Day 16: Boulder to Hall's Crossing

Bike Stats:
Distance - 75 mi
Avg Speed - 8.7 mph
Climbed - 4350 ft
Calories Burned - 3500 kcal
Temps - 55 to 120 F

It rained all night in Boulder, so I'm glad I didn't camp. Since I was also using a long stretch of unpaved road in the middle of today's ride, I was also worried about it's condition. When I got up I looked at the alternative route again, but it would basically add a day to the itinerary, so I stayed with the plan. The rain stopped at 6:30, and that's when I started out. I had a goal to hit the last ferry of the day across Lake Powell to Hall's Crossing at 4:00, and I made it with a half hour to spare. I'm the only person in the Campground tonight, overlooking the lake. It's actually pretty nice, with showers and shade trees and easy to move picnic tables.
I'm at a much lower altitude here than Boulder, and it doesn't often rain down here, so I should be dry tonight. The strangest thing about today's ride is that the drop in elevation from start to finish was about 3,000 ft; but I still racked up over 4,000 ft of climbing. All the drops came in big steep amounts, and I had to go slow for safety; so I could never pick up any speed from them. In between the drops there was alot of climbing to get over and around physical features. I really expected an easier day, so I'm feeling pretty worn out. I've got to try and regain some strength for tomorrow's 87 mi climb to Blanding.
This Burr Trail shortcut I used today had an 18 mi stretch of unpaved road. It was dry but slow going because of an intermittently soft surface and high washboard effect. I had to stay unclipped because I never new when the bike might start to slide out from under me on a sudden soft patch.
Almost no traffic at all, and one of the few that came by stopped and gave me a cold bottle of water. Much appreciated, since mine was about 100 degrees.
The Ferry isn't used much, and runs every two hours. There was just one vehicle, and myself on this crossing. The employees were nice, and gave me two bottles of cold water.

I just liked the look of this dead tree.

I came across this slot canyon, but remembered Angela's warning about not letting any boulders fall on my arm, so I didn't explore it. I also forgot to bring my Swiss Army Knife.

It's interesting how these sandstone cliff faces seem to fracture in arch shapes.

I hereby name thee " Castle Rock ."

This is looking down at the bottom of one of those sudden drops in elevation. There were at least a half dozen switchbacks to slowly descend with brakes practically locked. I had to stop periodically to let my wheels cool off.

Here's the 4:oo Ferry patiently waiting for a 3:55 loading time.

This is what a lake in the middle of a desert looks like.

People mainly use Houseboats on Lake Powell.