signs and fun things from a road trip to the Little Red Riding Hood Ride in Utah

[marni]

I am taking a two day road trip to Albuquerque to meet up with my next oldest sister and her bike, will hang around with her part of tomorrow and all day Monday and then we will pack bikes etc and drive on to Salt Lake City to meet up with the younger twin sisters, hang around a day or two for sister time, then pack two bike and riders per car and carvan the two cars up to Logan for the weekend to do theLittle Red Ride ride. The process will reverse after the ride.

So today I left Houston and headed out through Waco, and Abilene to Lubbock for the first half to the drive to Albuquerque. I am definitely in west Texas heartland with miles and miles of miles and miles. Highlights from today's drive are as follows:
typical radio song country and western style included the chorus "two wives, three dogs, four cars, five jobs, and now I just
don't care anymore.
Road names I would love to know the background and origins of: Noodle Dome Road and Stink Creek road.
Museum I would also like to know the general contents of: the WASP Museum. ( is it an acronym, a sting , or an Anglo Saxon?)
Pithy sign for the day: on a black background with gold lettering " Don't Make Me Come Down There." GOD

[thekarens]

Sounds like the fun has begun! I couldn't live there, but Utah is the prettiest state I've ever been to. It's gorgeous. I know you'll have a great ride with your sisters.

[Jolt]

Funny one I saw outside a gas station on the way back from a hike last weekend: "Fire danger extremely high--don't even fart in the woods!" I think we're OK as far as moisture now...we just had way too many days in a row of rain!!

[marni]

Made it safely to ABQ and am happily digesting a couple of green chile enchiladas and a local microbrew beer. The highlight of driving the the flat flat emptiness that is west Texas from Lubbock to the NM state line was the town of Bovina, three grain elevators , a dozen houses, a gas sttion/quick mart/local post office/garage/farm equipment repair etc and about a jillion feed lots. Approriately named.

[OakLeaf]

WASP museum. Shoulda stopped, you could've taken in the big homecoming. Still might be worth a stop on the way back - either as a bit of women's history or as a belated Memorial Day tribute, or both! Sad that that acronym is being forgotten so quickly. I had to google it myself, and I *knew* about the WASPs, WAVEs and WACs.

[malkin]

I'm enjoying your trip report Marni!

Sounds like the fun has begun! I couldn't live there, but Utah is the prettiest state I've ever been to. It's gorgeous. I know you'll have a great ride with your sisters.

Some parts aren't even very pretty.
I expected not to like living in Utah, and I planned to leave for about the first 10 years I was here, after 23 years, I guess I'll stay for a while.

[thekarens]

I'm enjoying your trip report Marni!


Some parts aren't even very pretty.
I expected not to like living in Utah, and I planned to leave for about the first 10 years I was here, after 23 years, I guess I'll stay for a while.

I've been to Utah a lot since I used to live in Idaho and my sister lives in Colorado. We'd drive over regularly. It's true there are ugly spots like all states, but the pretty spots are drop dead gorgeous!

Marni, can't wait to hear the rest of your report. I bet y'all have a fantastic time.

[marni]

crankin- thank you for the link to the WASP museum. I will try and stop by on the way back to houston.

Today we went to two bike stores one for a sale at which sister kris managed to find a black skirt and biking shorts combo and I found a pair socks with I (heart) my bike. For some reason the bike shops in Houston seem to have recently gone over to a shorter style of sock that barely covers the ankle bone. These are high enough to actually provide the protection they are supposed to.

Then we went to the brand spanking new TREK superstore. Gorgeous with a full line of trek bikes and a whole lot of very nice canondales as well. Lots of bike "bling" like coclor coordinated bar tape and cable covers and bottle racks which I checked out for the new bike which I will be ordering in celebration of the big 65, after I get home for this adventue. Lots of happy fondling and considering. The store is so new that not many people know about it yet. The sales persons were so bored that they were rding demo bikes in cirles around the displays practicing rear wheel lifts, wheelies and track stands which was both inpiring and amusing.

[Skippyak]

Utah is a great spot for sure. LRRH is a lovely ride, I won't do it again I suspect because it is such a pain to get into nowadays, but I have enjoyed the 3 I have participated in. Plus, I think it is too far to drive from my part of the SLC outer burbs LOL.

