August 2 - Canyonlands National Park

Lodging: Moab, UT

Vast seas of red under an unrelenting onslaught of heat - that’s how I would describe Canyonlands National Park. It’s beautiful and formidable at the same time. I alternated between being awestruck by all the beautiful layers of colored rock and worried about my bike having mechanical issues in over 100 degree heat with no people or water in sight. Fortunately I had on my cooler vest and several bottles of water. I did the north end of the park in the morning and there were plenty of people there. But the south end of the park in the late afternoon was almost deserted - in the three hours and over 100 miles off the highway in that area of the park I saw about ten cars total. The visitor’s center had already closed and there was no one there. Fortunately I had my cooler vest as well as plenty of drinking water and water for the vest. Also, my bike did great although the poor thing was hot also. One time when I was pouring water onto my vest, some water dropped onto my pipes and turned into steam instantly!