Day 13: Milford to Panguitch

Bike Stats:
Distance - 78 mi
Avg Speed - 8.4 mph
Climbed - 3700 ft
Calories Burned - 3950 kcal
Temps - 55 to 100 to 55 F

I left Milford at 5:30 am and got into Panguitch at 4:30 pm. I felt groggy from the get-go, which was probably due to not yet adjusting to the new time zone. I rode in the dark for the first hour or so, making good use of my headlight and taillight. No wind until dawn, but then it was in my face for most of the day. There was quite a bit of climbing, with most of it coming in the last stretch of the ride. The good news is that it got cloudy as the final climb started, so I wasn't hot; but then it turned to a full blown thunderstorm and rained pretty heavily. It made my descent from the pass very tedious and uncomfortable. When it rains at these higher altitudes it is really cold, and I couldn't wait to get down to the warmer temps again, but couldn't safely go more than about 10 mph.
I've been developing some saddle sores, and Angela did some research that says there's a product that's been used in the Dairy Farming business for many years called Bag Balm. It's intended to keep the cow's udders from getting sore; but also works great on saddle sores. I was thinking of this as I rode into the small farming community of Beaver, UT; and noticed dairy cattle all around me. I went into town and asked at the local Drug Store, and sure enough, they had it.
I'll see how it works.

I think this is a Burro, and it was being shunned by the horses.

These are some happy looking horses.

Coming into Beaver, there was a great deal of farming, and no scarcity of water. There are some pretty big mountains around it that must produce plenty of runoff.

Part of my route was on I-15. It's not uncommon out west for Interstate Highways to be open to bicyclists. That's because there are so few roads, it might be the only way to get somewhere. It's not as bad as you might think. The shoulders are about 8' wide, and the traffic is going about as fast as they do on the two lane roads. The traffic volume is definitely higher, though. It was just a coincidence that this State Trooper was entering the highway ahead of me. He must have wondered what I was taking a picture of. Coming down off the high pass near the end of the day, I noticed my first crazy rock formation in Utah. My recollection from previous visits is that it has alot of them.