July 14-15 - Blanding, UT to Lake Powell, UT (Hite Recreation Area) to Hanksville, UT

Mileage: 78 miles, 52 miles
Terrains: Very Gradual Climbs
Temperature: 90ish degrees, 95ish degrees
The ride from Blanding, UT to Lake Powell was beautiful. I got up in Blanding at the campground, packed up my tent and we were on the road by 8:20 am. Stopped at the gas station going out of town and got a Gatorade as I was feeling kind of dry and dehydrated. Everything is much dryer out west here! We rode about 20ish miles out and there was our first rest stop. The scenery is much different in Utah. It is a lot of red rocks and canyons. We stopped at the second rest stop for an hour or so and walked out and sat on a rock and looked down into a canyon and ate. The canyons and red rock are so beautiful. We ride up and around them and the roads curve through them. We then stopped at the final, third rest stop for water. There was nothing for 75 miles so it was important for us to make sure that we made it to each of the rest stops provided for us in order to get water. I thought that there was nothing in Kansas, well there really is NOTHING out here. We didn’t pass a single building for 75 miles and right before the campground that we stayed at there was a small lodge. The campground was rather deserted however, there was a Lake Powell right by our campground. There was maybe 5 houses coming into the campground and I think that the park ranger and people that run the welcome center live there. So I got to the campground which was kind of down in a canyon and there was rock surrounding the campsite. There was also a huge boat dock to dock into Lake Powell which is just the bottom of a canyon which is about 135 miles long. The campsite was beautiful however, there was nowhere to find shade besides the restroom and the trailer. So we pulled a picnic table up along side of the trailer to sit on. I sat up my tent and didn’t have to use my fly as it was very dry and hot out. After I set up my tent which I had to use rocks to hold down due to the ground being hard as rock and not being able to get my stakes in I debated on how to get a “Shower.” So there were no real showers so these were my options. A. Wash in the sink in the restroom. B. Wash in Lake Powell which was murky and full of debris from a storm. C. Use the fish cleaning station beside the restroom which had hose like devices where some others were cleaning fish. D. Use wet wipes to clean up. So what I ended up doing was using my natural biodegradable/ environmentally friendly soap and scrubbed up in the lake in order to get the thick many layers of sunscreen off and sweat and then went to the restroom and washed up in the sink and also used some wet wipes. You learn to become very resourceful on a trip like this. I was really debating using the fish cleaning station which looked like a great shower, only if there weren’t people cleaning fish at the time. However, I did wait forever for them to leave but it was just taking them too long. I then went to sleep in my tent which you could see the sky very well without the fly. I didn’t see any starts however, the moon was sooo bright.
Woke up this morning with the sun rising and shinning in the canyon. Realized, OMG, I am literally in the middle of nowhere. Have not had any phone service whatsoever in a day or so now. Left the campsite at about 8:30ish and started down the road to our first and only rest stop at 25ish miles. It was a very very gradual uphill for some of this time. Stayed at the rest stop for an hour or so, ate and had a squirt gun fight. We all have squirt guns now and play with them all the time like 12 year old boys. We ride with them and squirt each other while riding and pretend to shoot birds and other things and make noise while doing it. It really is a blast. We then took off for the last 25 miles of the day which was a very gradual downhill. The roads here in Utah thus far are very deserted. We will go for miles and not see a car. Even more deserted than Kansas was. Oh, and today I also learned how to ride with no hands. Its lots of fun!!! So once we got into Hanksville, UT we stopped at the first restaurant/gas station coming into town because we were informed by the person working at the campground store that they had really good milkshakes. So I had a delicious Reese milkshake. It came close to the milkshake in Sebree, KY but it still wasn’t as good. We then rode down the street to Hanksville Inn where we are staying tonight. It is just a cheap motel but hey, it has air conditioning!! It is VERY hot out now. So somehow three of us girls ended up in a room with two beds so we drew twizlers for the single bed. I drew a short twizler so get to share a bed. Oh well, at least it’s a real bed. So I am now sitting on the hotel bed and its only 5:15 and I could take a nap!! I think I might!!