Well weren't we as snug as a bug in a rug last night. Debbie & her husband even put a brazier on for us in the little courtyard last night but we were too knackered to ultilize it.
We walked into town for a coffee to start the day and to see if Nev could get into the Pharmacy to get something for his eyes. They didn't open until 9:00 so we had a coffee at Starbucks while we waited. I wandered down to a good old fashioned barber for a hair cut, I was getting a bit woolley! I paid for my first hair cut in about 20 years I reckon, and it cost me $13. Mind you they do the eyebrows and ears too so it's value for money. I would have drawn the line if she'd gone anywhere near my nose!
Nice lady, she now knows where NZ is, and I know all about her life too.
Naturally Nev couldn't get antibiotics without seeing a doctor so he settled for some good looking eyedrops that might do the trick. We talked to Tom for a bit then saddled up, fueled up and we're off.
We knew we had a long day today heading for Caliente which is still Utah and we had the choice of 3 routes. We thought we'd take the more scenic one, you'd think we know better by now wouldn't you?
We stopped to take a panoramic photo of Lake Powell and then continued west. We stopped in Kanab at MacDs for WIFI to sort out accommodation in Caliente, had a coffee too.
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| Lake Powell Page Arizona |
We're getting quite good at spotting Sheriffs & State Police cars not that it mattered, we always stick to the limits.I always button off when we pass so I don't get pulled over for noise... :)
Some hours down the highway we pulled into a lone garage/diner just off the highway and asked why the road we wanted to go down was closed? Nice lady explained that it was closed 11 miles up the road but you could turn right just before it onto Duck Creek Rd which is the only paved cross link road.
Hhmmmm...
Off we go, lovely road with some nice windies that bikes love. Nice in sun. I went around one corner and saw a deer standing on side of the road, one little blip of the throttle on my bike sent that creature skidadilling I can tell you, yes siree! No more deer. I didn't want to bounce out in front of Nev. Ever since I didn't get to see a squirrel at Grand Canyon Nev has been spotting them all over the place, (even rowing a dingy out in the middle of a lake). I think he's pulling my leg?
It started getting colder and colder and more snow appeared on sides of the road, yes more snow! Man it got cold, but roads clear and no ice! Nev's eyes told me my navigating duties were on borrowed time.
Anyway, got to top where snow was 3-4 ft deep each side and a rangers truck blocking the road. Fortunately we could go down the road which we knew and we went through a fairly new ski town called Brian Head? Looked nice with high end accommodation lodge and private dwellings. Some of these places even had massive RVs (truck like recreational vehicles), underneath their homes. Before we got there we went over a 10,000 ft snow covered pass. That's higher than Mt Ruapehu! Looked beautiful but quite high enough thank you.
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| Mountain pass at Cedar Breaks, heading down towards Brian Head alpine resort |
As we dropped you could feel the temperature rise, very noticeable on bikes when wearing jeans. We had to still it easy because when it snows they put cinders on the roads, when the snow goes the cinders remain. A bit like having fine gravel on the corners. You can feel the 'twitchy ness' through the tyres.
You forget that there are wild critters in this sort of country, like bobcats, snakes and bears and in other parks coyotes. You can't just hop off your bike and get out of your car and go bush for a few days without taking precautions for such an encounter. Anyway whilst stopped to drill some warm holes in the snow I didn't have any such encounter. Again it was so still and quiet, absolutely beautiful. If you love nature at it's best then this is the country for you. I would to spend some more time in certain areas hiking some of the alpine trails.
Down to Parawon, (sounds like something out of Lord Of The Rings doesn't it), for fuel. For the first time ever the nice lady behind the counter let us fill the bikes up on trust, then pay. Wow, my bad-boy biker image seems to have taken a turn for the worst. It's really funny, if you hand over a $100 note they always hold it up to the light to see if it's a counterfeit. Some places even have a special pen that swipe across the note, if it changes colour it's a baddie. It's quite a problem here. Hehe... They don't do it with any $1 notes I give them?
The day was getting on and so were we. We zapped down Interstate 15 to Cedar City. We were moving at a legal 80mph (128ks) and took no time to get there. There were still cars AND trucks passing us. I guess that's what the interstates were designed for, getting places fast but they aren't places for fools! We rode another 96 miles at a much more sedate pace (65), as we had turned off the interstate and were heading to Caliente for the night. We had done our homework the night before on TripAdvisor and knew there were 4 good places to stay.
We were moving quite quickly through some nice twisties when boom we were there! It seemed to come up quite quickly. I think we were enjoying the winding roads through amazing rock formations and didn't notice the mileage ticking away.
Caliente is small town and has a bygone era feel to it. It thrived once when gold was found in the hills then in later years the railways. When the work dried up so did the town. It has some core businesses and lots of young families it would seem.
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| Caliente Nevada - I liked this town! |
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| Typical houses in Caliente NV |
We rocked into the Midway Motel and was met by a very friendly lady who said $50 for a double room. Done! And what nice rooms they were too, smallish but clean with comfortable beds. With a visiting cat called Jeffery, he had a crooked head but was friendly and regarded each of the units his own. I'll give them a good write up on TripAdvisor!
We freshened up, put on our best cowboy boots and clinked our way way to the local bar and grille. The Branding Iron. Nev had the open steak sandwich with chips and I had liver and onions with mashed potatoes. Only two types of beer Budweiser & Coors. We had our first Budweiser's.
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| Cowboy Nev at the "Branding Iron" - Caliente NV |
Everyone knows everyone here and there wouldn't be many secrets, but they all friendly enough. Uh huh, yes sir! You can almost see them tilting their heads as they try to lock in on your accent & try to understand what you are saying.
We walked back in the light still and wandered down the main street. Lots of abandoned buildings and shops closed up. Another biker had arrived on my favorite bike, a Kawasaki Concours. Black. Nice.
Nev still treating his eyes with the drops. They seemed to be improving. Nighty nite, mind the bed bugs don't bite.
Oohh, not a good thing to say in America.
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