[marni]

In Salt Lake City with sisters after a long beautiful and dramatic day of driving from Albuquerque via the Navajo Reservation on former route 666 now route 491 past Shiprock then west past Canyonlands, Arches, Goblin Gardens, Bryece, Zion, and Capital Reef Nation Parks, gorgous land forms and colors, each more striking than the last, Lots of climbing up through mountain passes and dramatic swooping dropsinto the canyons. Saw about a dozen bike riders on various bikes with or with self supported camping gear. Moab is definitley a place to go back to to visit and ride, it looks like the area has every sort of outdoor and biking on and off road adventure that any one could want. About 150 miles further on at Fort Cove we turned north into rain dropping veils of most over the mountains and canyons, into heavy rain with the sun sending slashes of golden sunset light through mists and veils of dark heavy rain to the west of us and black clouds with lightning to the north and right of us. By the time we drove into Salt Lake it was black as night and pouring down and loooking and feeling distinctly like tornado weather. The weather is looky wet and cool for the ride today and through the week and the ride. Fingers crossed that it improves. Great to be together having sister time.

[molliewog]

We've had a crazy weather week. Thank goodness it looks good for Saturday!

[thekarens]

That is so awesome! Great pics too. Glad y'all had such a good time.

[AppleTree]

Marni, fabulous ride report! What a great day for you and your sisters. It's nice to be flexible on goals. To me having fun on the bike is more important than achieving a set mileage.

Bollywood dancing??? Hahaha!!

Loved your photos, so glad you had nice weather that day.

[marni]

Yesterdays' adventure was to take our bike up Emmigration Canyon (lovely wide bike shoulder and share the road signs along with a significant number of bikers going both up and down the canyon) up to (short steep curvy climb) and over Farleys Flat(longer smooth but equally steep swoops complete with more bikers) down to to Park City to ride the rail trail. It was another drop dead perfect riding day- temps in the mid 70s, slight breeze, cloudless sky and low humidity.

The last time I was in park city was 50 years ago, long before the ski area and all of the resorts. The main street consisted of an old victorian mining era theater, an equally aged church, some false front stores, a loose grouping of victorian era homes in various states of repair and scattered mountain cabins and summer homes. Needless to say it has changed as the whole area has become a ski resort with condos, large hotel facilities, restaurants, box stores and very many homes.

However either with the ski resort which went in in the 90s or since, they have put in a substantial trail and rail trail system in and out of town along with main street wide enough to accommodate a bike lane in either direction. Park City was originally a mining town so there were several rail systems and junctions coming through and into town and connecting it to Wyoming to the East and Salt Lake (a major railroad center) to the West.

We parked near where the old ( now new and trying to look authentic but not quite making it) train station was and took the rail trail down towards the bottom of the canyon and then down the canyon where the most recent and smaller ski resort Canyon Lands is just starting to take off.

The slope was a gentle one to two percent,.(coasting down , easy climb back up at the end) running through water meadows and wetland belts between or at the back of various condo and housing areasand out into the fields at the valley bottom. We had the sound of a trickling stream beside us for quite a while along with some beaver ponds, one with an enormous and very elaborate beaver dam, several types of flowering trees which I can't name, red winged blackbirds and magpies chirruping and squawking and general beneficent mother nature. A couple of road crossings which were well marked and gated with a post in packed dirt to slip past. The roads were side roads and not busy. One brief stretch on the road to transfer to another trail and then fairly level with some ups and downs and a highway underpass to take us down to the trail running down the canyon towards the Canyons. This trail had more "terrain features" with several short steep climbs, some curves and bends and some gentles slopes amid the hillside growth of broom, grass, trees, some sage and many other shrubby type growths, a dog park, school, hospital and more open country side. We went down this almost to Canyonlands and then turned around and reversed our course. We only rode about 25 miles, but between the extra 2,000 feet elevation and Kris' gears still acting up a bit, it was enough to loosen up the legs and really enjoy the ride.

On our way back down the canyon we ate at Ruths Diner a famous and infamous diner that has been, first in Salt Lake since 1920 and the canyon since 1950. It was the place that all the frat boys snuck away to from the University to smoke and drink beer. The original diner is still there but upgraded and improved. Lovely outdoor patio with lilacs (in full bloom) a large trees along with another little brook. Good variety of vegetarian, vegan and carnivore dishes.

Today we are going out to ride the JordanRiver Trail towards Provo and from the looks of it it will be another gorgeous dayE

[BikeDutchess]

So glad you are enjoying your cycling adventures in our fair state! When I first read your latest ride report, I thought you biked up Emigration Canyon and then biked on to Park City - please tell me that's not what you did because I would feel totally inadequate! Hope you enjoy the JRT - watch out for those goatheads.