Day 39: Oatmeal, packed & ready early, said our goodbyes to Remco & Astrid, stopped by a mulberry tree to snack, met another biker, Bob, who was heading in our direction & would be ending in the same place as us tonight (Hanksville). Cool! We chatted a bit, convinced him to try a berry, then said “see ya later”, knowing we would! We checked out the old schoolhouse & petroglyphs, then found another mulberry tree to snack on! Bob biked past us as we were munchin’ on more berries & joked we were never going to make it to Hanksville if we keep stopping for all the mulberries 🙂 Before leaving Capital Reef, we went for a hike to Hickman Bridge. Nice hike, pretty views.
Finally, we hit the road for Hanksville. Wowza, once we left the park it became the most desolate area we’d biked through yet. Everything was so gray! Mounds & mounds of gray. It felt like biking through a cement quarry. There was nothing for miles, however, there was a surprise motel in the middle of nowhere that we weren’t expecting but were relieved to find. We stopped here for water & lunch. After seeing so much nothing it was nice to see a tree at the motel, plus it provided some sweet shade – a nice break from the hot sun. We met the owners of the motel, who had previously been living in Oregon. They were super awesome, fun to talk to & helpful. They have plans to build a brewery across the road. That’d be a nice oasis in the middle of the desert. One of the owners, Kris, showed us this awesome cross-stitch coin purse a male customer made for her recently. He was thankful for her hospitality so he stitched her name on the purse during his short stay there. Isn’t that so sweet?
Back on the road a bit, then we stopped at a little roadside farm cafe (per Kris’s recommendation). The owner was a cool dude. We chatted a bit, then enjoyed a salad, homemade bread & goat cheese. Mmm, so good. Everything is made & harvested there – awesome 🙂 It was so hot, it was nice to have little breaking spots.
We finished our ride into Hanksville & checked in at an RV park for camping. Sure enough, Bob was there too! We all went into the restaurant on site & had lots of cold water while catching up & talking for a while about his trips & experiences as well as ours. We picked his brain & asked lots of questions.
While we were sitting there, a couple walked in the restaurant & I thought to myself “wow, he looks just like my Uncle Rick” (who lives back in MN), then I realized IT WAS MY UNCLE RICK & AUNT MARTHA!!! I literally squealed, ran up to give them giant hugs & started crying. What a sweet surprise!!! I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited!!! They were on their own trip exploring Utah’s parks & knew we were in the area so they came to find us & say hi.We all got a bigger table & enjoyed dinner & pie while talking about everyone’s trips. What a wonderful, unexpected evening 🙂 They bought dinner for all 3 of us bikers – that was so generous – & pie was their treat for our upcoming wedding anniversary in 2 days – so thoughtful. With dinner over, we exchanged more hugs, took a few group photos, & they were on their way. Before leaving they gifted us some cash to splurge on a hotel/motel some night. Seriously, I have such an awesome family. Thank you so much for everything, Aunt Martha & Uncle Rick! The surprise visit alone & seeing them was treat enough for me. It made my day! Definitely a highlight of our trip. I couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the night; I was so happy 🙂
Back to camp, we set up our tent, did laundry, read a little, then off to sleep…for Ben, at least. Ugh, I had a horrible night of sleep. My irrational imagination struck again. As we were about to fall asleep, this car pulled up next to us (even though the entire parking lot was open) & stayed all night. I didn’t know what they were doing or what they were there for so I couldn’t sleep. Were they going to steal our stuff? Probably not, but it didn’t stop me from worrying. They just slept in their car all night & were harmless; just needed a place to sleep. If they’d parked a little further away I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. Parking next to us when there was so much room elsewhere is what made me nervous.
Reflections
1. Stopping for all the mulberry trees is what this trip (& life) are all about: enjoy things while you can, you never know if or when it’ll come back around. We’re just making the most of them while they’re ripe, otherwise they go to waste!
2. Kris & I both loved the fact that it was a guy who made the cross-stitch coin purse for her. Go role revsrsals!
Currently taking a day off in Beloit,KS…a lot of ground to cover & blogging to crank out since Hanksville! Until next time.
Whitney