What an amazing week, we've enjoyed views and landscapes that we never thought imaginable, and the people.. Oh the people! They couldn't be more hospitable. And I could go on and on... With each passing day we are happier with our decision to go on this trip, one which is making us grow as people and even as professionals since thinking outside the box is becoming a daily reality. Well now I'm done with this little introduction, let's get into the beef of our week's battles.

What a morning, we were chomping at the bit at the prospect of entering our first national park since the trip began. The only thing that worried us was that there was only a single option to camp close by and it could maybe break the bank. We set aside our little worries and got back to reality. We only had to pedal a few miles, of which most was downhill, so in no time there we were, at the reception of the campsite successfully negotiating a 20% discount on the nightly rate. We still had the entire afternoon ahead of ourselves so without wasting a minute we headed straight for the park

Honesty, I have no words to describe what I felt surrounded by those "hoodoos". What a perfect range of colours: from reddish tones, passing through beige and ending in orange. All combining incredibly well with the green of the pine trees that were sprinkled throughout the landscape. All those colours said it all, but when they combined with the irregular spiral rock formations that had been eroded by the falling rain, and the varios layers from which they made, those colours brought up a mix of emotions that are hard to express. Without doubt, one of the most impressive parks I have ever seen. I place it in my top 10. (This has given me an idea, we're going to start thinking about a list of top 10 places we see).

With our batteries fully charged, we headed towards the next stage of our journey at Lake Powell, the way was to lead us through various days of ups and downs in every sense of the words. We started to cycle without any clear objective and after stopping to stock up on supplies we arrived at a point which looked good to camp at. This was next to a river and surrounded by a huge cliff face, it pretty much looked like "the wall in the north" from Game of Thrones, where we hid from the pelting winds that whipped the mountainsides that day.

We got up without any rush and by late morning we found ourselves on the road once more. Half way along we we surprised by a state park called "The Petrified Forest" and without much hesitation we went straight for it. Here we took a short stroll around past fossilised trees that had been converted into a majestic mix of all the colours of the rainbow. The name of the footpath couldn't be more appropriate or romantic: "Sleeping Rainbows".

After a deserved rest we made some good progress with the idea of camping close to a nearby river, to our surprise this river was situated inside a lovely canyon, although we started to doubt if we'd be able to sleep near her waters, at least legally. Well, since we didn't have much option once we had arrived we headed down the canyon to discover that free camping was limited and you needed a permit to do so, which we did not have. Thank god Rob had a flyer from the national park that showed a campsite some 2 miles upstream. There we found a quiet corner in the picnic area where we reckon we weren't supposed to be, but we stayed there anyway! Just making sure to tidy up early in the morning.

We'd seen it was possible to go on a walk to a waterfall and we weren't going to pass up the chance to do so! It wasn't so far and the reward was well worth it, spectacular. After about and hour and a half's walk we ended up in a canyon from which a strong and powerful waterfall made its way downwards, and on finding the rocks below slide smoothly down the face to join up with the flow of the river once more. Once we got back we had some obligatory rest while the sun lost its strength. We had a steep climb out of the canyon we'd spent the night which didn't promise to be at all easy. As always, boht the good times and the bad times end up finishing at some point. So before we even notices we were at the top looking down on the cliffs from above.

We were headed for an area with very limited services so we had to get provisions in the next town and on passing through find a campsite in which to enjoy a shower and wifi. Namely to check the status of ferry we wanted to take to cross Lake Powell and continue our journey onto Colorado. Although on the map it looked like there were at least a couple of campsites things didn't turn out as planned. After getting into the tiny town we found out that these places no longer existed. So we tried to persuade the shop keeper of a petrol station (with bolt on RV park) to be able to stay there but she was having none of it and instead sent us to the woods outside of town. Although a little disappointed we bought some beers and crisps and set about finding a solution. Now we were in town we could check on the ferry, which it turned out was not going to be running for another couple of weeks which made us rethink our plans. So we got a bit out of town where a sign signalled the entrance into our beloved Dixie National Forest. So as soon as we found a hole i the fence we got in amongst the trees to find a nice flat spot. Having satisfied ourselves with the ideal location we realised that it was full of little cacti so we had to scout the area to make sure our impact would be minimal. In summary we ringed the cacti we found with pine cones so we could spot them and avoid squishing the poor things which we think worked, it at least kept us busy!

