To: WL From: "Kathy E. Gill" Subject: Day Four - Making Tracks - part 2 Cc: Bcc: PE X-Attachments: Out of Caliente and on to Utah. I miss the "you are entering Utah" sign, if there was one. I notice that my road number is no longer 319, but is 56, and have a momentary disorientation/panic. Then I remember the road number changes at the border. Utah, if possible, is even MORE windy than Nevada. My max speed has dropped from indicated 118 to 100-105. The terrain reminds me more of eastern WA/eastern Oregon. I think because there are more hills and more brush - less "vista". I'm impatiently waiting for the dirt to start having color other than grey-white. ;-) In Cedar City I do the WallMart stop and get a telephone line splitter (which doesn't work at my fancy-dancy Best Western - but did at my simple motel last night. sigh.) Stock up on Balance Bars. One of the surprises of the day for me is that I'm not hot. I still have on my polar fleece leggings, a tank top and the electric vest (not plugged in), and the Held gloves. Have no incentive (except when I'm running around mid-day shopping) to divest myself of any gear. Where is the "hot" that folks warned me about? I've bagged the idea of Zion because I don't want to deal with chip seal -- reportedly 25 miles of it. (and a lady at the laundry tonight said she thought it was less stable than chip seal.)there was a bit on the straight shot over (can't remember if NV or UT side). It wasn't too bad on a straight - but on switchbacks? Bleh. Besides, it's 90 miles in the wrong direction, once I get to Bryce. So it's SR14 to 89 to 12. My first surprise is that the roads aren't twisty - they're, umm, meandering. Gentle turns. Why does the sign at the mouth of the road say "semi's go back"? I make one stop on 14 - to see Navaho Lake. Then N on 89 .. and NOW I see the "orange/red" hills. Deep breath ... wow. I think about taking a photo - think about the cameras that I have with me - and shake my head. Nothing I have can do this justice. I also find it mildly amusing that I'm spending my afternoon in Dixie National Forest. ;-) I decide to stay in a motel again tonight. I need to do laundry - I need to work (that's WHY i have the laptop) - a hot tub would be nice. I opt for $$$ stay at the Best Western at the Gate of Bryce. A surprise greets me when I look at myself in a mirror. I'm sunburned across my nose and cheeks! I slathered on SPF30 this morning (no I didn't add more during the day, my dermatologist said it's not additive, but tomorrow I'll ignore her and do so) and used the tinted shield (thanks, JoeLF, for the inspiration). Probably a good idea that I wore prescription polarized sunglasses today - as my eyes feel hot and tired also. -- pause -- I head into the park about 7 pm, to see the colors when they are not washed out by the harsh light of mid-day. Even though I've read about this canyon - and people have tried to tell me how spectacular it is - it still makes me catch my breath in awe. I already know from riding out here that there is no perspective on distance. I have NO idea how far I can see - the brochure says up to 100 miles. That wouldn't surprise me. I see visible evidence of the winds I was feeling today. I still don't know where they originate (the winds). The varied colors and shapes are staggering. I would think that primitive peoples would have found this a source of ritual, initiation, legend. I'll try to process the pix from Phil's camera later tonight. POSTSCRIPT: sat am - odo read 5106 tonight - odo reads 7023 anticipated miles at this point - 1700 actual miles at this point - 1907 Kathy still postponed