Monday June 26, 2006 48 miles - Total so far: 1,036 miles

We woke on a cold morning to darkness and packed for a dawn start into Capitol Reef National Park. Almost immediately outside Torrey we plunged downhill into rock canyons as blurred images of red rock formations and white Navajo sandstone combined for unbelievable natural beauty. Unfortunately, the sun had not risen high enough to illuminate the canyon walls sufficiently for us to get many photos. Capitol Reef National Park is roughly 75 miles long and only 5-10 miles wide. We cut through the center of the park as we coasted down alongside the Fremont River.

Today's ride was virtually all downhill and we made only two extended stops. The first stop was for me to apply chewing gum to fix a rattle on my front fender...it worked! Incidentally, we also brought along a little duck tape, safety pins, and plastic ties for future emergencies. The second stop was for breakfast at the isolated Luna Cafe, which had the distinct, warm feel of times gone by.

We reached our destination, Hanksville, with the afternoon free to work on our journal and for me to finish a painting of prickly poppies...a flower we've seen occasionally along the road in Nevada and Utah.

Incidently, today we surpassed the 1,000 mile mark, or approximately one-fourth of our journey!