It was a beautiful ride! Today was a nostalgic time for Shirlene. She was born and raised in Richfield, Utah, and has travelled Highway 89 many times, but can't remember a time she had more fun. After saying goodby to our great hosts, Millie and Clyde, we left Spanish Fork heading up beautiful Spanish Fork Canyon. It was a brisk morning, which made riding very comfortable. We stopped at the site of a giant mud slide which caused the flooding of a small town, Thistle, in 1982. We turned south on Highway 89 and enjoyed the feeling of the old west.

As we approached Manti, we had a clear view of the Manti Temple. Dick and Shirlene were married in the Manti temple. Years later they returned for the marriage of their daughter, Hillary, to Jason Travis. There was a monument in front of the temple honoring the pioneers who helped settle Manti and build the temple. Shirlene was able to find the names of two of her ancestors, Peter Ahlstrom and William Black.

The next stop was Richfield for a quick drive by the old family home, lunch, and the all important stop at Parson's Bakery. (turn west at the post office, for those of you who may want to try the best spudnuts around) The young girl who waited on us there seemed as anxious to leave Richfield as Shirlene had been at her age.

Heading south from Richfield we had the choice of sticking on old Highway 89 or Interstate 70. We took the road less travelled, as usual, and were rewarded with hardly any traffic, gentle curves to the road, spectacular scenery, and the time and space to enjoy it. We stopped at Big Rock Candy Mountain (yes, there really is such a place) and purchased some rock candy. Shirlene was tickled to find the landmark rock formation "Lady playing an organ." The lady is still playing the pipe organ, even though she lost her arms years ago.

We drove through Junction, birthplace of Shirlene's Dad, Shirl. Not much has changed from the time Shirlene used to visit her Granddad and cousins. Still heading south, we saw many interesting geological formations. The terrain here is so different from where our trip started! By the time we reached Red Canyon, we knew we were close to our destination. We arrived at Ruby's Inn ready for a nap. We have decided to stay at Bryce Canyon for an extra day, it is too pretty here to rush through.