We were googling a little online before taking the decision to go for the more adventuos optin. Although there was no ferry we thought we could head over anyway and look for a Good Samaritan passing the day on the lake to help us out. The worst that could happen would be that we found no one and had to go round the long way round, at least the road with be tarmacked so not s bad. So we headed for our next stop, Capitol Reef National Park. We had to choose between the more difficult but pretty way and the easier way... I suppose that if you've read our stuff for a while you'll know which one we opted for, right? Of course the pretty way! The "Burr Trail" . It promised to be tough but beautiful and that's exactly what we encountered with bitter sweet emotions. The day started super relaxed, sliding down the valley without having to make even the smallest effort on the bike, but soon we hit the bit which we like the least... The uphills that appear to be downhills. This happens more that we'd like and happens of roads that visually give you the sensation of being flat or downhill but are really constant uphill. And to make matters worse, poor old Rob started to have issues with punctures. But along the way we found a spectacular canyon, one of the best so far for its simplicity and beauty. It was what is called a slot canyon. We stopped to rest and have a look inside which we did while listening to our own eco all around. We were surrounded by red sandstone that headed towards the heavens slowing blocking out the sunlight leaving behind the perfect temperature at the bottom.

After this little boost of energy we finished up the climb, which some time, and started on the decent onto a small place to put up our tent. But what we didn't expect at this time of the day was to be so fortunate as to meet some amazing people. Here we bumped into a couple who we will alway carry in our hearts, Jim & Jen (and of course Eddy!). We had a brief but lovely chat as they were finishing their walk and set off in their Jeep back to camp. Although it was very pleasant it wasn't till the following day that we discovered the generosity that they carry with them always.

We started early since with promised to be a hot one, but our plans were halted in their tracks quite early on. Not half an hour in and Rob's wheel started causing problems. In an hour it had suffered 2 punctures and we found ourselves on the side of the road sorting things out when suddenly the lovely couple from the day before showed uo in their caravan towing the Jeep. They took less than 5 minutes to offer us a lift to the lake with them, talking of amazing walks between canyons a bit further up and a trip in the Jeep. Between their kindness and the set of circumstances we found ourselves in, it wasn't hard to say "yes!". Half an hour later we were all together in the pick up sharing laughs and stories! We camped shortly after and took the Jeep for a spin, our first Jeep experience ever, how cool. Afterwards we took a hike down a canyon in Capitol Reef National Park which turned out to be a little harder on the legs than we imagined at first. Even still, we made it a good way up and had such fun we agreed to try another the next day. We finished the day in the generosity of Jim & Jen who cooked us an amazing rice dish with teriyaki sauce together with some New Zealand wine and some beer. And all in the best of company, what more could one ask!

The night before Jen & Jim had offered to take us to the lake and we took them up on the offer, not without before checking out "Surprise Canyon". After recovering a little from the hike we set off, the lads in the pickup and the ladies in the Jeep, woohoo! In not time we were in Bullfrog on the shore of Lake Powell. We hunted desperately for some shade, a shower and food, the first of which gratefully surprised us and we could set up the tent surrounded by trees. The second was well appreciated also and we all dived under a free shower to our delight. The third, well something had to go wrong... The shop closed at 4 and we pitched up at gone , so we couldn't stock up as hoped. Thank goodness for Jen & Jim who straight away offered to feed us and it was even their wedding anniversary! We couldn't refuse. How brilliant, we had an amazing time and the happy couple looked more in love than ever!

Now near the lake we had another decision to make. Jim & Jen by chance were going to take the same route as us (although the long way round the lake) and of course offered to take us along. The other option was to find someone who would take us across the other side of the lake in their boat. One more, not matter how comfortable we were with Jim & Jen or how convenient the offer sounded we could feel the road calling. So after sharing dinner and wine we decided to do the rounds of the campsite to beg for help. Filling ourselves with courage we started a conversation with a coupe of groups of guys who had boats to ask the favour of the trip over the other side. Both seemed willing but unfortunately planes didn't coincide so we went to bed without a solution to our problem. It was the next morning when we approached a guy (called Jim as well!) who was on a solo trip with his boat, last chance before heading down to the boat ramp to "hitch hike". Thank Christ we did as it was third time lucky and shortly after starting to chat he accepted!

And the week is over but with the promise that the adventure continues, full of generosity, more intense than ever!