Payson - Heber City, UT - Big Mountains, Small Towns.

July 17, 2022

Payson - Heber City, UT

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This Quality Inn had the worst provided breakfast of the trip. At this stage of COVID, breakfasts have overwhelmingly gone back to normal. We have gone from being happy that there was any breakfast at all, to expecting a normal breakfast. Here, the only hot item the have is eggs. No potato or meat. There's not even ketchup or salsa for the eggs. These prefab eggs need something, anything, to make them palatable. Jacinto didn't eat their breakfast at all, he had Mexican leftovers from last night.

Oren and I enjoyed 11 quiet, country miles to start. We circumvented Spanish Fork, and came in at Provo.

I routed the seven week trip without a thought to this particular day. Serendipitously, we rode our most urban day on a Sunday. We rode down Freedom Avenue in the middle of Provo like we owned the place!

Canyon Road took us to the Provo Canyon Bike Path, which we rode as far as possible before being spit out onto busy 189. We had been listening to the hum of traffic as we rode through the canyon. It sounded busy. Sunday was a good thing early on, when people were sleeping in. Now, it was not as good. This reminded me of interstate riding, with four lanes of fast traffic. We had a large shoulder, so it was fine. There were areas that it was marked off with barrels, down to one lane. That one lane was right next to us. Oren rode through short tunnel, and had someone honk at him. I'm glad that is all that happened. I rode around on the frontage road. It's too bad the frontage road lasted only the distance of the tunnel. We finally reached a spot in the canyon where it was narrowed down to two lanes with small shoulders. I had a white truck pulling a trailer of furniture honk at me (unfriendly) in this area. Just what was I supposed to do? I have had few people this trip honk at me in an unfriendly fashion. Mostly everyone is considerate.

The 189 piece was climbing. I was slower than Oren, he out paced me. I finally caught him at the turn to 113. Oren had been waiting in the shade about 20 minutes. We debated staying on 189. It would be shorter, and slightly more climbing. We agreed that the peace of 113 would be worth a couple of miles. It took a concentrated effort to cross the road, but there was immediate relief from the traffic.

Ben had suggested a shake at Dairy Keen. I had been thinking of that all morning. Suddenly, it popped into my head that this is Sunday. Would they be open? I called. Closed. Well, hell. I was really looking forward to the shake.

Oren and I speculated as to the availability of food in general. We decided to go by our B&B first, then regroup. As we approached the Heber Senator B&B (excellent price, includes breakfast!), we saw 100 Scoops on the left. Open! Sold - we pulled in. The only food they sold was all beef hotdogs, no corn syrup, additives, etc. We both had a hotdog meal. I don't generally drink sodas, but ordered a Sprite. Even though it had ice, the soda seemed hot to me. I gave it to Oren. He was then chilled from drinking two sodas. He said perhaps I thought the soda was warm, because I drink super chilled water in my insulated bottles. That is totally possible. I do like very cold water. I fill my bottles as full as possible with ice before adding water.

We finished off our hotdog meal with ice cream. Then Oren was REALLY cold! Of course, all he had to do was go outside to warm up. It is 98 degrees as I type this at 5 PM.

We have a short day tomorrow to split the climb up Wolf Creek Pass. We are riding 19 miles/1,800 feet of climbing to Woodland. That leaves us 3,200 feet of climbing for the next riding day. We need to carry groceries with us. The grocery is conveniently on the way out of town. I think I need to leave a little bit early, because it's climbing and I overheat easily. I think Jacinto will leave when they kick him out of the room. He has counted - there are eight pillows on the bed. He's not admitting it, but he likes a little luxury also!

It sounds like dinner is Chinese take out. Food options are quite limited. There's a little side patio here we can sit on to eat.

The geese didn’t care that I stopped to take their photo.

This pair walked down the road a fair distance towards me before mom decided it was not a good idea.

Oren and I rode down Freedom Avenue in Provo like we owned the town! That is one of the major streets.

Deer Creek State Park had many people playing.

We won the room lottery tonight! Jacinto kept asking me if this was the correct room. Yes, the key did open the door.

Even the water bucket is upscale. It’s crystal.

Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 1,630 miles (2,623 km)

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Wayne EstesQuality Inn had eggs and sausage when I stayed there 2 nights in May. Plus the ubiquitous waffle makers.
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2 years ago

Genny FoxFYI, the positivity rate for Covid tests in Utah for the week ending July 16th was 27.63%. (it's 14.9% in Colorado.) This doesn't include all the home tests that are never reported. The highest rate Utah ever had was 32% back in January. Based on this data, I would venture that Covid is not over, not by a long shot. What really appears to be over is the political will to mandate public health precautions.
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo Genny FoxWe went to the movie last night. It was the fullest I’ve seen a theatre since before COVID. people
Sitting on both sides of me. All my age or older.

We got Chinese food to go tonight. Dining in was not an option. The sales lady was wearing a mask.

We aren’t seeing masks anywhere.
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo Wayne EstesYes, I remembered you saying this was a nicer Quality Inn. We must gotten a room in the old section. The tub was chipped in several spots, black mold between the tub and the fiberglass walls. The bathroom door bottom was peeling off. Wall paper was scuffed in many places. Etc.

So, not our best layover, but, we’ve had worse.

The Best Western in Nephi was extra nice and had an excellent breakfast. It made the QI look extra bad in comparison.

This place tonight is fabulous for the money. I have great expectations for breakfast.
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2 years ago

Genny FoxTo Kelly IniguezWell, I hesitated to state the obvious but the willingness to take personal protective measures for both one’s self and for the good of the public appears to be gone, even in places where it was present in previous surges. Masking seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Covid is spreading heavily in most states and continuing to mutate and evade immunity. Maybe after people have been sickened multiple times with an increasing risk of getting long
Covid, they will start to behave more cautiously. Or not…
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo Genny FoxI would agree that my brash statement of COVID being gone was mis stated. Perhaps a better way to state it is that motel restaurant breakfasts have overwhelmingly gone back to normal, so I expected more of this breakfast.

I don't remember you commenting one way or the other on masks during your Covered Bridges tour - did you see many?

A friend of mine just did a group tour back east. I think they had 18 participants. He said three people caught COVID during the three week tour. One quarantined, and then caught up later. One went home. The third was diagnosed right at the end, and went home because he was timed out. AD said they were taking as many precautions as possible. But, I sure didn't see any masks in the photos (admittedly, outside and while they were riding).

I think most people are resigned to dealing with it when they get it and probably aren't as concerned about long COVID as they might be.
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2 years ago