September 6, 2013. Bryce Canyon City to Mt. Carmel Junction: 63 miles.

This morning Dianne and I took a slight detour to take photos of the tepees in the campground. We did not get to see the inside, but it looks like a neat way to camp. We retraced our route to get back on Hwy 12, heading west.

A few miles after we got on Hwy 12 the bike path began. It was a great path! Here is Sarah coming back toward us because she wanted some bonus miles.

There were three pronghorns off in the field to the south of us. They are thriving here after being reintroduced in the 1970s.

This path was not flat! It was built because Hwy 12 runs through some tunnels in Red Canyon that are not wide enough to accommodate bikes and cars at the same time. 

There were various rock formations along the bike path, including these hoodoos. It was a beautiful ride.

The path ran through Red Canyon, and we were up close and personal to the rocks. A bunch of us gathered for a group photo. Here we all are!

We have been in and out of the Dixie National Forest for days. Here is Dixie (from our ride) showcasing her namesake forest as we exited Red Canyon and got back on the road.

Because most of today's ride was downhill there was no morning rest stop. Dianne and I stopped at the Galaxy Diner in Hatch for a morning snack. It was a great little place.

Miss Molly beckoned us from the parking lot; the fire truck was parked outside the diner. It was all very charming.

There was indeed a water stop at the Chevron Station with the orange tractor out front. We found out there that we were last; that's OK! I really needed that cup of coffee and cinnamon roll at the diner...

We arrived at Mt. Carmel Junction around 2 PM. The campground is about 10 miles away, mostly uphill. We could have ridden past our motel up to the campground, but we may not have gotten back here for a shower until after supper, so decided to end our ride here. Many of the other hotelers did the same.

We showered and walked out for a piece of pie and met Les on our way back to the motel. Notice we are all wearing our LAGBRAU shirts! He asked if we wanted to go with him to the campground right away instead of waiting for dinnertime and we agreed to go. We saw a herd of buffalo on the way to the campground; unfortunately it was at a ranch that includes a restaurant that specializes in buffalo burgers and such...

At the campground Dianne and I played Scrabble until dinnertime--it was a very pleasant place. People were very interested in what we were doing.

The logistics of getting us all where we need to go at the end of the ride are staggering! People are being shuttled in 3 different directions, some with their bikes and some without. Some of the bikes are going to a bike shop to be shipped out and some are going with their people... it seems there may not be enough vehicles to get everyone and everything to the right place at the right time! I guess it will all work out in the end.