Day 6: Panguitch to Marysvale

May 13, 2022

Today was a great day for multiple reasons. I saw superb river and canyon scenery and several interesting small towns. The temperature warmed up into the 70's again. And for the first time my destination is lower elevation than the starting point.

Low of 30F/-1C last night. I didn't get on the road until past 10 AM. That's not a problem because today has minimal climbing. I follow the Sevier river downstream all day.

1890 Kate Lublin Alexander cabin in Panguitch City Park.

US 89 had a wide paved shoulder all day today. Usually with a rumble strip to discourage motorists from drifting into "my" lane.

US 89 in an area of yellow rock escarpments.

The Sevier river was the main attraction in the morning. Quaint little towns were the main attraction in the afternoon.

I stopped at Butch Cassidy's Boyhood Home which is a very new Utah State Park. Butch Cassidy is Utah's most famous and elusive outlaw. He was never captured but many times people claimed to have captured or killed him. He escaped to South America and the official record is that he was killed in a shootout with the Bolivian army in 1908. Many details about his life and death are disputed, however. I don't know much about him because I did not see the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid which features Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy and Robert Redford as the Sundance Kid.

The log cabin is nicely preserved, a genuine pioneer home. Butch Cassidy's parents were devout Mormons who emigrated from England in 1856. Butch Cassidy was not so devout. He was more into robbing trains and banks.

Butch Cassidy lived in this pioneer cabin for 4 years as a teenager.

I presume that Joe answers the phone but is not the stud.

I stopped for lunch at Butch Cassidy Cafe in Circleville. It was run by 3 women. 2 of them wore traditional Mormon dress. Fitted ankle-length dress with long sleeves and a collar. And the distinctive partial hair braid.

I didn't expect the small settlements on today's route to be so interesting. Tiny places such as Circleville and Junction. Every town on yesterday's and today's route was settled, then promptly abandoned because of the Black Hawk war. It started as a war between Indian tribes, but the Mormons got involved in a very bad way in Circleville.

The state of Utah and the LDS church have only recently and reluctantly started to acknowledge past massacres such as the 1857 Mountain Meadows massacre northwest of St. George and the 1866 Circleville massacre. The sordid history of seemingly unprovoked massacres was swept under the rug for most of Utah's history. The Circleville Massacre sign was only erected in 2016. The Paiute tribe and LDS church agreed on the language, but neither the state nor the church paid for the monument. Utah just spent a fortune making an outlaw's childhood home into a park, but has no money for signs about massacres committed by Mormons.

The Circleville Massacre was extremely counterproductive. The indigenous population became so angry and hostile that every Mormon settlement in the region had to be abandoned for several years.

The pink bench, blue trim, and brown grass indicate that the owner of this house is extremely rebellious by Mormon standards.

Mormons are famously skilled and determined to use every drop of a river for human consumption. I wasn't surprised to see the Sevier river nearly dry because most of the water is diverted to irrigation canals.

Diversion canals have nearly dried up the Sevier river.

Junction is the next fascinating tiny town.

US 89 approaching the town of Junction, Utah.

Family reunions is a big industry in Utah. Utah family reunions tend to be huge. Hundreds of people, typically.

This former courthouse is for rent at utahfamilyreunion.com.

Awesome abandoned gas station in Junction, Utah. No trash or graffiti.

The day's only big hill climbs 200 feet above a small reservoir on the Sevier river. It was an easy day. Mostly downstream with a gentle northwest headwind.

Marysvale is my destination. Another charming historic pioneer town.

Marysvale has the oldest hotel in Utah. They weren't taking reservations when I booked my trip.

Marysvale has many irrigated farms but was also a mining town. Apparently there was a lead mine nearby.

Former Utah Lead Company office in Marysvale.

Tonight's home is the only regular motel in Marysvale. It was not the first time recently that I saw a note at the unattended office telling me that my room is unlocked.

Today is much warmer than yesterday. High of 73F/23C. Finally back to normal.

I expected today to be boring but it was very interesting. The river scenes and historic towns exceeded my expectations.

Distance: 50.1 mi. (80km)
Average Speed: 10.0 mph (16 km/h)
Ascent/Descent: +829/-1446 ft. (+253/-441 m)
Miles 149-197 on the route map

Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 222 miles (357 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	5
Comment on this entry	Comment	0