Payson to Monroe, Utah

October 20 - 23, 2015

Garmin info with maps

Payson to Nephi

Nephi to Manti

Manti to Salina

Salina to Monroe

Payson and Utah Trikes has been an important stop for me on this tour. I originally bought my trike at Utah Trikes and on many of my previous tours these guys have been very helpful. They always respond quickly to my emails and have been instrumental in getting parts shipped to me, even in foreign countries. I was really looking forward to meeting the guys that have supported me over the years. Another reason for stopping was to get Larry and Myrtle some upgrades. Myrtle got a new derailleur with a 10-speed cassette, shifter and chain. I also added a new Ventisit pad. Maryann replaced Larry's Marathon Racers with Plus for more robust puncture protection. 

Utah Trikes was an interesting stop. They have a lot of trikes in the showroom and are probably the biggest trike dealer in the country.  The guys are very knowledgeable about all kinds of trikes and component combinations but we didn't think anyone working there actually rides a trike. The conversation about our trikes was limited strictly to what we needed done. The guys are all very nice but no-one asked about our trip and they didn't have any information about routes to take south to Bryce National Park, which is only 200 miles away. No gear, trike or touring geek out session with these guys. I don't think this has ever happened at a recumbent shop before. (I have had this reaction from traditional bike shops when the mechanics think recumbents are strange.)  A few people in town commented how cool the trikes are as if they had never seen a trike before and, surprisingly, we didn't see anyone in Payson riding a trike. When I told people I bought my trike in Payson the response always sounded like the locals had no idea that Utah Trikes exists. Most importantly though, Myrtle and Larry were well taken care of and the guys did a great job fixing our trikes. We were very happy with the service we received and really enjoyed seeing the shop. 

After 2 restful nights and the trikes got their upgrades, we pushed off from Payson. First, we had to stop, once again, at Utah Trikes to tighten up Maryann's side seat mount so her bag didn't sag. Dylan was happy to help. The day was overcast and windy but we had a tailwind so woohoo! As the day progressed the wind got windier and windier.  We had some rollers riding on the Mona Hwy but the ride wasn't too taxing.  The road was in good condition with views of cattle ranches and we had plenty of room.  Our destination was Jones High Country RV park in Nephi which looked really nice online with all the amenities any camper could ask for. But, when we arrived, we were surprised to see the whole park was covered in gravel. The tent sites are $20. No one was in the office so we picked a site next to a grassy island moving a picnic table from another site. The wind was so strong it took both of us to set up each tent. Once we got the tents set up we used our bags to block the wind so we could cook up some lunch. It was like a colorful camp stove fort. The wind was so strong we took refuse in the tents for the afternoon. By dinner time the wind was still really strong so we went out for dinner to Lisa's Diner less than a block away. We stayed there until it was time to go to sleep instead of fighting the wind.

Set up at Jones High Country RV park

In the morning, it was still windy and also raining. I checked the radar, while laying in my sleeping bag, and it looked like a large dark cell was directly over us but sunny everywhere else. I was hoping if I stayed in the tent for another 1/2 hour the cell would pass but it didn't. Maryann had moved all her stuff to the main building where the showers and laundry room are. Even though it was still dark out, I packed up everything I could inside the tent and then moved my empty tent to the building as well. Packing in the rain is miserable.  We finally got all our gear loaded up and then went back to Lisa's for breakfast. On the way there my gears were really acting up jumping around. Turns out a plastic bag was caught in and through the derailleur. Wearing torch lamps, that sure was a mess to fix in the dark and rain. Luckily, Maryann had a pair of pliers and was able to remove the plastic, bit by bit.

Summit after leaving Nephi

Dusting of snow on the mountains

Phirun 

There was light rain falling when we finished breakfast starting a climb right out of town. The overnight storm brought a dusting of snow to the mountain tops which was very pretty. The wind had died down making our ride much more enjoyable. We had a good surface until we got to the next county and then the dreaded rumble strips appeared. They weren't wide but we had to straddle them with our front wheels. This meant staying focused on the road.  A guy flagged us down for pictures and he was interested in our trip. As we entered Moroni, some people directed us to a beautiful park and we saw the photographer again. Phirun was coming out of an opera house that was having a fund raiser for a local grade school. He gave us some white chocolate covered popcorn and pretzels that he had just bought. That was really nice and they were also really delicious. We pulled into the park and made up a wonderful stir fry. I went into the community center building across from the park to wash the dishes and some more people wanted to know what we were doing. It was fun talking to everyone and watching their amazed expressions when they heard about the trip.

Photo from Phirun

Thanks Phirun for the photos

This ride was a longer one for us and after 43 miles we arrived in Manti.  It started to rain lightly just as we arrived at the Temple Hill RV Park in the shadow of a very large and impressive looking Mormon temple. Since our tents were already so wet from this morning's rain we asked if the RV park had any cabins and they did. They had one. The cabin hadn't been cleaned yet and they gave it to us for half price, nice! We weren't sure what we were getting ourselves into but the cabin seemed clean enough to us. It was very big too. There were 2 queen size bunk beds and another single queen with a microwave and refrigerator. We stretched our tent flies over the bunk beds to dry them out.  I'm sure there will come a day when we will have to get into wet tents at the end of the day but we didn't have to do it today.

