Another short day today, 57 miles from Eureka to Draper, Utah. Draper is a southern suburb of Salt Lake City. The day started with a wonderful 10-mile descent, then much of the remainder of the ride was along the west shore of beautiful Utah Lake. We rode through mostly open farm and ranch land, with steep mountains rising above the east shore. Then we suddenly transitioned into housing developments, and soon encountered our first traffic lights since Ely, NV, five riding days ago. We are now in the midst of the most urbanized area we've had since Carson City on Riding Day 5.
We've had a difficult time doing our route planning in the area approaching and through Salt Lake City. Last night Eureka was the only option for a place to stay that allowed for good riding distances, but there were no campgrounds available. Eureka is a pretty depressed town, with several shut-down mines and a large number of vacant and crumbling storefronts. The only economic activity in the area right now seems to be a major EPA cleanup of the old mines. Fortunately, there is a wonderful bed and breakfast, the Tintic Gold Miners Inn, just off the center of town at the top of a long, very steep hill. (Did I mention that the hill was steep?) Margaret (pictured), the owner and proprietor, was a wonderful and gracious host. She provided dinner for an added cost of just $5 per person. The rooms were very spacious, the beds comfortable, the meals were excellent, and the humongous-screen TV was perfect for watching the Lakers-Celtics game. Altogether a very fortuitous lack of a campground!
871 miles through 2 complete weeks of the trip - seems hard to believe!
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