Gunnison to Cedar City

Oh, oh – rain. Maybe I shouldn't have packed the rain shoes in the not-to-be-needed-again bag at the bottom and back of the Subaru.

It lets up a bit so we head out in the car for breakfast at the cafe downtown, a half block from our lodging. Don has noticed people park their cars a long ways from the curb (streets are very wide) and we learn why (the natives are so smart) – the rain water really gushes along the curb and the extra area allows one to avoid a tire dam/foot wash.

After a leisurely breakfast (had to wait for the biscuit to raise) we headed out and were able to avoid the major roads that bypass the smaller towns. Some of them remind us of Delft, MN with crumbling buildings and not much activity and others sport new homes and renovated Main Streets. They all have empty storefronts with For Lease or For Sale signs in the windows.

We took the “scenic” drive (Hwy 14) over the mountains to Cedar City – as if nothing else we've been seeing is scenic. Utah has been nothing but scenic the entire trip – snow-capped mountains, forests, lakes, a few plains for variety, red-rock cliffs, some lava fields, etc. – all spectacular.

It is Graduation in Cedar City (college town) so things are hopping. Cafes are closed (“catering an event”) and motels are full. We do find a place on the main drag and take our obligatory walking tour – up the downtown main street, back through residential. Huge houses on the outskirts, little houses in town.