land will be flat, the air will be warmer, and it's gonna be a long ride home.

My beloved Rockies :-) I do miss Colorado, even after 30 years away.

Through Glenwood Canyon. 

I love this elevated section - pretty neat engineering that fits in well with the surroundings.

Every time I go through Vail and other ski areas, I think they've just got to stop
building some day, before they totally destroy the beauty of the valley. Enough already!!

I do love the blue sky and puffy clouds, and the low humidity of the west.
It gets HOT in the summer, but ducking under the shade of a tree will definitely
give you a bit of relief. In the south, it just blocks the breeze and makes you hotter.

For the life of me I can't remember the name of this lake... One of my Colorado friends will enlighten me.

The west just looks so big!!

The Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel through the Divide. The eastbound side is Johnson, built in 1979. 

And on the other side there's a little gray in those puffy clouds.

And then there's some liquid sunshine about a mile after this shot. This is where the camera got
stashed inside the jacket, and I got busy dealing with Denver traffic in the rain.

What's with rain in big cities? I hit it at Monteagle, north of Chattanooga, on Day 1 (okay, not a big city, but mountain riding with traffic); then not again until coming out of the mountains into Denver; then St. Louis on Friday evening at the end of a long day (sure glad it wasn't a weekday rush hour!), then north of Chattanooga again on my last day, Saturday. Why doesn't it rain (gently) when you're out there in the middle of nowhere with no traffic?

I arrived at Sue and JJ's house mid-day on Tuesday, while the family was at the hospital for McKenna's outpatient surgery for new tubes in her ear. I had the opportunity to unload the bike, shower, do some laundry and edit some photos before they arrived. It was so good to see them! The last time was 2015 at Lake Powell.

I'm really lousy at getting people pictures. I get busy visiting and totally forget about the camera! Or I've already worn out the battery and have to charge one, then forget about it. I did get a couple while I was there, but of course not of the three of them together.

McKenna chillin' on the deck after surgery. Love this girl!

Miss Belle. What a sweetheart. She falls down in front of you for a belly rub several times a day.

Sue and I went to the Denver Botanical Gardens for a little while on Wednesday.
The Chihuly sculpture behind us makes us look like a pineapple :) What a perfect
afternoon! Cool and breezy, blue skies, and mid-70's. So much beauty in there!

On Thursday afternoon we did some errands, then enjoyed the beautiful
afternoon on the deck. We had a couple of crafts projects going.
This is my attempt at painting a pet rock. Abby, I told you
I couldn't draw a stick man... or a ladybug. 

I'm not sure why I never got a photo of JJ, grillmaster extraordinaire. My friends sure do know how to cook! Wednesday night was steaks with sauteed mushrooms and asparagus; and Thursday JJ brined, smoked and grilled a pork loin sirloin. Holy smokes! That was the most tender pork I've ever eaten, and the salsa Sue made to go on top of that was awesome. She also made some wonderful pan roasted brussel sprouts. I added a new vegetable to my list of likes. I hated those things as a kid.

On Friday morning, I was up and out early (about 6:15 a.m. I think), after being fed and coffee'd by my gracious hosts. I knew I had almost 1,500 miles to go, and wanted to front load that as much as possible. I altered my return route to take the fastest interstate trip possible. As tired of I-70 and riding through St. Louis as I am, it really is the most direct route. It was worth it to be able to stay and visit with my friends until Friday morning.

I made 900 miles on Friday, in about 14 hours, stopping just east of St. Louis for the night. The rain going into St. Louis wasn't fun, but at least it was after the major rush hour. That left less than 600 for Saturday, which was what I was after. The usual 10 hour drive from there was stretched to about 11, given the rain north of Chattanooga that slowed things down considerably. There was a lot of traffic for a Saturday.

Once into Georgia, it was pretty clear sailing. I decided to stay on interstate and go around I-75 south to I-285 east to I-85 north. Not fun, but it was probably an hour shorter than if I had ridden across the state highways north of town, and I didn't want to do stop and go riding on two lane roads when I was tired and the weather was iffy. I arrived home at about 6 p.m. on Saturday, and shared a bottle of wine with my neighbors Barb and John. 

5,775 miles in 11 riding days; one broken mirror and housing as a result of dropping the bike (better that than the alternative potential crash); one visit from the wrecker to jump start the bike; and an otherwise wonderful trip. I can't wait to retire and be able to do this at the pace of 400 or so miles at a time, and more sightseeing along the way. 

It's good to be home.  I picked up Lily on Sunday, and got the unpacking and laundry done. The first work day today was very busy, so it's back to reality. Until the next time, I hope you've enjoyed the pictures. Sorry it took so long to get this wrapped up.

Happy travels and adventures!

Cheryl, a.k.a. Wild Rose  :-)