Day 24, Hanksville to Natural Bridges National Monument (Sis and Doc): A Crazy Century

August 15, 2017

Doc speaking;

We left Hanksville at 3:45 AM and rode 50 miles filled with absolutely amazing scenery before reaching Hite just as Bud was preparing to leave for the 79 mile ride to Blanding.

Sunup Is Beautiful; But It Means The Sun Will Soon Start Cooking (photo credit; Doc)

Sis In The Early Morn (photo credit; Doc)

Scenery Between Hite Recreation Area (photo credit; Doc)

Sis Near Hite Recreation Area On Lake Powell (photo credit; Doc)

We rested an hour and a half while eating lunch and filling all our water containers. We left a little before noon, carrying 15 liters of water to provide for a night in the desert and the following day's ride if we could not cover another 50 miles to Natural Bridges National Monument where a campground and water beckoned. We moved slowly, as we took frequent breaks due to the extra load of water and camping gear as well as the extra weight on Sis's saddle with the 4" handlebar rise.

It's A Great Big Lonely Country On A Bicycle (photo credit; Doc)

Scenery Between Hite Recreation Area And Natural Bridges National Monument (photo credit; Doc)

The Afternoon Sun Makes For Interesting Scenery (photo credit; Doc)

A very fatigued Sis got credit for the trip's most unusual wildlife sighting when she spied a giraffe nibbling on cedar scrub in the late afternoon. We stopped immediately and stuffed her with carbs!

This Giraffe Is Real, Unlike Sis's Exhaustion-Induced Imagination

The night sky was equally amazing as we rolled into Natural Bridges in the fading twilight. The Milky Way cut a bright, broad swath across the sky as we ate dinner outside the empty visitor center. Several bear warning signs convinced us to eat first and then set up camp. I was ready to confront any nuisance bear to protect our last sandwich, but bear was one wildlife sighting that we preferred to miss! The campground was full, of course, so we slept on a concrete pad near the solar cell array that powers the park.

Sis Is Exhausted From The Day's Endeavors (photo credit; Doc)

I caught sight of a couple of straggling Perseid meteors before we nodded off to sleep after 11:00 PM. It had been a tough day but a memorable experience. Judy told her twin sons that she labored longer and harder that day than she did on the day of their birth exactly 22 yrs earlier. A true adventure is defined as "discomfort recounted at leisure!"

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