13 Feb 21. Rest Stop Blizzard
Saturday 13 Feb 21
Pete woke up around 5 wanting out. In his excitement he managed to spill their water dish so I had to clean that up. I went back to sleep and slept until 8:30. It was a chilly and snowy morning so I wasn't motivated to get out of bed.
After feeding the dogs I got on the road and drove on to Escalante. There I got fuel and some groceries at a small but well stocked store. There was a thrift store next door so I had to check it out. I found a nice medium size skillet. I also bought a hoodie, windbreaker and towel. I need the towel to replace the one that in using for a weather strip in the RT.
I drove a few miles west of town and parked in a pull-out to cook a late breakfast of ham and eggs.
Back on the road I drove on towards Bryce Canyon National Park. I was on Hiway 12 and at one point it is on the ridge of a mountain and just wide enough for the two lane road. Reminded me of our second family reunion in Pagosa Springs Colorado. One day while we were all there we decided to take a road trip to Silverton Colorado. It is a very scenic drive but a windy road. My sister Rainey who was driving one of the cars suddenly pulls over. She was as white as a ghost and demanded that I drive her car the rest of the way. She would have died of fear if she was on Hiway 12. Shear drop-offs on both sides of the road and not one guardrail.
When I got to Tropic Utah I stopped at a hardware store and let the dogs out to pee. It was snowing pretty hard and before long Pete looked like a Dalmatian only in reverse. After I put the dogs back in the RT I went in the hardware store and bought a couple of items. There was an elderly man there and at first I thought he was a bit rude. As I was checking out he asked me where I was traveling from. That struck up a two and a half hour conversation. His name was Terry and he grew up in Logan Utah. He had done many things in life and a very intelligent man. He is LDS and into family history. His parents were actually born in Tropic so he is related to many of the customers that shop there. He reminded me of my friend Blaine who has also done a lot of different things in life. So different from me, I actually worked in the same building for 39+ years.
I finally told Terry I had to get going. In hindsight I should have asked him if I could just park there overnight. His daughter owned the store so I'm pretty sure he would have been okay with it.
When I came out of the store I slipped on ice and that should have gotten my attention but I got back on the road anyway headed west. It started snowing pretty hard and I was climbing in elevation so I was eager to find a place to stop for the night. I finally found a rest stop and parked for the night. I fed the dogs and nuked some creamy chicken noodle soup for dinner with some toast and an avocado. Hot chocolate to drink. There was a sign at the entrance that says no camping so if anyone comes around I will tell them I'm resting.