The ST1100's cams whined as we climbed the twisty mountain pass on our way out of Austin, Nevada. Soon we were back into our see-saw routine of up a mountain then down into the next valley as we made our way across the Basin and Range toward Utah. The morning air was crisp and cool which made the boring, straight valley roads more tolerable.

Seventy-five miles down Highway 50 from Austin, we hit the town of Eureka, Nevada where we met a very interesting Austrian couple. The guy was riding a Suzuki Bandit 1200 and his wife was riding a Kawaszki GPZ 500S. These were their personal bikes that had been shipped from Europe for the trip. They had traveled Route 66 from Chicago to California and were on their way back east when we met them. It must have been quite an adventure for them. I wish I had the time and money to do the same (If presented with the opportunity however, I would do my adventure in New Zealand and Australia).

We finally said goodbye to "The Loneliest Highway in America" just before the Utah border and took Highway 21 for Cedar City, Utah. The states had changed but the terrain was the same... lots of long, boring valley rides punctuated by short bursts over narrow mountain ranges.

After a rest stop and lunch in Cedar City, we went to Zion National Park via Interstate 15, where I managed to injure my ST. When I wheeled into the parking lot of the visitor's center, I noticed that the pavement had a slight tilt to it. I stopped, put the kickstand down, and tested the bikes stability to see if the surface was leaning too much. It seemed OK. I climbed off my bike and was pulling my helmet off when I heard a sickening bang then a crunch of plastic hitting the ground.... down she had gone on her right side! Apparently I had unknowingly nudged it to the right as I was getting off. Because it had fallen on a slope, there was no way I could right this six-hundred-thirty-five pound pig alone so Ken helped me get it back up. I have owned ten motorcycles in my life and this is the first time I have EVER had a bike go down on me at a dead standstill. I was almost sick to my stomach because my beautiful black ST didn't have a scratch on it before that moment. The damage wasn't too bad because the tip-over wing and the mirror cover had taken the brunt of the fall. Scratches included the tip-over wing cover, the mirror cover, and some relatively minor scratches on the right pannier that could be compounded out.

I managed to calm down after the parking lot drop so off we went to enjoy the park. The scenery was so spectacular that I had to make an extra effort to concentrate on my riding to keep from running off the park road. The colors of Zion's canyon walls were simply stunning.

Once our brief tour of the south end of Zion was over, we decided to head for the town of Panguitch and get a place to stay for the night. In order to get there we had to backtrack along the interstate and get on Highway 14 at Cedar City. After about 20 miles of travel through the mountains we turned north on Highway 148 and came upon an interesting park that I had not noticed on my roadmap called Cedar Brakes. Although it was getting late (we didn't want to be in these Bambi filled mountains at night) we decided to check the park out. What happened next was yet another weird coincidence.

There had been times during the trip that I half expected Rod Serling to step out of the shadows somewhere and explain what was going on with the sudden appearance in the middle of nowhere of people from the ST1100 List. Well, he didn't appear at Cedar Brakes, but Layne and Betty Johnson did. As Ken and I were gawking at the canyon, a woman's voice piped up and asked if the ST's in the parking lot were ours. I turned around and there was a couple in riding suits. We said yes, then the next question was whether we were ST list subscribers. We introduced ourselves and I couldn't believe it. I had never met either one of them in person but just before the trip I had sent a joking email to Betty concerning something she had posted on the list. It was a pleasure meeting them. They were both really nice folks.

Our visit with the Johnson's over, it was time to hit the road again. The sun was getting low and we still had a 30 mile ride through very twisty mountain roads to get to Panguitch so off we went. After we had traveled for a few miles we came to the ski resort of Brian's Head. When I stopped and checked out my map I realized that somehow we had failed to get on 143 heading east toward Panguitch. Instead we were on 143 west and were not too far from the interstate highway again! It was getting late so we decided to proceed on to the town of Parowan and get a place to stay.

We checked in to the Day's Inn in Parowan where the owner proceeded to load us down with old rags to wipe down our bikes. When I tried to turn down the rags by telling him we had no plans to wipe our bikes down, he insisted on giving them to us anyway. He had apparently had the experience of people deciding to clean their bikes with the motel's towels, thus ruining them by getting grease or other unwashable stains on them. I certainly can't blame the guy for his concern because the profit margin on those inexpensive, independently owned motels must be fairly slim so they probably can't afford to have towels destroyed by every biker who shows up.

After cleaning up we went into the center of town and ate at the Parowan Cafe. The food was excellent which is not something I always expect in little towns. Normally in towns the size of Parowan the fare is fried this and that, mainly hamburgers and french fries. This place had a much more varied menu and it was good. I had a salad and one of the best bean soups I've ever had. It was good to eat something other than hamburgers. My digestive system was happy!

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