Day 43

Great night's rest ... feel much better now. Should be ready to hit the road by 07:30 ... heading to the town of Monticello ... only now realised it's at an altitude of 7000+ft, so that means a bit of a climb up onto the plateau. Phew! I thought it was downhill from here on in? Well ... that was a long lonely run up here to the town of Monticello. Gained about 3000' in elevation though the gradient was gradual for most of the way. Not complaining ... climbing hills is like putting money in the bank ... I'll get the benefit of it later. Didn't meet a soul the whole day ... plenty of people about but they are all in cars. The highlight of the day was a big shower of rain ... lovely cool rain ... lasted about half an hour and gave a bit of drama to the wonderful scenery. I've been lucky ... this could have been a very hot stretch of road to contend with but I got through it with ease.


This was a notorious social hotspot way back in the 1930's or later ... catering for miners not minors!


Brilliant pieces of industrial artwork.


Lots of things to see here.


I loved this. A very comfortable garden seat hewn out of a big rock.


This is Wilson Arch, Utah ... I'm sure you've seen this before on biscuit tins or calendars. I'm seeing so much awesome scenery that I'm like a wee boy stuffing himself with chocolates ... how much more can I take?


Coming into Monticello I met Peter from Austria. Long time since I met a fellow traveller. He has come from LA and is doing a tour up through the Rockies ... it was lovely to get feedback on his route here. He warned me not to pitch a tent in any National Park without a permit ... he was fined $50. Hmmm? I've got the message Peter. Thanks for the warning. I checked the statistics on this blog site and am astonished to see that over 80 people, from 6 countries have visited the pages on 11800+ occasions ... Wow!! I'm flattered and delighted that this is happening. It has been a major incentive to keep me pedalling ... and I enjoy doing these daily updates too. Thank you for showing an interest. Monticello was founded by the Mormons and they've made a good job in colonising the area. The town sits high on a fertile plateau but is famous for the rich deposits of uranium that was excavated from here in the 1940's. A prime golf course has now been built on the site ... and I'm gonna try and do a bit of stealth camping on it later. Not going to ask permission ... think I know what the answer will be. An alternative site might be up at the beautiful Mormon temple grounds? First, let's get something to eat and have a 'nosey' about the town. This was a hard, satisfying day. Had a look at the Mormon Temple and it's a beautifully crafted building but the grounds are too nice for a scruff like me to invade. Instead, I see the smooth flat sportsfield behind the school ... I ask a local man if anyone would mind and he encouraged me to pitch the tent there. Great! Being so high up (over 7000') means that it's cool so I'll wrap up well and should have a quiet, cosy night. No trains, no semis and no coyotes! Peace. In the early hours of the morning there was a torrential burst of rainfall that woke me out of a deep sleep ... where did that come from? About 2 minutes later it occurred again ... damn it! It's the sprinkler system ... I peered out of the tent to see a deluge of water being sprayed everywhere. This lasted for 2 hours and I'm soaked to the skin. My little tent can't stand up to that sort of attack ... no problem ... will spend part of the day drying stuff out. Apart from that, I had a good night.

Location:Moab - Monticello