High Altitude

Cedar City to Panguitch

The climb out of Cedar  City was “the big climb” of the trip.  Austin and Dave met some local cyclists on Thursday, and they had all planned to ride together yesterday.  Knowing I’d have riding buddies on the way back to the car, I decided to ride as well.  We met up at the bike shop at 7:15, and took off.

The first two miles were great; the six of us rode together and chatted.  Once the climb started, the altitude (and my lack of training) caught up with me, and I hung back for the next 16 miles.  Two hours later and 4,000 feet higher, I was exhausted.  It was a tough climb, but it was gorgeous and I was rewarded with an 18 mile downhill back to the car.

Later in the day, we met up in Panguitch.  We were expecting a small, sleepy town, but it just so happened that we were there for the busiest night of the year: the hot air balloon festival.  People travel to Panguitch from all over the state (and country) to witness the collection of over twenty hot air balloons.  Once dusk hit, the balloons began to expand and rise up overhead.  As the propane heated up the air inside the balloons, it illuminated the entire balloon, and Main and Center Streets turned into a bright, colorful, intersection. 

This morning, being in small-town Utah on a Sunday, I decided to go to a Mormon church service.  It was interesting to compare the Mormon service with other Christian sects, and it was cool to witness firsthand the religion so deeply rooted in the establishment of Utah.  

After church, I went to Bronco Bobbi’s, an espresso/coffee/gift shop.  The woman I spoke with, Dawn, told me a little bit about Panguitch’s recycling program, which is just getting started.  Residents must bring their recyclables to designated bins around town.  Municipal workers then pick up and transport the materials to a transfer station just outside of town.

What, then, happens to the food waste?  According to Dawn—a former diner waitress—several years ago, a farmer started a food scrap collection program to feed his pigs.  He distributed buckets to all of the restaurants in town (I counted all of four) and asked them to collect leftover food.  Some restaurants refused to separate their food waste from other trash, saying it was too much effort.  However, several restaurants implemented the farmer’s plan, and food waste was minimized—to the benefit of his swine.  Pigs against pollution.*  Now that’s a novel idea.

* Nearly all of the methane (a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide) emitted from landfills can be attributed to organic waste.  Composting emits carbon dioxide rather than methane.  Since methane is so much more potent than CO2, composting—or feeding food waste to pigs—can cut back on atmospheric pollution.