Day 072 – 8/4/11 Notom Ranch Rest Day

Distance = 0 Miles; People Met = 4

… continued from yesterday.

Yesterday, we thought the world was our oyster!  People, Powerade and pavilions all showing up when we need them … along with absolutely astounding scenery.  We felt like we were on a leisurely nature walk, hardly noticing the full packs on our back.  At 2:15 p.m. we started to wait out the daily thunderstorm with but 3 or 4 miles left to Notom Road.  Our only worry was that we would get there ahead of Ky and have to wait around for awhile.

Well … first that afternoon thunderstorm lasted, um, all afternoon.  Sure, we were under the protection of the pavilion but these storms were starting to get just a bit tedious.  No matter, even leaving at 5:00 in the afternoon we knew we would be at Notom Road in plenty of time to cook our evening dinner.

We were a bit surprise to see a barbed wire fence at the National Park boundary.  All reports were of a trail right to the road.  I needed to decide whether to continue to follow the wash that went through the gorge, or a two-tracker that followed the fence once it turned east.  In the end we did a compromise between the two and ended up semi-lost.  I mean, I knew where we were, but in between that and where we wanted to go was a creek, more barbed wire fence and a steep walled ridge.

We finally got to Notom Road, but not before a good bit of cross-country work and stepping into something like quicksand made out of red clay.  Cindy thought I was about to lose my shoes for sure but some careful work got both my legs and shoes back to safety.  By the time we hit the road it was past 8 and we were looking a bit pathetic … which was great!

You see, Taralyn and Emma Durfey drove by while we were in our pathetic state and invited us to their place.  “Their place” was really Taralyn’s parent’s place, the Notom Ranch Bed and Breakfast.  We were eventually met there by Ky and her friend Jenny.  They also brought along Barrett and Buster, who they stumbled on earlier that day.

Emma and Taralyn to the Rescue!

Cindy and I stayed in the room called Robbers Roost, so named because of the local presence of Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch gang.  Our bathroom included a hot tub.  Just saying.

I could go on and on about Taralyn and the Notom Ranch B&B, and I will, in the Utah edition of our newsletter.  There will also be a Facebook album of Notom Ranch, including some great sunset shots!