Wednesday, May 11 (Hump Day?)

When I woke at 4:30 AM, I began to wonder if it was the right choice to drive out of the terrible weather and scenery.  Jordan had decided (and I applauded) keeping the goal of minimum miles (he should exceed that amount) for the trip, but looking for better weather and scenery.  So we drove to Page,Arizona last night.  This is where Lake Powell is the main local attraction.  What caused that wonder at 4:30 AM?  It was raining, hard! 

I again focused on being quiet so Jordan could get the sleep needed to repair his body.  I left the car and walked four blocks to McDonald's, as it was the only building opened with a restroom.  The first thing I noticed was at 5:00 AM, McDonald's was occupied by what I assume were mostly migrant workers hanging around waiting for work.   Some had breakfast while others had coffee.  There were less than six cars in the lot (I assume most were employees), but over 20 people inside.   I think it was a migrant worker station? 

At 6:45 AM I went back to the car where I noticed it was coated in a tar like substance.  Even the bike rims had a thick tar like substance.  This was a concern, as it would effect braking.  Since Jordan was not awake, I went into Wal-Mart and looked for car washes on my phone.  There was one just a few blocks from where he slept.  I read the news on my phone and waited until 8:30 AM to return to the car.  The WEATHER WAS CLEARING!

While Jordan was still half sleeping, I drove to the car wash.  It was so much work to get that black substance off the bike and car.  I used the brush while pushing hard and still had some left.  I went through 15 minutes of washing and did get 95 percent of that gunk.  I also had brought a brillo pad and scrubbed the rim brakes to make sure they were clean.  I will get tar and bug remover when we get back to Denver to get rid of the rest of this unknown substance.

We then went to the local restaurant, The Ranch House Grill, where fueled the body for the day.  It was a good start to the morning.  We met the mother / daughter from Florida (saw them at the Four Corners Monument) as we were leaving.  Jordan had a good conversation again as I replaced the chain on his bike.

Our first plan was to take a drive on the road that was not ideal toward Zion National Park.  About 15 miles outside the park, Jordan started his ride and the weather was near perfect!  He rode about 50 miles into, throughout and out of the park.  I spend a few hours organizing the car from the night before, hiking and taking photo's.  The scenery was so much better!

On the way into Zion, Jordan met another biker we was from Alaska.  He was riding from Phoenix to Las Vegas.  What was comical, yet sad, was Jordan was riding strong and this guy was trying to keep up.  His cargo looked like it would fall off any minute as he pedaled as hard as possible to keep up.  I later found out he has one brake (as the back seizes) and he just used a bungee cord to hold the rear "cage".

The Alaska touring bike.

In the stream.  In his own words, "I have now showered in weeks!"

The river current took him down.

Once we returned to the busy road, we loaded up the bike and headed to Bryce Canyon, where he added another 25 miles for the day. 

Entrance into the Dixie National Forest

Bryce canyon is a fascinating location and I had some time to take some photos.  It was 9:15 before we returned to the car and the temperature was already down to 47.  Since all the hotels were full, we were in the car again.  We went to Ruby’s, a local full service hotel for dinner.  We both enjoyed a pasta dish for the first time since we left on the trip.  It was very good.

As we again had limited option of where to stay, it was the car again.  We decided just to sleep in the Ruby’s parking lot and if the rousted us, we would leave.  Jordan was down by 10:30 and I went inside the hotel to find power outlets to charge his headphones, the three Garmin devices as well as the charging blocks we brought with us.  There was only one outlet in a place where I wouldn't look out of place, so I was unable to charge my laptop or download photo's.  

At 11:45 PM, I went to the car in hopes that the devices have adequate charge for tomorrow.