When I left Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park on the morning of May 12th it was downright cold. I stopped at a roadside rest area on US 89 about 40 miles north (and somewhat higher in elevation) and saw a few trees and plants with tiny icicles hanging off of them!
About 11 am I arrived at the visitor center at Bryce Canyon National Park. There were campsites available, but the temperature was a “brisk” 35º and I opted to continue on my way, knowing that I could return later. I also wanted to stop at Kodachrome Basin State Park, which was nearby, but not when it was so cold.
Utah Route 12, which is the highway that passes by Bryce Canyon and goes north towards Capitol Reef National Park, is a Scenic Byway. And it is quite beautiful. The little bit that I saw of it anyway. It started out rather nicely. But the sky was strange looking. The clouds were blue!
The canyons near Escalante, looking westward. The midway point between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef parks.
Another view of the canyons, taken 10 minutes later, looking west.
The canyons near Escalante, looking to the north. Uh, oh.
I drove into the clouds and saw no more pretty views for the next hour. It snowed. Quite heavily in some places, but the roads were clear. It snowed all the way through the Boulder Mountains.
Near the summit (9600 feet high) of Boulder Mountain the sky started to clear. Steam was rising from the road surface. It felt quite warm when I stepped out of the van to take the picture. But alas, it was just a temporary clearing. It snowed, and sleeted, and slushed most of the way to Torrey, the turnoff to Capitol Reef.
Once again, I stopped at the visitor center. The campground was full. There was BLM land nearby where I could spend the night if I wished. But it was early afternoon, the weather was lousy and more of the same was predicted for the next day. I opted to continue on my way, knowing that I could return later. At least I glimpsed portions of the scenery as the highway meandered through the park.
A check of the map showed that Goblin Valley State Park was an hours drive to the north on Utah Route 24 so I set my sights on spending the night there, which is what I did.
Shortly after I arrived at Goblin Valley, hail fell. Then it thundered and rained. Along about sunset time I glanced out the window and saw the tail end of a rainbow! Ah, Mother Nature in all her glory!
Yes, the photo is slightly out of focus, but it was such an unexpected and glorious sight that lasted only a few moments. It was there. Then it was gone.
You may think that I “complain” a lot about the weather. It's cold. It's hot. The rain. The snow. But I also frequently mention the beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Mother Nature can be fickle and even cruel at times, but you can be assured of just one thing – she is constantly changing. When you are living “on the road” the conditions “outside” are everything, you become more aware of them. The conditions affect your mood. They affect what you do and when you do it. So, yeah, I talk a lot about the weather. It's all I can do. Can't change it, though sometimes I wish I could.
Today Eustacia Vye (my Pashley Pricess) met up with her new friend Frida, the fetching Batavus Fryslan that belongs to Margonaute of ZOMGBicycles.
Margo and I tagged along and sat at an outdoor cafe while the bikes frolicked nearby.
The Batavus Fryslan is a very pretty and comfortable bike. It is a higher-end model than the Old Dutch I tested last summer. It was getting dark and impossible to take decent shots, but Margo has more pictures of this bicycle on her weblog. Especially nice are the shots from last weekend's Tweed Ride - Frida looked so elegant with her owner's stunning outfit!
Despite their differences in wheel size (28" on the Batavus Fryslan vs. 26" on the Pashley Princess), we were surprised to note how similar Frida and Eustacia looked, including their overall proportions. My handlebars are set quite a bit lower, but that was an intentional modification on my part. Margo prefers hers higher. The bicycles also have matching cream tires, matching Brooks B66S saddles, and matching Wald rear folding baskets. So cute to see them together like this!
One really cool thing about Frida is the DIY handlebar bag. It is a small leather purse, with the strap wrapped around the flat part of the bars.
Here you can see the handlebar attachment. A simple and elegant idea that shows you don't necessarily need to spend tons of money on bike-specific accessories.
At the end of the evening, Margo test-rode my bike while I carefully tried hers on for size (Frida is new and I was too worried about her well-being to ride her on the street).
Margo on my Pashley. She is slightly taller than I am, so ideally the saddle would be raised.
My own impression is that the fit of the two bikes is similar, but the Batavus has somewhat more relaxed angles. Weight-wise, the Batavus is a bit heavier. They are both nice bikes, with the main differences being the fork crowns, the wheel size, the lighting systems, and the shape of the handlebars. If you are choosing between a Pashley and a Batavus, I'd really suggest test-riding each.
Here is to lovely bicycles and to lovely bicycle friendships!
The lovely Miss Faye and Margie both taught. They both did a great job. We had fun. My calves now officially hate me for it. But we had fun.
For years and years now my life has revolved around my family. I've enjoyed it and don't regret it. Until the past year though, I'd forgotten how wonderful it is to spend time with women like this. Diana and I were trying to recall the last time we did things with just women, meaning just for fun time with them. High School was the last time I could remember. And as I recall, it was pretty wonderful back then, even with the immaturity and pettiness that goes along with a group of young girls. I've missed it.
So I guess it just feels like a homecoming of sorts to find a place for it in my life again. For all the tons and tons and tons of advice I've been given over the years in regards to being a wife and mother, I wish someone had also told me "spend time in the company of women"..."without the focus being husbands or children"...."in fact, sometimes make sure you spend time with women and never, ever talk about the husbands and children". I think it would have done my spirit a lot of good.
Today we headed south to St. Clair Michigan. We had Ashleigh and Elijah with us, so it made it a bit harder than normal because it was crowded and we were all tired. Overall, it was a very smooth day though.