Day 9
In the Morning, We Rode Our Bikes on the Bike Path Between the Canyon Walls along the North Fork of the Virgin River,
and We Saw Many Geological Sights with Biblical, Mormon, or Early Settlement Names;
We had a Special Lunch (Last Meal Together) in Springdale, along the Virgin River;
We All Shuttled back to St George (Ending the Supported Portion of our Bike Tour),
Then Terry and I Drove to Boulder, Utah, for a Wonderful Night at Boulder Mountain Lodge

Before the Ride

Above Left: Us, before breakfast - Photo by Alesia.

Above Right: The Bee and a Buck - Photo by Louise.

Above: The Bee and a Buck - Photo by Louise.

Our Group's Morning Ride Through the Virgin River Valley

Above Left: Sharon, Juliana, Alesia, and Brenna just before we rode.

Above Right: This day's bike route map.

Above Left: Riding north through Springdale on Zion Park Blvd.

Above Right: Entering Zion National Park.

Above: Riding a path through some of the Zion NP Campgrounds.

Above Left: Zion NP.

Above Right: Crossing the Virgin River.

For Almost ALL Photos:
The early morning ride was good for comfort (avoiding heat in the 90s F / 30s C) but the lighting was terrible for pictures because of the camera's electronically measured conflict of bright sky and contrasting with the dark shadows in the valley.

The Weeping Rock

Above Left: We decided to pull over at the Weeping Rock and take a look.

Above Right: It was short hike to actually see the Weeping Rock. Terry hiked onward with the camera while Dennis waited with the bike.

Above Left: Virgin River.

Above Right: The ladies were on their return leg - We were all in motion.

The Temple of Sinawava

Above: The Temple of Sinawava is the turn-around point for the valley paved road as well as for our bike ride. This area has some nice picnic pavilions and it serves as Trail Head for several hiking trails. The West Rim overlook from Terry's hike the previous day overlooked this location.

Sinawava is Coyote, the culture hero of Ute and Chemehuevi mythology. Though he is a trickster figure whose frivolous, irresponsible behavior is constantly causing trouble for everyone around him, Coyote also plays a more serious role as benefactor and teacher of the people. - Wikipedia

Coyote is the trickster in most western Native American lore, most notably for the Navajo Nation. - Dennis

Above Right: The base of this live tree is easily over one-hundred years old, probably closer to two-hundred years old.

Above: Julianna joined us, we were the last people out of the turn-around, yet there is plenty of time. Jules was both checking on us and getting a chance to ride herself. Most Guides/Tour-Leaders are avid cyclists.

Above: A new, to us, riverside vine plant.

Above Left: Nearing the end of the ride.

Above Right: Julianna at the stop sign, we're turning left. This was the last Bryce/Zion Bike Tour riding photo.

A Departure Luncheon, Our Last Meal Together

Above Left: Lunch with Bryce, Brenna, Julianna, Alesia, and Terry.

Above Right, Our last sit together (L-R): Terry, Brenna, Louise, Ed, Jan, Sharon, Julianna, Alesia, Bryce, and Dennis behind the camera.

We had a great time with the fellow riders, staff, and the tour itself. From here we were all shuttled to St George, Utah, and from there, everyone went their separate ways. Terry and I loaded the Bee onto our vehicle (sitting at our hotel's parking lot) and we drove toward Boulder, Utah (at the suggestion of Bryce).

Some of the trip photos follow.

Driving Hogback Ridge on Utah's Famed Highway-12
(All Photos in this Section are from the Internet)

Above Left: Utah's Highway-12 sits between Bryce Canyon NP and Capitol Reef NP.

Above Right: Hogback Ridge rides a shoulderless ridgeline and for a long segment (that is difficult to capture in photos) the there is no shoulder and the road edge falls straight down for hundreds of feet. There is no guard rail (there is no place to put a guard rail). The Hogback Ridge drive is not for the Faint-of-Heart.

Above: All of these photos were from the Internet and no photo captures how edgy the ride was.

The Million Dollar Highway, Utah's Hwy-12, and the CCC

Above: Utah's Hwy-12 and the CCC.

We stayed at the Boulder Mountain Lodge, we booked our stay at about 1pm and we obtained the very last room (this was on a Friday). Boulder, Utah, is on Hwy-12 in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. The Boulder Mountain Lodge has a multi award winning cook, restaurant (Hell's Backbone Grill), and creative writing team. Reading the menu is a delight in itself.

Above Left: Our restaurant's window view.

Above Right: The restaurant is called Hell's Backbone (reservations required, it services for about a 75 mile radius). Just about all of the food (all meat and vegetables) is grown on premises. This lodge is a working farm. We happened to be there on Friday night, so we had a live folk and country singer.