Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Day 3 and 4 - Glendale to Circleville, Circleville to Koosharem

Happy Birthday, America!

Quote of the Day: "Don't ever spend the night in Circleville."

On 4th of July eve, Matt was lulled to sleep, and then gently awakened the next morning by the soothing sounds of "M-1,000,000's," or whatever type of novelty explosives the locals like to celebrate Independence Day with. They stopped about 11 p.m. the night before and started up again at 5:00 a.m. He likened their sound to "a house exploding."

Other patriotic local activities included riding ATV's. All the kids had them, some with smaller kids riding on the back, and no helmets in sight. The kids in Circleville ride their ATV's rather than bikes.
Buckle up

Despite these annoyances, locals and tourists continued to be friendly and curious.

Riding to Koosharem was a shorter day ending just after 2:00 p.m. Tonight's RV park had a pool!

Update!
Day 3 – Glendale to Circleville
70.2 miles, 6:03, 11.6 avg

Well, I made it to Circleville, although not sure why or how. At least I have the “nicest site” at the RV park. Nice view. A should’ve been easy day turned relatively hard because of strong headwind all day. I guess the whole tour will be like this. Lunch in Panguitch at court house, went through cool volcanic canyon outside CV. I’ll check out the 4th of July Firemen’s Pancake Breakfast tomorrow. PB&J is getting old.

cville
The view from my site in Circleville

The roadkill scene is getting more interesting. Nighthawk, barn swallow, badger, skunk, deer, raven, magpie. Who’s shooting ravens? Saw some magpies today, maybe new species for me. I started doing traffic surveys today – counting cars. No fun but made the miles pass.

Day 4 – CV to Koosharem
44.6 miles, 4:02, 11.0 avg

Guess I’ll have to learn how to pronounce that name now! Another “normal” day made very hard by vicious headwind and slow uphill grind. Very hard to decide, “should I stay or should I go on?” Decided to stay and enjoy the “heart of Utah” on this 4th of July. Already made lots of friends at the town BBQ lunch and at the mercantile. I’ll check out the concert tonight.

Night and day compared to Circleville! The kids (and adults) there all seem to get around on some sort of motorized contraption. In a small town perfect for walking and biking, this is sad. This is ATV heaven, I’ve learned. Two main trails (300 miles worth) and lots of side trails (2300 miles). Everyone ATVs. So, the kids were loud and stayed up late, even lighting fireworks in the RV park. Things quieted down until about 5 am when roughly 75 percussion bombs went off in various parts of town for about the next hour. These were loud. The Firemen’s breakfast was very lackluster. Good food but no friends made. Within minutes of arriving here in Koosharem, I had talked to many people. Referring to the legality of fireworks in Circleville, a new friend said, “There are many things you can do in Circleville that you ought not do”. This must be a good Mormon town.

greenwich
One room schoolhouse in Greenwich, UT

sheep
My neighbors at the Koosharem RV park

sharem
Koosharem RV park


Day 3-4 Route Map

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