This morning, we woke up in the small town of Maybell, Colorado and started to pack up our campsites so that we could get on the road. Once everyone was ready to go, the six bikers took off while Edgardo and I started driving. As we pulled onto the main road, I read a sign that said "No Gas Next 57 Miles," checked the fuel gauge, and decided to turn back to Maybell and fill up the tank. I turned right down the next road, and immediately found another sign, which read "No Services Next 120 Miles." I made it back to the only gas station in the area, which boasted one pump, and filled up the car. Then, we drove to Dinosaur, Colorado, 57 miles west.
Along that drive, I think I saw a total of three houses. That's the funny thing about a trip like this. Sometimes, you're just in the middle of nowhere. Most of the trip has definitely felt more populated than this. For example, if we were running out of water in Kentucky, it wouldn't be more than a mile before we found a house or some sort of building where we could ask for more. Out here, you might just run out of water.
Then, I stopped in Dinosaur and tried to do some grocery shopping. As it turns out, the town of Dinosaur does not have a grocery store, so I found myself with a good bit of extra time. First, I called my parents, grandma, and aunt, and then I decided to explore Dinosaur National Monument, which was right nearby. Edgardo decided to stay in town, so it was just me on this adventure. Here are some pictures, including some attempts at timer selfies:
After exploring for a little while, I decided to head back to Dinosaur to meet the others for lunch. We had a lovely lunch right outside the Colorado Welcome Center, where the locals gave us some advice for the rest of our ride.
Then, I started biking with Leah and Bill. After a couple of miles, we crossed into Utah, our seventh state of the trip. Here are some pictures from that:
A little further down the road, we were running low on water, so we decided to stop at the Utah Visitor Center in Jensen, Utah. There, we filled up on cold water and hot coffee while talking to the people there. We met a local cyclist named Don who gave us some advice and offered us a place to stay. We were all very jealous of his Strava gear:
Then, we continued biking towards Naples. When we arrived, Brent, the fire chief of Naples, let us take showers at the fire department. After showering, we went to Country Grub for dinner. While we were locking our bikes up outside, we met the owner, Denisse, who offered to buy us all dinner! The food there was amazing and several of us got burgers with a pound of meat. It was absolutely delicious! Afterwards, we went to the park where we will be staying the night and set up our tents.
It feels like every single person we've met so far in Utah has been incredibly nice. We got showers, dinner, and a place to stay all for free, which is really important for a nonprofit like us. I can't wait to see what the rest of Utah has in store!