MT. CARMEL TO RICHFIELD, UTAH

The leg of my journey from Mt. Carmel to Richfield, on Monday, was pretty uneventful, but very pretty and scenic. I continued north on HWY 89 which meanders through Long Valley, and then the Panguitch Valley, along side the Sevier River. I had been as far north as Panguitch in past years, so I was happy to travel to new territory this year. After a total of 130 miles I easily found the Elk’s Lodge in Richfield but was disappointed to find the huge lot was nothing but dirt. I was planning on parking in the lot through the 3 impending days of rain, starting on Wednesday, but I decided to come up with a Plan B. Uh, Wal-Mart, maybe???

Well, on Monday I stayed at the Elk’s Lodge until the afternoon temp in the trailer reached 93 degrees. Then I went in search of a shady spot to park in. The best I could find was the shady side of the Home Depot. Unfortunately it was right next to stacks and stacks of manure. After consulting several travel books of various kinds and a few maps, I came up with plan B, or is it C by now?
I stopped at a Flying J just outside of Richfield for 12.84 more gallons of diesel at a cost of $4.51 per gallon (the cheapest in town) for a total of $58.06. My computer read-out said I was still getting 14.2 MPGs, which makes me happy. Then I headed east on HWY 70 for approximately 75 miles to a rest stop. At first I thought I had been significantly loosing elevation, but shortly before the rest stop there was a sign saying I was at an elevation of 7600 or so feet. So actually I gained about 2500 feet. And the cooler temperature outside confirmed that. I found a spot at the rest stop away from the noisy semis, and settle in for the evening. One reason for deciding to leaving Richfield was because I wanted to ride my bike to Capitol Reef on Tuesday, which means leaving the dogs in the trailer for most of the day, and with the temp on Tuesday in Richfield expected to reach 90 degrees, I wasn't very comfortable with that idea. So instead, I left the trailer and the dogs at the much cooler rest stop while I rode to the National Park. It was much cooler for the dogs and made for a little bit shorter ride for me - 130 miles round trip, instead of the original 300 mile loop I’d planned from Richfield.

Capitol Reef National Park comprises 378 square miles of colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths. http://www.nps.gov/care/historyculture/index.htm

The old Historic town of Fruita, Utah (not to be confused with Fruita, Colorado) right outside the National Park, has had quite a history. It was originally a Mormon settlement (not to be confused with the FLDS in the news today). It was first settled in the 19th Century. The town got it’s name from the many orchards the Mormons grew there and used for money and barter in other towns in the vacinity. The orchards that you will see there are apple, peach, cherry, pear and apricot. The settlement pretty much came to end after WWII and the end to gas rationing. Tourists began coming to the Park , and the surrounding areas. Let them have gas and they will travel!!
After years of being a National Monument, Capitol Reef was declared a National Park in 1971. It’s a beautiful park and well worth a trip.
Oh, I averaged approximately 50 MPG with the bike. :-)








I'M NOT SURE WHAT THESE WEIRD THINGS HANGING ALL OVER THE TREES ARE, BUT LOOK REALLY CLOSELY AND I'M SURE YOU WILL SEE UPSIDE DOWN BATS INSIDE THAT STUFF.



PIGGY PIRATE FOUND ANOTHER TEE PEE TO POSE IN FRONT OF IN THE LITTLE TOWN OF TORREY, UTAH