Capital George Pioneer Trail

The Capital George Pioneer Trail is located near Fruita, Utah which is located Hwy 24 between Torrey and Hanksville, Utah...almost in the middle of nowhere.

Eventually the road turns into a walking trail. This trail was used by pioneers crossing the southern Utah landscape east to west to settle in Nevada and California.

Along the trail there are many native American petrographs. Pictured above is what looks like a scorpion or a deer.

The rock walls also feature a "Pioneer Regrestry". When pioneers traveled w/ their wagons along the trail they would carve their names in the rock with the date of their passage so when their family menbers made the same trip the following year...they could tell if they had made it that far.

West of Torrey, Utah

Difficult to see, but my Xterra is sparked on the side of the road in the picture above.

Climbing up the hill.

The picture above and below....Views from the top of the hill.

Southern Utah is beautiful. A friend once told me "the southwest is intoxicating". I believe him to be true.

Early August 30th of this year while tracing a stretch of highway west of Torrey, UT I came across a beautiful mountain range. As I looked at the top of the "hill" I thought it would be cool to view the morning sunrise from the top of said hill. I estimated that it would take about 2 hours (I will allow you the reader to decide if a 2 hour climb up a relatively steep incline should be called a hill or mountain) to climb the hill in time to see the morning's sunrise.

As I began the climb I found a secure "wash-out" area that I could use as a trail. When I exhausted that route I began zig-zagging back and forth constantly working my way upward until I made it to the top.

I beat the sunrise by about 15 minutes. As I sat on a boulder preparing my morning coffee I began to think how many other people stood or sat in my current location to view a sunrise. Most likely, I was wasn't the first...hopefully, not the last.

The ultimate question of that day was...How many places in the United States, or the World could someone view a sunrise for the very first time?

www.trainingwheelsnotincluded.blogspot.com

BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK

These are some of the sights I viewed while pedaling through Bryce Canyon National Park. It was a great day of riding. Photos taken on August 29, 2009.