roadquill1

We didn’t get back to the small cafe for coffee and wifi yesterday. So, here we are today! And BTW…I have no idea where the name “Desert Pete’s” comes from! Perhaps it was just a further example of inventive truth-telling in my blog, or creative licence! (The coffee shop is called Deep Creek Coffee!) Instead, we biked up to the “Junction” (where the access road heading north into the canyon forks with the main thoroughfare heading east towards Mt. Carmel, and the rest of Utah.) This was a very chilly ride and I was glad to be wearing long Gortex pants and a down jacket. A few cacti are blooming, but the main spring blossoms are probably a few days away just yet.

The above is a view along the bike path to the junction.

After our ride and a late lunch, we sunscreened our arms and legs and then wandered over to the Visitors Center to catch the shuttle bus into the canyon. We disembarked at the Visitors’ Museum to watch a film and to hear a ranger talk on raptors and large birds of the area – including kestrels, peregrine falcons, golden eagles, horned owls, vultures and giant condors. This presentation was first, and outside, and by the time it finished, my bare knees and I were happy to be inside for the 1/2 hour movie on the park.

Next on Sandy’s agenda were several  hikes – one to the Grotto (no “velly good veal cutlets” here for those who remember Nanaimo’s restaurant version of such) and one to the “Weeping Rock” – a short, steep climb up to and under an overhang from which water drips. (Hands up anyone else who has seen water dripping from a rock wall! But…did you have to climb half a mile to see it?) Okay – the view was spectacular, and I was very grateful that I had brought along and donned my Gortex pants for the hike. Along the way, we spotted wild turkeys, and numerous mule deer. From the Weeping Rock, you could look up (“look way up…”) and see tiny hikers very high above us following another trail that, gratefully, Sandy did NOT want to climb. (Brochure warning: “Long drop-offs! Not for anyone fearful of heights!”) We finally headed down, and caught the next shuttle bus back to the campground, where we spent most of the evening tucked into Truck House with the furnace on. (This morning, the temperature is only slightly above freezing, but the sun has finally reached into our campsite!)

The Activity Planner’s schedule for the day is to do a short hike and then bike into Deep Creek Coffee for wifi access. We’ll see. Tomorrow we will head a bit south into Page, Arizona for another scenic tour. Then, the plan is to take an “S-shaped” route back into Utah through Monument Valley and up through Bryce National Park before heading east and southeast through Moab – perhaps with travelling companions – from Whitefish, Montana.

Much love and best wishes to you all!

Tony (Quill and Route-Planner) and Sandy (Quilter, and Activity-Planner)