Hot and Heavy

The Hot and Heavy photo album is up!

Word of the day. Heat.

We got an early start today in order to beat the heat. That bright idea lasted about 50 miles. By 8:00 a.m., the temperature was well into the 80s, and it broke 100 by noon. We spent much of our day drinking water and trying to cool ourselves. Ultimately, the temperature remained well over 105 for most of the afternoon, with an hour or so when it hit 111 degrees. Miserable. Late in the day, we also battled strong winds as well, which buffeted the bikes quite a bit and gave us headaches.

However, today’s ride was outstanding. Heat and wind could not dampen the beauty of the terrain we covered. We left Page this morning going north on Highway 89 toward Kanab, Utah. Just outside town we crossed Glen Canyon Dam, which was constructed beginning in 1956 and opened in 1963 (Page owes its existence to the dam’s construction). It is part of the Colorado River Storage Project for the Upper Colorado Region (Hoover Dam is part of the Lower Colorado Region). Look for the photos of the dam and Lake Powell behind it (the reservoir created by the dam).

Highway 89 North is designated as a Scenic Byway from Page to Kanab, as is Highway 9 from Kanab to Zion National Park. Both of these roads provided amazing scenery. We even saw a field of buffalo (even though they weren’t wild, they were still buffalo).

Zion National Park is a gem. It is not a large park as national standards go, but it packs quite a punch. I’d call it a photographer’s nightmare, a target-rich environment, if you will. Good thing for digital cameras. You’ll see plenty of shots of Zion in the album. I highly recommend this park if you ever get the chance.

Beyond Zion National Park, we rode through a small town named Virgin, Utah. I just wanted to point this out because I photographed a cool little book store there, the kind that I typically cannot pass by without buying a few additions to my first edition collection. Alas, only a photo this time.

When planning the route for our journey, I looked for an interesting way to get from Page, Arizona, to Henderson, Nevada. First of all, we wanted to avoid Las Vegas, so that was also part of the plan – get to Henderson without going through Las Vegas. Well, I found Highway 169 that heads south off of I-15 near Glendale, Nevada. The map I consulted months ago indicated something called the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Wow, I figured this would be a great alternative, one that offered spectacular and casual touring. Boy, was I wrong. I should have done more research. Turns out, the Lake Mead National Recreation Area was code for the desert. Over 50 miles of it. I’m not joking. It was 111 degrees outside, and we were in the desert. Dad said over the radio at one point that he felt like Moses wandering around out there. Thankfully, we had plenty of gas and plenty of water. Near the end of our time in the desert, we came across some very interesting red rocks. Check them out in the album.

Despite the heat and wind, today was a super day. We thought it would be rather uneventful when we started out, but pleasant surprises abounded. These kinds of days make riding a special treat.

Tomorrow we’re going to Hollywood!

303.9 miles today. 2,746.6 total miles.