Room 147

July 16, 2013

Day 23: Calf Creek Campground to Bryce Canyon Pines Motel (Near Bryce Canyon National Park)

I got a good night's sleep in the tent, thanks to the quiet campground, the not-too-hot temperature, and the lulling sound of the creek.

The price for camping in the nice, shady canyon, however, was a very stiff climb the first thing in the morning. The scenery was stunning for the first several miles (the climb). In a few miles I passed "Kiva Koffeehouse", an improbably located cafe in the National Monument. Sadly, it was closed on Tuesdays, so I would have to ride several miles to the town of Escalante for breakfast.

It was a descent to Escalante (pop 797). I stopped on the outskirts of town at a visitors center staffed by four friendly retired people who convinced me to watch a fifteen minute video about Mormon pioneers. This was probably not the best use of my time as the temperature increased rapidly in the mid morning. The video was slightly cheesy but interesting. Now that I don't live in Utah, I seem to have a higher tolerance for the Mormon fascination with their pioneer history.

A few miles later, in downtown Escalante, I stopped at a grocery store, bought a quart of chocolate milk, and chugged it quickly. The people in the visitors center had recommended a restaurant in town, so I found it and ordered a huge breakfast, more out of habit than actual hunger. Both the waitress and the cook (who walked out of the kitchen to address me) warned me that their portion sizes were huge, but I waved off their concerns.

Well. I had made a huge mistake.

This was the largest "short stack" of pancakes I had ever seen, and the omelet and pile of hash browns were also supersized. I decided to ignore the hash browns, which I don't care for anyway, and concentrated on the pancakes and the omelet. I knew within minutes there was no way I could finish all this, thanks in part to the quart of chocolate milk, and - oh yeah - a king size Payday bar and the last of the oatmeal pies I had eaten back in the campground. I felt I was perhaps being judged by the waitress, who walked by several times, casting sidelong glances at my plates. The last forkful of omelet caused me to come perilously close to being sick in a restaurant for the first time ever, but I concentrated mightily for thirty seconds, and forced everything to stay down. It was a close all.

As I got on the bike and wobbled out of the parking lot I noticed the restaurant's sign for the first time: "Largest Portions in Town".

The next several hours were spent climbing over a thousand feet, against the wind. The scenery was pleasant enough, but not spectacular. I saw a tractor in a field and realized I hadn't seen a tractor in what seemed like forever, but was probably only a few weeks.

Eventually I got to the top of the first climb of the day, and coasted down to tiny Henrieville, which has a post office and nothing else. I went in and bought a couple of stamps in order to break a twenty dollar bill, and talked to the nice postmistress for a while. She pointed to the darkening sky and warned me to be careful of lightning as I made the big climb up to Bryce Canyon. People have warned me about lightning several times on this trip, but I never know what I'm supposed to do to "be careful", other than not riding over mountain passes when it's storming.

I made one more stop for Gatorade three miles down the road in Cannonville, then started the steep climb into the corner of Bryce Canyon National Park. It started to rain. Eventually I pulled over and put on the only-semi-effective rain jacket. I kept climbing, it kept raining, and it got cold. I wasn't wearing my gloves, and my hands got numb. On most climbs like this during this tour, I've reached the summit, then quickly rushed down the other side to sunny skies and warmer temperatures. This time, though, I reached the top and stayed on top for several miles. It started raining harder as I passed the main entrance to Bryce National Park.

My original destination was Panguitch, 17 mostly downhill miles away. At some point I realized I could not make it; I was just too cold. I pulled into a sprawling motel and restaurant complex that sat off by itself, a few miles from any other establishment. The motel was obviously a family owned enterprise, not some corporate creation; it consisted of a couple of different "motor lodge" units and many mismatched, standalone cabins and buildings. I found the lobby eventually and walked in dripping. I assumed I would have to pay a hefty price since the place was only a few miles from the entrance to Bryce, but I had a hunch that a place like this might have some "special" accomodation. I told the lady that I wanted a room with a heater, a shower, and a bed, and I didn't care about the size or other qualities. She told me rooms started at $110, and I repeated that I was on a budget and was not picky. "Well, I can put you in room 147 for $55. Umm... It's right next to the restaurant."

Room 147 abutted the restaurant's kitchen, the noise and shouted conversation from which were easily audible in the room. I ignored that, however, and turned the heater on full blast, and took as hot a shower as I could stand. Then I walked the few feet to the busy restaurant, where I was told there would be a 45 minute wait. "What about that counter over there?" I asked. This was a long, unoccupied counter that was next to the kitchen. "Ok... I guess you could sit there." "Great, I'm not picky!"

I had a good time eating my meal at the counter; there was plenty of space to unfold and examine my maps, and I enjoyed observing the frenetic activity among the waitstaff who hung out near the counter. The place was packed with tourists, but I got very good service from my waitress, who seemed amused that I was sitting at the rarely occupied counter. I mentioned that I was in room 147, only a few feet away, and she told me that the room was normally not rented to the public, but was usually reserved for the use of employees.

Later I went back to my strangely appealing (and strangely shaped) room, turned on the heater again, then went to sleep in the very comfortable bed.