When we decided to stay in Torrey, we committed to a 100 mile day. The level of civilization necesitates some of these distances because there simply isn't anything in between. That's as nicely as I can say that and with nothing else nice to say about that, I will follow the adage and move on.
The descents during this trip across the country make it all seem like a really smart idea: you get to coast with no effort while looking at some spectacular views (the climbs are, in many ways, the inverse). Those with an itch to move quickly get to satisfy that as well. The descents today were amazing because we got to see the ever changing red canyon walls in the morning light. The shapes and curves constantly vary so that it doesn't get tiring or boring to look to the side all day. Because we were descending and getting closer to where water lives, we also passed through some more greenery and what seemed to be a couple of orchards. Beautiful stuff.
Our destination was, generally, the Hite Recreation Area, which is where the Colorado River feeds into Lake Powell. It was the biggest body of water we had seen and I was pretty excited to cross the Colorado because it felt like a milestone of sorts. Those big American rivers have something special about them.
After some excruciating surprise hills, we finally made it to the campground. We found some friends we had seen on the road earlier, a group of four folks our age who had quit their jobs to bike across the country. (There's also a couple on a tandem, the concept of which confuses me to no end--why would you do that to yourself/somebody else? It seems like a contraption deliberately made to produce frustration between two people.) They're some of the easiest people to talk to so far, perhaps because of the age similarity, perhaps because they're just some cool normal people. The lake area was beautiful with the sun setting and I think it was my favorite place to sit and think thus far.
And finally, a few pictures! You can blame libraries across the Western side of the United States for not having SD video card input things, or you can blame me for not having a smart phone. Enjoy them, nonetheless.
Where the Colorado runs,
Nate
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