Wise River

Joe and Cory test driving the recumbent tandom: The Big Hole River: the Tribe at the Wise River Club enjoying the music: cattle drive through town.

Wednesday's ride was a long haul for the tribe: 75.3 miles from Dillon into Wise River, climbing Badger Pass and climbing up the Pioneer Mountain Scenic Byway, then down through Grasshopper Gulch and then 30 more miles into Wise River.  They hit 6,760 feet at Badger Pass!  It was a glorious day for a ride, heating up in the afternoon as they wheeled into the "dot on the map" Wise River that hosts two saloons, one merchantile, one hotel (part of one of the saloons), one restaurant and the community center that we used for meals.  We were a little spread out, camping at the school, dining a few blocks away at the c. center, then showering in rooms at the hotel/cabins a few more blocks away.  Marker Bob had arrows going every which way around town!

The tribe feasted on a Spring Green salad, honey spiced pork chops, steamed fingerling potatoes, creamy polenta, sauteed mushrooms and spinach, and pound cake with fresh strawberries with pineapple.  The polenta was a big hit, especially topped with the veggies!  Yumm.

After dinner we were treated to live music at the Wise River Club.  The band that Tony hired did not show, so the owner, a character of a Scott's Man, picked up his guitar and a friend and gave a great performance.  Evidently he played with a band that opened for Van Halen way back when.  It was a fun way to wind down a long, long, day.

We got the tribe up and out early for another quite long day of 54 mles to Butte.  They wander along to the mining town of Anaconda, then up to Fairmont Hot Springs then into Butte where we will camp at Montana Tech.  It's going to be another hot day, thunder showers predicted for the afternoon.  We got held up going out of town as we encountered a cattle drive going up the canyon.  The babies are so cute!  But talk about a smelly, messy way to cover 5 miles!

We will have a layover day in Butte.  Lot's of exploring to take place with the mines and the old downtown!

Montana

Going up: the tent crew putting up our dining room: the view from the second day's climb: going up! The second days climb (on a tandom recumbent trike no less!) Lilacs everywhere.The bike camp at Twin Bridges. GOATS! I got to feed goats.

Jack and I left the tribe in Cedar City on Friday morning and headed North to Montana.  We drove to Idaho Falls the first day, then on to Bozeman.  What a gorgeous drive through West yellowstone, down the Gallatain River into Bozeman.  Sadly, we saw no wildlife.  I wanted moose and elk and wolves, oh my.  

The Montana staff arrived on Saturday and we spent a lovely evening bbq'ing brats and chicken and reliving past trips.  The Montana tribe arrived on Sunday to an overcast day with random rain showers.  We had a great time watching Joe and Cory put up the carnival tent for our outdoor dining room! And we all lost our wagers the Mo would not arrive with the van from Utah before 4:00.  Good job MO!!! After the initial map meeting for the week the tribe dined on coleslaw with apples and craisins, bbq'd pulled pork, opa's sausages w/ sauerkraut, steamed potatoes and carrots and cookies for dessert.  Those sausages have made quite a hit, and FYI you can order them on line for home delivery!  

After a rainy night the tribe was up early for a completely fabulous ride through green, rolling hills; wandering along the Madison River, into the little town of Norris and then into Ennis, population 840. If you're driving through Norris you have to stop at the Adirondack chair store on the corner.  It's one of 4 buildings in Norris so you can't miss it.  If I could fit the greenhouse that they build into my truck, I would be hauling it home. ( I was able to bring home a chicken coupe from Missoula 2 years ago, Jack said it wouldn't fit but it did!) I think the green house wouldn't fit.  Instead, I bought a really cute bird house to put in my mom's garden. 

In Ennis we stayed at the high school just a block from town.  Really great shopping, antiques and bars.  

Dinner in Ennis was a spinach salad with strawberries & honey mustard dressing, Greek lemon chicken, steamed asparagus, basmati rice, and brownies for dessert.  The vegetarians, quite an easy bunch on this trip, feasted on Quinuo stuffed portabello mushrooms.  YUMMM!  They are so good and so easy.  I will post the recipe.

On Tuesday the tribe was up uber early: a little nervous about the hill that they at been staring at all afternoon.  Kind of a hill.  Maybe more like a pass.  Ok, almost 2000 feet of climb early on.  But there was a great downhill on the other side!  And, you ended the downhill in historic Virginia City, population140.  I'm sensing not many people live out here.  After passing through Nevada City, and for the lucky few; stopping at the town bakery for amazing cinnamon rolls. After passing through the town of Alder, population 125, the tribe meandered along another 47 miles into camp in Dillon.  (population 3500, whoohoo!) Lunch was served at the rest stop in Twin Bridges, population 375, (ok: I'll try and get off of the population thing).  There is a really cool bike camp at the rest stop, providing touring cyclists with restrooms, showers, an enclosed dining area, dish wash station, and message board to pass on info to other riders.  What a great resource.  Point of interest: the bike camp is situated next to the old state orphanage.  It's for sale if you're in the market.

