One of my favorite bike tours, my first visit to Utah. A true voyage of discovery through the red rock canyons and national parks of southern Utah.

16 days, 744 miles (1190 km). Moab to St. George.

I flew from Salt Lake City to Moab in a 7-seat airplane. One of the 8 seats was removed to make room for my boxed bike.

This tour took me to four national parks and one national monument. Arches, Natural Bridges, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion.

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Another vivid memory is Salt Creek Recreation Area where I hiked to lower Salt Creek falls.

At the national parks I was surprised to see equal numbers of American and German tourists. I learned that Europeans have a strong fascination for the American southwest.

This tour gave me my first exposure to Mormon country. I passed through some small Mormon farm towns and at the end of the tour I went to the visitor center at the St. George temple.

The weather was reliably warm and sunny. May is a good time for this route. Not too cold at Bryce Canyon, not too hot at lower elevations. I camped 14 nights and spent 1 night at a motel.

I liked southern Utah so much that I did most of this route again in the opposite direction in 2010 during my Sacramento to Loveland via 11 National Parks tour.