Day 75: Escalante to Tropic

Last night, I went to sleep before the sunset. I was awaken by the sunrise, but still felt tired. When I finally woke up it was 6:30 AM. At 7, I went to the cafe inside the outfitter and had a cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese. I chatted with the barista, who has a brother living in Philadelphia. After breakfast, I packed up everything. At 8 AM, I got on the road.

I was thinking about my future for half of the ride, even I was riding through some great scenery. I guess I should have paid more attention to the moment, but the mind has a way of wandering. The good thing about the wandering mind is that I cycled most of the way up the hill without knowing it.

Riding on a slight uphill

At the overlook by the summit, I talked with the Elias family, who came from Lansing, Michigan. They were very interested about my trip and I commented that they are doing a great thing by traveling as a family and seeing the west. When I was about to get on my bike to leave, a Dutch couple inquired about my trip. I told them that one of these days I will go to the Netherlands since it’s full of bicycles.

The Elias family, touring the west

The ride down the hill was lovely. I was going fast down a turn and I noticed my body tensed up. Luckily, I loosened up and was able to make the turn. I must have been scared since I was going so fast.

Thank goodness for the nice road

I reached Cannonville before noon. At a convenience store, I bought a can of iced tea, a can of spam, and an ice cream bar. Since there was no restaurants in town I rode a few more miles to Tropic and had lunch at The Pizza Place. The BBQ chicken pizza was good, but I felt my service wasn’t. I still left a decent tip, hoping the waitress will become better. I ended up using their WiFi for awhile before riding back a block to Bryce Pioneer Village.

The manager there wanted $30 for one campsite. I thought that was a bit expensive so I asked a group of bikers, the motorcycle kind, if they have seen other cyclists who might be interested in sharing a campsite. Unfortunately, I’m the only cyclist. I ended up talking to Kim, a female biker, for a bit then decided to bite the bullet and get a campsite. The total was about $33 after taxes.

There was a swimming pool on the campground. I decided to go in my briefs since I had sent home my swim trunks a long time ago. There was just me in the pool for quite some time until more people showed up. I decided to leave and see if there’s a grocery store around.

Can I get any tanner?

Clark’s Market is a couple of blocks away. I walked over and bought some more food supplies. When I came back to the campsite, Kristy, another biker of the same group that I talked to earlier, offered to cut my hair. I was hoping to get a haircut once I get to Cedar City in a few days, but now is a good time, too! Kristy is a professional hairstylist and she did a great job cutting my hair using a pair of kitchen scissors and a comb. It was the first haircut that I didn’t cut myself in 19 years!

Kristy giving me a haircut and a shave

After taking a shower to wash away the hair, I walked back to Clark’s Market and had dinner at Rustler’s Restaurant. The meal was mediocre and a bit expensive. I did treat myself to a sarsaparilla float afterward.

Sarsaparilla float

When I came back to the campsite I set up my tent. The day is almost over now. Tomorrow, I plan on riding to Panguitch while stopping by Bryce Canyon via a bus.