Day 68: Monticello to Blanding

After having a cup of coffee and more conversations at Noah and Karinne's house, Kevin, James, and I prepared our bikes and went to The Peace Tree for breakfast. We had a good meal, but I wished my portion was a bit more.

Enjoying breakfast with Kevin and James

We stopped by Blue Mountain grocery store after breakfast. I thought I needed more food supplies, but I decided not to get anything since I had gotten some ramen yesterday. Kevin usually cooks his own meals so he bought a lot of things. His bike is packed with front and back panniers, whereas Kevin and I only have back panniers.

I contacted Sarah and she's on her way to Monticello, then to Blanding. She will ride with her other cyclist friend, John, to Natural Bridges Campground this afternoon. I told her I will meet her in Blanding.

At the main intersection in Monticello, I said my goodbyes to Kevin and James. I rode and walked a few hills before seeing Sarah behind me. She told me John is at the Homestead Steak House in Blanding waiting for us. It turned out that John was 140 miles behind Sarah the day before. Stan drove Sarah to pick up John and brought him to Blanding yesterday. Sarah then got a ride from Blanding back to where she had left off at the border of Colorado and Utah and rode from there this morning. I'm surprised that she'll continue from Blanding to Natural Bridges Campground, that's about 40 more miles.

On the way to Blanding, Blue Mountain is on the right

Mountains in the distance

The water and the mountains

When we arrived at Homestead Steak House, I met John. John was in the marine corps and he seemed like a nice guy. I had a BBQ pulled pork sandwich with fries. It was mediocre at best. I told Sarah that it'll take at least 5 hours to get to Natural Bridges campground and it's already close to 2 PM. She convinced John to not ride today. John ended up booking a room at the Four Corners Inn next door for the night. We'll head over to Natural Bridges campground tomorrow together.

I decided to visit Cedar Mesa Pottery, a gift shop and a studio. I was going to buy a pottery for my parents and send it to them, but the shipping was almost the same cost as the pottery itself. I think I will save my money this time.

Some cool potteries at Cedar Mesa Pottery

Currently, I'm at the library across the street from Cedar Mesa Pottery writing my blog post. Tonight, Sarah, John, and I will spend the night at the inn. I'm hoping we can all rise up early tomorrow and ride to Natural Bridges campground in the morning to avoid the heat and the wind.