Dreaded rumble strips

The next morning was beautiful but cold and we made oatmeal outside at a picnic table all bundled up before getting the trikes packed.  After a  few pictures of the large temple and a bit of climbing we had some nice smooth downhills.  Rumble strips continued to be an obstacle all day. Sometimes we straddled between the left and rear wheels, sometimes between the right and rear wheels and sometimes we had to be to the left of the white line. Traffic was surprisingly courteous. 

Every day we have stopped at city parks to make lunch. We are carrying 3 stoves and have cooked up some delicious meals. At Gunnison, we stopped at a beautiful and lush green veteran's park for lunch. A young gal of maybe 5 years old, Sadie, was at the park with her grandmother. She ran over enthusiastically introducing herself and was very excited about the trikes.  She was so cute and I happen to get the exchange with my helmet camera too.

Meet cute Sadie at the Gunnison city park

Mormon Pioneer Trail Sign

We had planned to stay at the Butch Cassidy campground in Salina. It was spitting rain when we arrived. Since it had already rained quite a bit in the morning we weren't too excited to put up our tents in the muddy grass. Every day we have been steadily climbing and are now well over 6,000 feet in elevation. The temps in the morning and night have been getting colder and are down into the 30's. We don't have to camp and asked about a cabin. Since it is hunting season, the campground didn't have any cabins available. So, we went across the street to an Econolodge getting checked in for $75.  We have a few more days of climbing until we get to Bryce National Park and expect the overnight temperatures will get even colder. I have a feeling we may not be doing much camping until we descend into warmer terrain.

Lambies on the hwy

Interestingly, all the towns we have been staying at are pronounced differently than expected - with a long I. DelphI, MantI and SalIna. Even Moroni has a long I. We learned that these names are all taken from the Book of Mormon. This area is close to 100% Mormon and every town has a centrally located temple.  We've even seen some FLDS too - fundamental Mormons. The LDS Mormons don't consider them to be part of the church. These fundamentals are quite obvious. They make their own clothes from heavy, darkly colored fabric and dress in an old fashioned style that doesn't show much skin. It is quite formal looking and, too me, reminiscent of the Amish or pioneers.

We left the Econolodge in very chilly conditions. It was probably in the 30's but warmed up quickly as the sun rose higher.  We were able to get off the busier Hwy 89 and took the smaller Hwy 118 to Richfield. Once the temperature warmed up the day was fantastic. We pulled into Richfield stopping at another beautiful park to make lunch. I really like to cook and, luckily, Maryann enjoys my cooking style. Every day, we pick up some veggies to saute with rice or pasta. Today's lunch was especially inspired mixing banana squash, mushrooms, onions, garlic and spinach with angel hair pasta. It takes some time to stop and cook lunch but the meals have been yummy! So far, we have been eating really well and healthy on the road.

Cooking lunch at a city park

The rest of the ride into Monroe was lovely riding passed horse farms and cattle ranches. We went by a farm where a farmer's wife likes all her animals to be lightly colored. She had a white alpaca from St. Croix, hairless sheep from Africa and 2 beige colored horses.  I stopped to chat and take pictures.

Charlie, the alpaca from St. Croix, having a lay down.

One of the tubs

We had made reservations at Mystic Hot Springs of Monroe. I don't usually make reservations but I called to make sure they were open and decided to book a trailer. From the description, I wasn't sure what to expect. The woman said the trailer had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a full kitchen. $90/night also included use of the hot springs 24 hours of day. We were really looking forward to a good soak and decided to take a rest day booking in for 2 nights. Wow is this place a throwback to the 60's. There are a row of old buses for rent and some of them are quite psychedelic. There is another row of trailers in all sizes. The one we are stayed in is called the Mars Hotel and I think people usually just rent a room. Since it's the off-season, the owner gave us the whole trailer. The Mystic Hot Springs of Monroe really have a bohemian feel and all the furniture in the trailer is from the 60's with velvet gold colored couches. Everything about the trailer was funky. The front steps were uneven and all the windows had hippy style flowered curtains. The walls are decorated with posters from a music festival that happens every year in the spring. Even though it had a very lived in feel, the trailer was also very comfortable and the furniture was in good condition. Our first afternoon, we went to the hot springs which are up a fairly treacherous set of stone steps without a handrail for support. There are about 8 large bathtubs dug into the hillside being fed hot water directly from natural springs and 2 large pools. All the tubs are different temperatures and I went directly to the hottest one. It was fantastic. The tubs have a nice tranquil view of the surrounding mountains which only recently received a dusting of snow.  We watched a beautiful sunset while soaking. It was great!

After a nice relaxing rest day we will continue heading south to Bryce and Zion, hopefully, before the weather turns too cold. Yipes!! We are definitely pushing our luck but, so far, we feel very lucky to be riding in mostly beautiful and warm conditions.

Tour of Mystic Hot Springs and Mars Hotel

Buses for rent at the Mystic Hot Springs

Having a sunset soak

Little bit of snow on the surrounding mountains.

Trikes parked outside the Mars Hotel