What happens on the river, stays on the river

October 11, 2021

St. George loop, take 2

It looked like another beautiful day here is St. George. But we had to run an errand before doing our bike ride. Don had located at furnace switch at an RV parts store near us and they were holding it for him.

So after breakfast, we drove over to Camping World to pick up the part and also a couple of other items that hopped in the cart. Don couldn't resist buying a flag with a flamingo on it that says "Let's flamingo!" Kind of like let's tango! You can't be considered a true RV'er without having funky stuff to decorate your site and rig.

By the time we got back to camp, it was time to ride. So we loaded the bike in the back of the truck and drove down to park near the Virgin River to explore that trail. It was a beautiful day and there were lots of other people out enjoying the sunshine.

We decided we take the trail north to where it stopped. That ended up being a good decision even though we had a couple of little climbs at one point.

The river was quite muddy, and we could see lots of indications that it had flooded here recently. Most likely when they had heavy rain the other day.

As we continued north, we left St. George behind and entered Washington City where we discovered a scenic area with impressive rocky cliffs that lined the trail. The pavement turned to dirt near a new housing development so we turned around and retraced our steps back to a handy bench where we could eat our lunch.

We did take a little spur trail on our return that caught our interest. Hey, who doesn't want to ride the Hell Hole Trail?! That led us up a narrow canyon to the Cottonwood Wash Trail which we explored for a short distance. That trail was also nice, but climbed a bit more than we wanted to do today so we turned around and went back to the river trail.

When we reached the spot where we had gotten on the trail, we exited and took some surface roads back to our truck. But before we ended our day, Don took us through a few extra loops in some nearby neighborhoods to add a bit more to our total mileage.

It's always so interesting to see homes in different areas and what types of landscaping people use in their yards. I enjoy the ones with different colored rock, cactus, trees and shrubs, but can't figure out why someone would have grass?! Come on, this is the desert!!! Go low water - sheesh!

Back at camp, it was very windy as there is a storm moving in tonight, bringing rain and colder temperatures tomorrow. Don had time to replace the furnace switch which was a pretty quick repair. We'll find out tonight if that did the trick.

Overall we've been impressed with all of the bike trails/bike routes that are in this area and are already talking about returning for a longer visit. It reminds us of Tucson.

Camping at the Elks has been great with all the amenities we need, so we could happily stay for at least 2 weeks or more. Just not in the summer as it gets very hot here!

On the Virgin River Trail. Kelly - we found a green tunnel here in Utah!

I can't recall what this plant is, but we've seen it blooming with its large trumpet shaped flowers all through the desert SW.

This palatial home was perched on top of a bluff overlooking the serfs below.

I loved the wavy lines in this piece of sandstone. Scott - don't you think it reminds you of the Palouse hills?

As we continued north on the river trail we found rocky cliffs and interesting outcroppings.

I was surprised that this little guy stayed still long enough for me to get a picture. I think it really liked the warm rock more than escaping from me.

This layer of lava was spewed out of one of several volcanoes in this region.

We see many nice homes built on top of these cliffs. Considering how easily the river basin can flood, this is the best place to live!

Another pretty desert flower that is blooming around here. It looks like a daisy of some type.

Today's ride: 20 miles (32 km)
Total: 566 miles (911 km)

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