Today Tom picked up a nun... but more about that later. We had planned to take the bikes through the park today, but had heard that there was alot of road construction going on. We took the shuttle bus, instead, but the looks of the curves in the road wet the boy's appetites for ride, and the roads didn't look that bad, so we decided to return to the park later in the day.

We did take in some of the views while using the shuttle bus. Some of the view points were a little hiking distance away from the parking lot. We are happy the bikes are breathing better in this altitude than we are. Words can't describe the beauty of Bryce Canyon, and pictures can't do it justice.

We went west out of the park to Foster's Steak House for lunch. Dick and Shirlene had eaten great nachos here many years ago, and were hoping for some today. No such luck, they were out of cheese. The lunch was good anyway, and we met a young lady from Wisconsin. Stephanie Ness was our waitress and she expressed an interest in the bikes. We offered her a ride and agreed to return when she got off work.

We returned to Red Canyon to get some pictures. The battery in the camera had failed yesterday, and the canyon was too pretty to miss. The bronze color of the eagle on the back of Dick's vest seemed to fit right in with the scenery.

We had a great time taking turns with the camera. We came back to the room with over 150 shots to choose from. We got some great shots which we will use when we get home. Another group of bikers came through, and we took some pictures with their cameras of them coming through the tunnels. We told them they should come up the coast for the Redwood Run. We all agree that part of the charm of riding is the people we meet.

We returned to Foster's to pick up Stephanie. She is a sweet girl who really seemed to enjoy her ride. We gave her stern warning not to do that with just anybody! She promised she wouldn't ride with anybody else. She took pictures to send home to her family, and said she couldn't wait to tell her folks. We could just imagine that call! "Mom, I went riding Harley's with complete strangers, and they promised to put me on their website!" We posed with Stephanie in front of a stone feature called a hoodoo, and in front of one of the tunnels in Red Canyon.

We took Stephanie back to Fosters and said good bye. Stephanie will be going to school in Cedar City in the fall, and we know she will do well. She is very bright and full of life. After leaving Stephanie we stopped at Foster's Bakery for some picnic makings with the idea of returning to the park for a supper picnic at the far end of the park at Rainbow Point, elevation 9,118 ft.

On our way to Rainbow Point, we stopped at the Natural Bridge Overlook. Again...breathtaking. Shirlene and Dick took some pictures of the bridge and discussed the beauty of the day, waiting for Tom to catch up with them. As they looked back for Tom, they saw him talking with a young girl. As he talked, he was removing his vest and chaps! This required investigation and a picture...

This young woman and her friend had approached Tom about him taking a picture of them by his bike. Tom is always happy to oblige such requests. We never got the woman's name, but we know she is a nun who used to ride bikes in her native Poland before entering the convent. She was overjoyed to be back in leather on a bike. Ahhh, spreading that Harley joy!

We're sad to leave Bryce Canyon. It is so peaceful and interesting here. A person could spend weeks here and not see it all. Riding back to the room we saw a large heard of antelope, and a herd of mule tail deer. It seemed the perfect ending to a perfect day.