The dinner tonight was a new menu: I was sweating this one: Texas tossed green salad, steamed rice, 2 bean chili with pork, from scratch no less, shrimp jambalaya, grilled tortillas, and Nana's rum cakes for dessert.  The chili, as well as the jambalaya, turned out great!  The recipe for the chili and Jambalaya can be found in the cook book, Texas On The Plate, written by Terry-Thompson- Anderson.  I picked this up in Fredericksburg, Texas, and would highly recommend it as an addition to your cook book collection.  You can find it on Amazon for about $10.00 less than what I paid for it.  The only problem that I have with it is that I don't think I have any local rattlesnakes to make the rattlesnake chili.  I'll have to source that one.  

Tomorrow we are of to the town of Wise River, population about 70, (I can't help it).  We will double the population of the town!  Lot's of climbing tomorrow, so off for a massage and early to bed.  Life is tuff. 

What a GREAT TRIP!

Old home in Panguitch: brownies & beer; does it get any better? Bob P. after the long ride to Cedar City: Jack hard at work on luggage: the tribe at dinner at Willow Glenn: the staff dinner table.

I have not posted on my blog for the last couple of days: all has been kind of a blur. I am really stressing trying to coordinate with the Red Cross and Matt's CO to get him home for Dad's service.  The Red Cross has been amazing: his CO a little non compliant.  And, Scott is off doing his physical exams to join the Marines after graduation next year!  I am very proud of my boys, but sometimes they just don't listen!

 I know I fed my tribe this week, I think I fed them well, but it has been such an emotional roller coaster.  I couldn't tell you what they had for lunch today!  I can not express how wonderful the tribe has been this week.  So, so supportive and kind.  Thank you so much, guys.  I really hope that the tour was a good experience, and that you ate well.

Enough said: We left Bryce Canyon on Wednesday after spending time exploring the Canyons.  The weather was great and many hikes and bike rides took place.  The tribe ventured into the little town of Panguitch and most stopped at Henrie's Drive In for shakes, or a great greasy burger.  I know we did!
The double chubby burger is way too good! I really needed the corn dog and the taco to top it off!

Panguitch is a jewel of a town: it has a deep history that unless you dig in and explore,you would think it was just another dot on the map.  Panguitch was settled in 1864 by Mormon emigrants.  Panguitch is the Paiute Indian word for  "big fish".  Panguitch lake is known for it's trout fishing.  In 1864 the crops that the settlers put in froze before harvest, leaving the people with no supplies for the winter.  A group of 7 men volunteered to go over the mountains and obtain supplies.  They used quilts, made by the Mormon women, to support themselves as they trudged through the deep snow.  The second weekend in June Panguitch holds their annual quilt festival to commemorate this.

If you explore the town you will see that most of the older homes are made of brick.  There was a large masonry business here after the town was settled and many of the workers were compensated partially for their work by receiving bricks to build their homes.

The other part of Panguitch's history that is quite controversial is the Mountain Meadows Massacre.  It is controversial because the exact direction of the orders to carry out the massacre are not clear.  Many believe it was by B. Young himself, while others believe it was a group of local Mormon settlers.  In 1857 a group of non Mormon settlers arrived in Salt Lake from Arkansas.  They were short on provisions and were denied assistance from the Mormon settlers in the area.  They moved on to the Mountain Meadow that is just North West of St. George, South West of Cedar City.  While camped there a group of Mormon men dressed as local Indians converged on the camp on September 11, 1857.  They battled with the Arkansas settlers for 5 days until sending in a sentry to supposedly negotiate a settlement.  When the settlers agreed they were attacked again and 120 emigrants the were murdered and buried in shallow graves.  The children under the age of 7 were spared and were adopted into local Mormon homes.  The US government investigated the massacre, but this was interrupted by the Civil War.  Only one man, John D. Lee was indicted.  He was thought to be the "brains behind the massacre".   His history reaches back to the early emigration of the Mormons to Utah.  He was the adopted son of B. Young and a friend of Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS.  After the massacre he fled to Colorado river and founded the Lee Crossing. He practiced plural marriages and had 19 wives and fathered 67 children.  In 1874, when indicted for his participation in the massacre, he was executed at the sight of the massacre, supposedly sitting on the side of his coffin.  His body laid in the basement of the city hall in Panguitch for a long period of time, as no one wanted to bury him.  He was finally laid to rest in the cemetery just East of Panguitch.

