Full circle (well, more figure of eight, or infinity perhaps)

Miles today: 160

Miles tomorrow: about 110

Total for the trip: 4235 miles

A rough summary of our journey!

So that is it for another escapade. We are just over a hundred miles from Vegas. The bikes are due back at 11am tomorrow and they have not let us down once - they are kinda dirty though!

We finished today with another spectacular ride through Zion National Park, delayed somewhat by some spectacularly crap bureaucracy. Every entrant to the park has to pay or show an annual pass. With what seemed like half of Utah going to Zion on a hot sunny Sunday, and with only ONE entrance booth open, this took quite a while and we reckon the queue probably doubled while we were in it. We could have filtered down the outside but this simply felt like queue jumping, so we didn't. A 45 minute queueing sacrifice for a bit of self satisfaction! But they really do need to find a way to allow those with passes to enter without having to stop at a single operated booth. An honesty line? I suggested (nicely, honest) it to the ranger and he told me his colleague had to have his lunch. Lost in translation I guess!

It didn't spoil our final proper day (tomorrow morning is up early and dash to Vegas). We stopped in just about every location through the park to allow Rob to take yet another picture. He actually felt we had just about saved the best to last.

I'm not so sure, Zion gets incredibly busy which detracts somewhat from the experience. Cedar Breaks, with its 8 visitors a day (I exaggerate), or Black Canyon, or Petrified Forest, get my vote, for their otherworldliness and lack of people. But then, how is this for a road through Zion?

What an amazing journey, we have had. We expected to do in excess of 3000 miles, but not, to be honest, over 4000. But it has never felt like a chore and we have enjoyed pretty much every minute on and off the bikes.

We spent last night in Utah, in a town with only one licensed premises (in Utah, you can't get an alcoholic drink without eating), which had a queue outside it until late in to the evening - even in America! Too hungry to queue, we had our first dry night! Won't have done us any harm! We had to find other entertainment! And it meant my lead in the Shithead completion is looking hard to catch!

Caption?

Sherriff Mac!

Also somewhat surprisingly, we woke this morning to 2ºC and frost on our bikes! Given it is now 38ºC in Mesquite, Nevada, we have gained a massive 36 degrees in one day - Celsius, not Fahrenheit! We are off the Colorado plateau and swimming in the hotel pool for the first time. No pictures, we dont want to frighten anybody. We are wisely in Nevada, we don't want to find that all establishments serving any kind of beer, with or without food, are closed in Utah on a Sunday night!

And so it just leaves me to sign off with our little quiz. All of these things occurred on our trip. Simple multiple choice - Eric, Alan or Rob?

1. Dropped his key off the back of his bike on the middle of the highway (the bikes are keyless, so wise people put the key round their neck or in a zipped pocket!)

2. Left his wedding ring on a picnic table at a national park (he found it again - before somebody's wife panics)

3. Dropped his phone off the back of his bike and ran over it (hard to believe, but he did)

4. Lost his credit card (but canceled it and no loss)

5. Dropped his gloves off the back of the bike on the middle of the highway (bikes are not gloveless, so what they were doing on his bag, who only knows - we do all have spares!)

6. Overfilled the petrol tank leaving a huge puddle on the forecourt (he still claims the pump was faulty)

7. Drove off with his top box open (probably more than once, but he has only admitted to once)

They don't call us idiots for nothing! But we are happy idiots! We have enjoyed the ride, met some lovely people, laughed a lot and seen some amazing countryside. Thank you USA.

We have one more night in Vegas, Eric and I being reconnected with our wives, who are at this moment somewhere over the Atlantic. Rob is returning home to the UK on Tuesday. Eric and Helen are heading off to explore some historical sites we haven't managed (are there any?), while Nareesa and I are taking a train across to Kansas City, then on by car to Nashville. There may be a bit of a blog, who knows?!

But for now, bye bye.