North Carolina 2018

I went to visit my older sister in North Carolina.  I did a lot of bike riding too.  This is the Pisgah Covered Bridge, one of the two only covered bridges left in North Carolina.  I rode my bike to it and looped around it and went back to town.  40 miles.

The roads were so pretty for cycling.  Not a lot of cars either so I rode on the road since there was no shoulder.

Downtown Asheboro

We ate at a restaurant that has the 63rd rated best fried chicken in the nation.  I still tried their chicken pot pie.  The candied yams was to die for.

I wanted to go back and try their fried chicken.

My sister got me a special room in her apartment.  I slept good for my bike rides.  I went riding at 7 am every morning to beat the heat.  So that's 5 am Utah time!

My sister just talked and talked.  That's what she needed when my mom was around and that is good.

Then we went to Asheville for a couple of days.  We ate a good barbecue place and I got so much food.  And it was good!

You don't see that sign every day.

The next morning I did a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a ride I wanted to do for so long.  It's a climb and it has lot's of dark tunnels along the road.  There were too many tunnels to count!  And I didn't have a light so it got dark in the tunnels.  I was worried that I was going to hit the side walls.

I made it at the top after 3,333 feet of climbing.  It was a great climb and I loved it.

The top at Mount Pisgah.

More tunnels.  Most of the road was barely chipped sealed but I didn't mind.

More rides on the farm roads at around my sister's place.

And I got some self portraits.

Lots of trees!  You don't see that often in Utah.  I went to Pisgah Covered Bridge again.

Before we got on the plane home, we went to the fried chicken place again.  This time, I tried the fried chicken, it was delicious.

One day, we went to Sea Grove with my sister and her friends to look at pottery.  No, I am not a pottery kind of person but I did buy a thumb piano at a pottery store that was a restored cabin.  My kind of place and my kind of souvenir.

More talking at my sister's place.  It was a fun trip and I really needed it and I needed to see my sister.

June and July 4th

Maple Canyon hike with Duke.

Good hike!  We made it up the top and back down halfway then up to the Maple Canyon Viewpoint.

I did a little bit of work on Deer Run Trail.

A lot better and more flowy.

I checked out the new trail by Gunnison Reservoir Manti High School mountain bike team built.

They are building the trail legally and they got permission from the BLM to do it.

Currently, there are 2 miles of trail built and they are planning to build more trail.  It's fun.

A ride up on Pole Canyon Road in south Nebo Canyon.  A good climb!

A ride along Willow Creek Road to get away from the valley heat.

Pretty and not so much people.

I checked out the new trail Richfield High School mountain bike team built in the Glenwood OHV riding area.

It's a 5 mile loop and it's fun and fast.

They did a really good job on it and it looked like they put a lot effort into it.  One of the races for the High School league will be held there this fall.

Jeri soaking up in the water up at Bluebell Flat in Ephraim Canyon.  She stood in there 10 minutes.  She is a very old dog now.  I don't take her out hiking anymore.  Just on car rides.

I did the Jimmy's Fork ride again.

This time I rode on the road from the main canyon road to Jimmy's Fork Trail.  It did make a good ride.

The road is harder than the trail itself because of steeper slopes.  Then I rode back.  On the way back, the trail was uphill then the road was downhill.  Then the opposite on the way to there.

I did Grizzly Gulch Trail hike with Duke on July 3rd.  It was actually nice because from the trailhead, you are already in the deep alpine forest....and the trailhead is just right out of Spring City.

I liked this hike.  Because there is a stream about every 1/4 of a mile for Duke to drink water from.  Then I can have most of the water for myself.  I went up 2 miles and 1,.300 feet elevation then turned around.

Then watched the firework show in Gunnison.  Sitting there waiting was torture because of so many kids and people talking and yelling around you.  But the fireworks was good.  On the July 4th, I went to the Moroni firework show with my mom.  I liked that one better because we sat at the church grass where there were less people and the show was more entertaining.  My boss was part of setting the fireworks.

July 4th, I went someplace where there was NO ONE around.  Ax Handle Canyon in the West Mountains.

I went up the gate and turned around.

It was a good climb and a fun downhill.  Riding from Ephraim to there and back was 22 miles and 1,200 feet elevation.

Night of July 4th, we up to my brother's campsite on Skyline Drive and ate dinner.  It was fun.

John August Lake with a little bit of snow.

My niece and Benji.

Deegan

After dinner, we drove on the Bronco on Danish Knoll to the lookout.

And screwed around and farted.

Mary's Lake

I am working on the deck making it look better.  I took off the railing and replacing the deck with a screened porch and metal railing.  Going to paint the deck with dock paint first.

I went back up for the weekend at my brother's campsite.  We fished up at Snow Lake.

My niece swimming in the lake.

Sheep coming out of 3 semi trucks...

....and going down to John August Lake to get a drink of water.

I went on a bike ride on Josephite Trail during the camping trip while everyone else fished at Acamedy Mill Reservoir.

There were 19 trees across the trail to go over and a lot of bushwacking.

 Acamedy Mill Res.  Well, I didn't go all the way to Mary's Lake but almost to there.  I did about 13 miles and 1,400 feet elevation.

Stopped at Ephraim Tunnel on the drive back.  It's a one mile long tunnel at Skyline Drive to get water from the other side of the mountain for Ephraim.  Looks scary.  The tunnel now is being repaired at this moment.