Zion National Park and the ride home

On this ride, I've had a total of six excellent meals. 

That's 22 days of riding.

6,000+ miles of riding.

Two meals a day, usually I have three....

So a sad commentary on food in my home country.

This is some of the best fried chicken I've had in a while. 

Page AZ.

Boy was it good!

My other passion is swimming.

I have to reserve my swim times via an online system that opens at midnight on Tuesday's. 

Barbaric. 

So on to less emotional topics. Here is the dam for Powell Lake.

I lived in AZ for a couple of decades and never saw this before today.

Quite impressive.

Gorgeous in each direction.

Tiny town before Zion....cars painted and dressed up like Disney's 'Cars'.

Zion was the last Utah National Park and quite spectacular. 

Felt like I saved the best for last. 

People have commented before on my photos without people and vehicles. 

Just requires patience. 

For those of you who know me well, quite a feat. 

This is the long tunnel to exit the park on the St George side.

There is an attendant at each end that allows cars to enter. 

Only one direction can go through the tunnel at a time despite a double yellow line in the middle of the road, because I went slow (couldn't see a thing, no lights) and it's a lot more work on two wheels, I exited a bit after the cars ahead of me. 

Which prompted the other side to let cars and RV's in before the opposite side had exited. 

I know I caused an issue....fine with that....frankly I find people rush through things a bit too much.

Cracker Barrel is a place I like to have breakfast or lunch.

I had a pretty good salad and was able to get out of the heat for a bit. 

I planned to stay in North Las Vegas for a couple of nights with a friend from my Leapfrog days.

I got the 'evil queen' room which was nice and dark.

I woke up with a migraine. 

Maybe it was because I had to ride in 115+ degree weather for a few hours...?

Decided to treat myself to one of the best mani/pedi's I've ever had!

My hands have a mood stone reflective color and bright bug green on my toes. 

Wow.

I'm a girl again.

I left N Las Vegas at 5 am to avoid the heat.

At that time it was already 80F. 

I ended up in Tonopah and saw this Bob's Big Boy! 

Love Bob's Big Boy chili spaghetti. 

In fact, I have a legit horde of the sauce in my freezer. 

I found this old hotel with a restaurant in it.

They take 'a cup of coffee' seriously here. 

Large carafe. 

Choked down another terrible omelet with tasteless tomatoes. 

Original vault for gold. 

Mini museum. 

Lobby. 

Just my kind of place.

So a rather abrupt ending to my ride this year....I just pushed through a storm, heavy smoke, relentless wind to get to a friend's in Reno then the final ride home on Kit Carson pass to see dad in Lodi and home to my sweetheart and a very big G&T. 

Thanks for coming along on the journey with me.