The travels of the Rambling Roses: Zion to Panguitch, Utah June 21

Friday, June 21, 63.42 in 5:28. It was time to leave Zion, and move on to new adventures. I headed east on Utah 9 with a tail wind and some descent for about 15 miles to Mt. Carmel Junction and US 89, which I was on in Kanab, before taking the loop route to west Zion. As I headed north on 89, I continued to have a tailwind, but I don't have the gears to take advantage of it. I have to get some advise on this derailleur, because the next bike shop is maybe a week away in Moab. I followed the Mystic River upstream for about 25 miles. It was, of course a gradual uphill, but a very pleasant ride. The Mystic River was wet, but it was only about 6-8ft wide and about a foot deep. The area was green and plush, so the scenery was nice. Eventually the road left the river, and made a steep long, uphill, and when I came down the other side, the colorful mountains of the Bryce Canyon area was off in the distance. I also picked up the Sevier River, which was much wider than the Mystic, beautifully clear, and meandering with amazing twists and turns through farm land and cattle farms. The huge irrigation systems were running freely on the hay and alfalfa fields, and it was an idyllic scene, until I noticed a cow carcass about fifty yards from the road. It had been dead for a while, but the cowhide was still covering the caving carcass. A few miles down the road, I saw the skeleton of what I think was a dead horse. Not long after that, I saw another bloated cow carcass. I can't imagine why they died, or why the farmers have not removed the carcasses. It sort of ruined the whole scene. I passed Scenic Byway Utah 12, which goes to Bryce, and headed north for seven miles to the Panguitch KOA, which will be our headquarters for our Bryce Canyon stay. It's a nice little town with a prairie dog village just on the outskirts, and lots of farmland. The only crops seem to be animal feed, however. The whole ride was pretty easy, the scenery beautiful, traffic and road conditions were good after leaving the hectic Zion area. With the elevation above 7000 ft, the days are going to be in the 70's and nights in the 40-50's. perfect.