Super Dave's Epic Bike Trip 2012: Canyon Hopping

June 13.

I awoke at 7:30 with my Blackberry alarm. I wanted to break down camp at Bryce Canyon and get moving - I was heading to the Grand Canyon today.

Of course, getting up at 7:30 is nothing compared to my neighbours in the camp. This young couple from Victoria BC was bicycling all over the place over the course of four months. They were up at 4:00a and gone by 5:00a so they could get their cycling in for the day before the heat hits hard.

Somehow 7:30 doesn't seem that ambitious anymore. Nonetheless I packed up camp, had a nice breakfast in the little town of Tropic, and I was on my way to the Grand Canyon. For the first time in the trip, I back-tracked about 110km down highway 89. It did give me another opportunity to visit Hatch, UT and I chose to top my gas up there.

Camp at Bryce Canyon

One last look at the Hoodoos

The elevation at Bryce. No wonder my bike
seemed down on passing power here!

After fuelling in Hatch, and later passing through Mt. Carmel Junction, I was back to laying down fresh tracks on new roads. I would come to this small town of Kanab, but fail to see the significance of it for a while.

I learned that Kanab, UT is the last bit of civilization I would see for about 120km. No gas, no anything. Your mind starts to wonder, what would I do out here if I ran out of gas? It also makes you realize how big the country is. For a country with a population over 300 million people, there's still a whole lot of empty space.

I was getting really bored on a long, long, arrow straight road

Nothing in front...

...and nothing behind.

I had ridden what seemed ages on this mind-numbing road of nothing
before coming to this place, just before Page. Ice cream and Powerade!

I learned in the middle of this desert, there is a huge lake, Lake Powell that runs over 150 miles I was told. It's mostly in Utah, with a small section in Arizona. A huge recreational boating area. I had no idea...

Lake Powell

Crossing back into Arizona from Utah

I rode a while longer and was getting close to the Grand Canyon. There are other viewpoints leading up to Grand Canyon that are situated on native lands. I decided to stop at one, pay the suggested $5 donation and have a look. Pretty awesome.

Little Colorado Viewpoint

Yeah... I'm cool.

Apparently the Navajo aren't subject to OSHA safety regulations.
Not a sign or anything to be found. Certain death if you lose
your footing and slide under that railing. (Anybody reading this blog
from work, consider this my "safety share" for the summer).

Little Colorado Canyon

I got back on the bike and continued riding to Grand Canyon, where I was informed the Mather campground where I had planned to stay was full. Desert View, however still had some availability, and as luck would have it, it was actually closer. Near Desert View there were a couple nice viewpoints for some nice pictures.

It's not fog or haze you see. It's smoke from a forest fire
burning south of Grand Canyon and northerly winds.

Sunset

I also met Joe, a student from Michigan, who was doing a similar trip as I am, on his 1994 Honda VFR. He was nice enough to show me where to get food in the park, and where the good viewing areas were.

I also met Matt and Missy from Georgia, as well as a couple from Western Australia who had been travelling around Canada and the US in an RV, and loving it. It was nice company as we spent the evening at the fire pit with a few cocktails, by the light of the Coleman Lantern (no fires due to forest fire and fire-ban!)