What a difference one Day can make...

Day 214
10-7-2006
Started: Hanksville, UT
Finished: Outside Capitol Reef National Park, UT
Today's Miles: 24.5
Total Miles: 3133.5

What a difference one Day can make! Yesterday we found ourselves trapped in the small Utah town of Hanksville because the flooding Fremont River had closed off every available route west. This morning the sun is shining in a clear blue sky and the "lakes" that developed all over town yesterday are all retreating, leaving behind only large piles of mud to remember them by. The town really took a hard hit from, "the heaviest rain event in the last one hundred years". It was almost sad to walk out of town as we passed by some of the local residents who were still shaking their heads in disbelief. The manager of the Budget Inn that we were flooded out of told us to have a safe hike and asked us to please come back sometime next year. He assured us he would rebuild and be ready for our business. We thought for a moment that we wouldn't be able to get out of town today. When we reached the west side of town we were faced with a huge sign that said, "ROAD CLOSED". We knew the raging Fremont River had caused some pretty serious structural damaged, but hoped the route would at least be walkable. We decided we would slide by the sign with the mindset that we would go as far as we could before we were either unable to pass, or someone from the Utah Department of Transportation told us we weren't allowed to be on the closed road. The first bridge we came to was still intact and the rushing river below was within it's banks, although the evidence was obvious that it was well over it's banks just a short time ago. The waterline and the mud that reached out well past the normal flow of the river was quite impressive. The river was still cranked up and flowing heavy with mud and debris. We turned the corner after the first bridge and came to a second, "ROAD CLOSED" sign, and this one had an additional, "NO VEHICLES BEYOND THIS POINT" sign to go with it. We figured we weren't in a vehicle so they must not be talking to us. When we came around the next corner we could see why they wouldn't want any traffic on the beautiful Byway that was heading toward Capitol Reef National Park. Most of the road was gone! The flash flooding that hit the area yesterday hit the road hard. There was a crew of UDOT workers standing near the collapsed road watching as the river went flying by, so we made a few comments about the power of nature and then continued on the small strip of road that still remained. We acted as if we knew exactly what we were doing and like just kept walking as if we belonged there. It wasn't until much later in the day that a UDOT vehicle pulled up alongside us and rolled down his window making the joke, "it sure was nice of us to shut the road down just for you guys today so you wouldn't have to deal with Saturday traffic, wasn't it?" We got a kick out of his ability to make light of the situation considering they have their work cut out for themselves over the next few days. He was surprised when he heard we were out for more then just a day hike and glad to inform us that the worst of the flood area was behind us so it should be smooth hiking the rest of the way to the park. It really was nice being able to walk right down the middle of the road and not have to worry about any cars coming toward us. We loved having the scenic byway all to ourselves. We crossed over the Fremont River many times throughout the day and passed by many spots where the water was still coming right up to the edge of the road. Late in the day we found a great campsite just a short distance before the entrance of Capitol Reef National Park. We watched the sun set and then only an hour later while we were sitting outside cooking our dinner the most amazing and extremely bright moonrise came up over the mesa behind us. It was literally like having someone point a spotlight right at us. The moon was perfectly round and full and provided us a wonderful setting for a moonlight dinner. Two hundred and fourteen days into this journey and we still make time to enjoy some romance! It is our honeymoon and all. We are looking forward to tomorrow's hike and can't wait to see all the geologic beauty that Capitol Reef National Park has to offer. So, what a difference one Day can make, it will be difficult for everyone that was affected by Nature's fury, but you can deal with the reality of the day after in one of two ways. You can hang your head and be angry at something you have no control over, or you can realize that it's a chance to start over, keep a smile on your face and look for the silver linings! Today was only the first day after the devastating floods that struck this area and if you looked close enough you could already see that the grass was a little greener.

Your Friends on the ADT,
Randy and Sheri
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