It is really interesting to explore the history of the places that we travel!

Panguitch is also home to the best hardware store I have ever seen.  As the town is pretty isolated, they carry everything.  Even fabric and quilt supplies!  Yeah!

So, food wise, Wednesday night's dinner was a feast of apple spinach Waldorf salad, roast pork with mushroom gravy, steamed Yukon gold potatoes, cauliflower and carrots, white bean puttinesca, and applesauce cake for dessert.  We had visitors in the night, 4 little kitties that helped themselves to the cake after hours!

The tribe made down the mountain: Cedar Breaks is still closed due to snow, so they rode around by Duck Creek.  The winds were pretty horrendous: many chose to sag.  Not a bad idea! The alternate route that the tribe took today is a beautiful ride: aspen trees, meadows, miles of lava fields. I think it is even better than Cedar Breaks. After fighting the winds that blew every way but the way they should have,  the tribe came into camp and finished their last dinner of this trip. With spicy cabbage salad, yellow curried chicken, peanut yam tofu, basmati rice, sauteed snow peas, and fresh baked brownies for dessert, they feasted well.

We had a great last map meeting, with awards for the oldest male rider (81:amazing!), the oldest female rider (76 way to go!); the heaviest luggage, the most stylish luggage, and a few more.  We presented Jack P. with a luggage scale to help keep him entertained in his 20 hours of down time every day! (Sorry Jack, had to pick on you this trip.)

After  a good breakfast this morning we sent the tribe on their way.  We are headed to Montana, so I will keep you posted on that ride!  Again, thank you Utah Tribe for helping me through this week.  Happy Trails.

For My Dad

Fred Beals, Cycle Washington 2010.  Doing what he loved; sharing the bounties of the Pacific Northwest.

I can't express how much Dad will be missed.  By me, my children, my family, and those who were fortunate enough to know him.  Thank you to all of the tribe members that shared in his life the last 17 years for adding to his rich heritage.  He loved the bike tours, traveling to Montana, Utah and of course, the Washington tour. He created some lasting friend ships with many of the riders as well as the staff. ( Erin, Kim, Tom, Bob, Linda, Tony, Annie, John G., he always wanted to know where you were and what you were doing.)

  He loved trading stories and sharing his knowledge about the great state that we live in. He loved being able to provide the salmon and sometimes clams that we enjoyed on the tours. He loved sharing in my nomadic life style, while worrying all of the time. He watched his grandchildren grow up with the weird Mom, hauling them around the country chasing bikes.   He was and always will be such a huge part of who I am and what I do.  Dad, we love you and will forever miss you.  

On to Beautiful Hatch

A new meaning to the phrase: shoe tree; the awesome threesome (Ranger Tommy, Kevin, Marker Bob); the Utah tribe at dinner: my new bff: Linda off for a hike.

What a glorious day for a bike ride!  After riding into Hatch (not much has changed except the tile on the bathroom floors and new showerheads) and completely devouring a dinner of marinated vegetable salad, Greek lemon chicken, curried rice & lentils, sauteed zucchini & patty pan squash, and Nana's world famous rum cakes for dessert, the tribe settled in for a quiet night.  They got up early (almost even Mo) and headed up the hill for a short ride to Ruby's Inn at Bryce Canyon.  I think everyone made it in before noon and headed up to hike and sight see.  The weather is so good right now, perfect for exploring the Queen's Court, Fairyland, Wall Street.  If you haven't been here this is a park you need to see.

This was a hard day and a half for me and for Jack, as well my family.  My dad passed away on Monday at about 2:30 pm.  It is hard to be out here and not be close to my boys and family.  I won't be home for two weeks: many tears are being shed.  The tribe is being so wonderful: thank you. 

Tonight is BBQ night: straight from Fredericksburg, Texas we will serve up Opa's sausages with sauerkraut, smoked brisket, cowboy beans, wedge salad, and assorted home made cakes for dessert.  

Tomorrow is more exploring and then downhill to Panguitch.  We missed the quilt walk by one week.  What's up with that oh great trip organizers in Missoula?  Where's the priorities?  Just kidding.  Jack was gracious enough to stop yesterday at a quilt shop in Cedar City.  Too many quilt shops, too little time.  

SCONES! Line caught rainbow trout: Goofing off before the ride (isn't there a no butt shot rule?" : Really cool wind devices in Springdale: Take note ACA:Mo was really at breakfast before 8:00; the staff "hard at work" in St. George.

