Torrey to Kanab

We arrived into Torrey so late yesterday that we really had no idea where we had spent the night. Our hotel had a log cabin type feel and was very comfortable.

The morning ride out of showed a small town with old world type feel that relies on hotel business etc. It was very a nice place.

Even better was taking the scenic byway no 12.

Everyone started to leave in small groups. We rode out with Garry and Barbara. The first thing that struck us was the temperature. 60 degrees in the early morning felt like a soothing cool shower after the 110 degrees gut buster yesterday.

The second thing was we were climbing again and in a heavily forested area. A sign boasted "Dixie National Forest" It had lovely corners and was interesting to ride. We reached almost 10,000 by the summit. High altitude has been constant for the past few weeks of the trip.

Marks critter attenae rose though and speeds where kept moderate. Woods and cool early morning temperature meant the animals would be feeding.

The road was crawling with deer. We saw heaps.

Then out of the forest and into more rocky canyon. It was a beautiful ride. We found ourselves on the spine of a ridge. We could see down either side of the narrow road to the canyons below. Unexpected and different. A road known as the Devils backbone.We stopped and admired the views.

Then we descended again through more wild west scenery. Mark has decided he wants to be a cowboy.(hold all obvious jokes)

On the valley floor we had another change of scenery. Twisty corners and green. Just like home. "Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam....."

Typical scene. American biker. Loaded to the gunnel's on his Hog.
Flag fluttering. About to be overtaken by Kiwis.

Enough of this scenery staying the same for 30 minutes. Another spectacular change please!

Then we came upon a turnoff for the first of today's suggested attractions.  Bryce Canyon National Park. We presented our National Park Pass to the nice Ranger and entered. This pass has been very cost effective.

A controlled burn off was occurring. The area was initially very smokey and threatened to derail our visit.

However we rode through it to clear sunny sky's.The park is 18 miles long. We rode the length although you could get the gist of it by visiting the first few attractions.

The cloud was about to let rip.

The best was the area known as the :"The Hoodoos" at Bryce point. It is very large unless viewed through a small camera.

A cloud that had formed let go a few claps of thunder. It happens here regularly. We got a few large raindrops on the head.  The rain here in the Mid West is not like our rain. You get massive droplets. One or two of these and you are quite wet.

They are a bit of humour. We made a run for it hoping to get to shelter before the deluge. We made it. Just. We have learnt this is not a show stopper. Give it ten minutes or half an hour and it all blows over.

We had lunch in the dry and watched Noah's Ark float down the street.

On the bike again and, hello, Red Canyon beckons.

We had a dry ride for about an hour until we hit the next attraction: Zion National Park. We were tired and hot now. Should we be bothered? Touch and go but we did and boy are we glad.

This magic place must surely be where Dr. Seuss got his landscapes from.

Hard act to follow. We made for our digs at another small town. Kanab. We love these small towns. they have a funky/cowboy/welcoming feel to them.

Tomorrow is bucket list stuff. The Grand Canyon.

Whose been a naughty boy then?