Heading out from Escalante, we took route 12 to Boulder, and the signs most definitely have it right. Streaked canyons bubble up as the road snakes and rolls across, the colors are insane! It was definitely our best ride so far...


Here's Stacy about to head up another monster incline around the corner. Any canyon you're in you have to get out of, so we basically had to make it to the top of those cliffs eventually...



But waiting for us on the other side... the magical Escalante River, with waters perfect for our aching limbs and feet. We really, really needed this river, and even though we sloshed around for only a short while, it regenerated us for the next stretch, getting up onto the hog's back, a knife edge dropping off into amazing canyons on both sides. The inclines at points were some of the hardest we've hit yet, and the heat in the canyons leaves little to the imagination.




Here we are on a nice easy stretch up to the hog's back. Eh, kinda pretty.

After the hog's back and another 12 miles, we descended to Boulder, Utah, a little hippie hamlet separated from the world, now dotted with a few bed and breakfasts, yellow rock domes, and horses. A very nice motel owner let us camp in her back yard (the 'motel' was basically a house, covered in so many trinkets and windchimes and shells it might have been sinking into the ground). We even had an inflatable pool! All that meant for us though was mosquito city... We enjoyed our delicacies of cold chunky soup and canned fruit, and Arturo had a beer as dusk came.

The next day we had to get up early to take on Boulder Mountain, a 2500 foot climb up beautiful aspen stands and vistas of canyons and distant ranges. Elks were screaming and squealing at us from a distance, and Arturo broke some hearts for sure with his Elk calls. We spilled some red jelly on a rock here and wonder if German tourists will think it is some kind of sacrifice alter.

On the other side of Boulder Mountain, we descended back into canyon country and passed through Torrey and Capitol Reef National Park, an incredible ride through the steep-walled red-yellow-grey-white canyon that route 24 passes through. And it was all downhill!! You have no idea the joy we feel when that happens.

That thing hit us. Hard. But the beauty of Utah rain is it's gone in 20. We were dry again by Hanksville, 10 miles away.

Hanksville was an interesting place, and had this little yard of decaying boats. This is a solemn place, where Lake Powell houseboats come to die. The closest one had a slide coming off the top on the back!

There were also junked demolition derby cars, dinosaur graveyards, and this, a hollowed out rock with a convenience store inside. Loreen and Stacy also got amazing peanut butter cup/cheesecake mix milkshakes across the street at Stan's Burger Shak. Had it been open at 5 am Alex said he would have gone for a burger and shake again.

The little (huge) joys. Heading from Hanksville to Hite on Lake Powell was great for the first 40 miles. We were sprinting down a canyon and making awesome time. Then we realized there were some crazy (CRAZY) hills we had to make it over right around the lake.

Fortunately it was worth it...

This is us crossing the Colorado River as it first becomes Lake Powell, which is an insanely long reservoir bounded by amazing red cliffs and canyons throughout its length.

There was a fee to get down to the lake, but having just done those hills in 102 degrees, there was no way we could refuse. It was worth it. However Arturo may have weird squishy parasites crawling in his legs. We did also watch Discovery Channel's "Monsters Inside Me" though.

This was by the only convenience store across from the Ranger's station in Hite on the Lake. It was sooo hot.

The next morning we headed out before dawn after having slept around a fish cleaning station due to its shade, bathrooms, and water spigots. Another beautiful ride. We continued to Blanding Utah, where we got poured on and ate Subway (!), and now are in Monticello, Utah about to cross into Colorado. Wish us luck, fortunately the worst really is behind us.