And we're off to Springdale!  After a yummy breakfast of fresh raspberry scones and such the tribe headed up the canyon to Zion National Park.  It was a great day for a ride: warm but overcast, so not too hot. We arrived at a packed camp ground.  I don't ever remember the parks being this full.  Prior to 9-11 they were busy, then after 9-11 there was no one in the parks for a couple of years.  Now the Euro is strong and people are on the move!  Most of the tourists are French and German, with a few Californians thrown in the mix.  

Jack and I did a quick Costco run, had a great, inexpensive breakfast at Bishop's grill in Washington,  and stopped at my favorite pottery store in Springdale.  We snagged a great clay pot by my favorite artist, the Mayor of Springdale, for 40% off !!  Yeah! Then headed into camp. 

Dinner tonight was a feast of all feasts.  We love to fish, and trout fish with my Dad every chance we get.  A few years back I bought a commercial Vacuseal machine and we use it for everything: including the 51 line caught rainbow trout we served tonight! 

 So: dinner was a spring green salad with minted strawberries and a pomegranate vinaigrette, grilled rainbow trout, steamed asparagus, Indian vegetable stew, and pound cake with rhubarb strawberry sauce for dessert.  

The tribe spent the afternoon touring and hiking in Zion.  I think the Emerald Springs was a favorite this year.  The water level is too high to hike the Narrows.  The water level in every river and stream from Washington to Utah was extremely high!  

Tomorrow is the incredible ride up the switch backs to the tunnel where they catch a shuttle through to the other side and then ride through amazing places like the Checkerboard Wash and down to the beautiful downtown Hatch, Utah.  I've raved about Hatch before.  We'll see what's new there! 

Cycle Utah!

How I spent my morning in Cedar City!

We're here!  Bright, sunny, hot Southern Utah.  It's so nice to be out of the clouds and rain!  Granted we did have enough sunny days at home to get the garden in and get one fishing trip in. (Dad caught 9, I caught 8, Jack caught 1, but who's keeping track!) I spent quite a bit of the time between trips working on quilts, recuperating from the Texas crash, and working at the school.  I spent one day putting together a camp survival kit for a special friend attending his first MDA camp this summer.  Andriy, if you read this it is a requirement that you use all the tools I supplied you to torment your counselor: I think 202 wacky camp songs and 500 water balloons is a good start.  We also got Scott ready to head to Italy and Greece in 11 days and Matt off to Camp Lejeume to prepare for his tour in Afghanistan.  We had a nice dinner with a long time rider and staff person from the ACA rides: Mr. Gantt I hope your trip in Alaska is going well!  Hope the mosquitos are leaving you alone.  The other great news this week is that Aaron got accepted to grad school at the U in Missoula!  Way to go Aaron!  Oh yes, Jack bought a hole in the water to dump money into.  Actually, he bought my dad's boat!  We hope to spend a lot of time bringing home Dungeness crab and salmon!

This is trip #19 for Cycle Utah!  I did not cater the first tour but have every one since.  The first year we were here was hysterical.  We flew into Vegas, rented a mini van, loaded up at Costco (there was not one here at that time) and drove to St. George.  We transferred to a Uhaul truck and met my parents at the camp ground.  They drove down from Seattle in their motor home with Scott and all of our equipment.  Sysco Food Services dropped our shipment in the parking lot of the camp in 100* heat and we spent hours packing it all into STYRAFOAM coolers with ice.  Needless to say the coolers did not last the trip.  We had over 100 riders plus staff.  They kept us running to keep them supplied in beer.  The liquor store in Panguitch had never had such a busy day!  I can still remember the awe and amazement that I experienced when we rounded a curve to Zion and the canyon opened up before us.  It still takes my breath away!  We had no way to transport the food that we had left over at the end of the trip, so we had a give away at the campground in Cedar City: many happy trailer park residents that day.

We have the A crew this week to help make for a great week.  Daryl and Kim are here from Kentucky: Kevin just finished the Utah Inn to Inn and is mechanic for the week: Jack and his grandson Blake: Marker Bob and Linda on massage and of course Ranger Tommy, our fearless leader!  The weather is projected to be great: cold in Hatch but that's how it always is!  At least it's not under water.  It looks like parts of Montana is: we hope the water goes away before next week.  

(Tonights dinner, by the way, is a tossed green salad with feta cheese, homemade meat lasagna, vegetarian lasagna, orzo with fresh chantrelles & garlic butter, dolmas, garlic bread & homemade cookies.)

Oh, I have one bone to pick with a picky camper: you can complain all you want about not having beer in State Parks: but read the sign at the entrance: Public consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited in all State Parks. That means you can get a nice fat ticket and we can be removed.  Also, we want to be able to use the parks again, so we follow the rules: we don't make the them.

So: follow us on a great trip through the canyons of Utah and see what mischief we can get into!