June 5, 2005
Day 19: Zion National Park to Kanab
The wind was a blowing all night long and into the morning. Itty and I tried to catch a ride through the tunnel from the campground entrance, but none of the fancy SUVs would pick us up. Back in Panaca, Itty had enjoyed seeing a old, tough rancher lady driving an equally old pick-up. No old pick-ups here.
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So we decided to ride up the switchbacks. A busload of German tourists at an overlook clapped as we climbed up and up and up. Fortunately, the grade wasn't too bad. When we got to the tunnel, it took four sequences of traffic to get through - and that was because the park service flagger used her own truck and her own lunch break time to shuttle me. I really don't like the NPS.
The ride through the red rock above the tunnel was surreal. It's as though Jackson Pollock has visited with a palette of reds and pinks and whites - all under a canopy of blue sky and cottony clouds.
I passed a bus of French tourists out admiring the buffalo in a pasture and chatted with them in French. So when I got started again they all cheered me on as if I were in the Tour de France.
We flew down to Mount Carmel. Had carrot cake in a cafe. Then we had a big uphill climb with a headwind. Boy, the wind sure hasn't been cooperative so far. Even the downhill proved difficult as the wind slammed us.
We were relieved to reach the hostel in Kanab. And it was just fabulous. The managers let us do our laundry for free! Then I cooked up some pasta primavera with asparagus and a cream sauce. We wolfed it down then plopped down on the sofa to watch a movie with the other folks at the hostel.
Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 1,001 miles (1,611 km)
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