Sunday October 19th, 2014
Total Miles: 160

The Abby Inn didn’t have enough space in the lobby for a breakfast bar.  The owners bought the house behind the hotel and renovated it to offer continental breakfast with hot items.  Turns out they bought the next two houses down and rent them as well.  This would be a great option if you are traveling with 2 couples.  After breakfast we packed up all of our clean clothes and loaded up the bike.  We headed out of town.  Galen opted for a hero section right out of the gate.  It was a little rough but we made it through with no problem. 

Turns out a farmer was having issues with someone killing his sheep.  15 miles down the trail we found a locked gate with a big sign that says Dead End.  Galen was pissed because the road was on BLM land and the farmer didn’t have the right to close it off.  We had to back track almost back into town.  Actually, this worked out in our favor because we got to see the “C Overlook”.  We got to see a great view of Cedar City and the farm fields below. 

Rest of the Kolob Trail was super fun and 2up, big bike friendly.

 Galen missed a turn and decided to cut cross country because he could see were the road came around.  There were Jeep tracks so he didn’t think anything about it. 

We followed the tracks to a water crossing.  It looked all innocent.  Much bigger drop off than you could see from our angle.  Front tire of the bike dug in and the bike went down. The both of us and the bike were covered in mud.  The mud was so greasy under the water that Galen couldn’t get his footing.  A couple in a truck were not too far away and saw it all happen.  They came over and the guy helped us get the bike up and pull it out. 

I was so grateful to see a smiling face willing to help out.  He was a truck driver out of St George.  We cleaned off a bit and headed on. 

I got a little mud on the camera and the lens began to struggle zooming in and out.  Turns out we were less than a mile from blacktop.  We made our way to Zion National Park.  We paid our admission and made the drive through the park.  Of course the highlight for me were the tunnels. I love going through tunnels whether on the bike or in a vehicle. 

View from the cut out in the tunnel.

We exited the park hit the Zion Canyon Brew Pub which was technically in Springdale.  At the bar we met Buck Jensen who just released his first single.  We had a nice visit and headed to St. George. 

We needed fuel but every station we passed had blenders.  Finally broke down and filled up at a blender pump.  We ended up finding the best value so far this trip for a hotel.  We got the manager’s special at Coral Hills Best Western.  It was a double queen for $65.  I am pretty sure it was the same owners as the Abby Inn in Ceder City.  Recently renovated it had an outdoor and indoor hot tub and pool.  We walked 2 blocks to George’s Corner for dinner and drinks.  We split the short rib bow tie pasta and it was great.  Short walk back to our room.  A little whiskey in the hot tub and I was ready for bed.