Boys On Bikes . . .

After a busy Sabbath morning exploring Marble Canyon it was time for a little lunch, right? The main road, Hwy 89A, was our only way out of the Canyon so we headed down the road looking for some nourishment.

These folks had no internet so we did not stay there Friday night but it was such a cool place I wanted to go back and try their food.

We pulled up and saw 4 Harley's sitting there...hmmmm...

You open the door to be greeted by beverage choices...

This watercolour drew me in...

Loved the breaks between the booths...a lot of fishing happens up here on the Colorado...

The Harley owners?  Here they are.  We sat down at our table, listened to the waitress flirting with the bikers and quickly picked up that these fellows were from Saskatchewan.  The waitress was trying to say the word, fumbling all over the first two syllables and I piped up and said, "Do you mean Saskatchewan?"

We asked the men about their trip, what brought them so far from the land of ice and snow, and exchanged stories.  Of course I asked permission before I started snapping photos.  They were really nice guys, a little shy maybe but good sports.

As they got ready to leave I asked if I could take their photos on their bikes, leaving...sure, they said.

I could have looked at their bike license before going in and would have known right off where they were from.

They played the part so well I was sure they had done the Hollywood thing some time in their careers but they had assured us they were Saskatchewan farmers.

Well, they were off, and we finished our lunch and wandered on down the road, past the Vermillion Cliffs, the Grand Staircase photo op and up into Utah.  As we drove along we once in a while talked of that chance meeting with the boys from Saskatchewan.

Our next decision was Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park...which should we choose?

We chose Zion and stopped at a service station at Mount Carmel Junction.  We drove up and saw the bikes first and sure enough, there were the boys from the cafe...taking a break.

We all laughed when we saw each other again...they accused us of following them but we had not for a minute thought we would ever see them again.  It was a good laugh.

Look at the fellow on the far left...see the green fabric sticking out under his jacket?  That is a John Deere hoodie...so of course we knew they were great guys!

Having said good-bye again, we all hit the road.  They were headed to St. George, Utah where they would stash their bikes in their trailer and truck for the trip home and we were just trying to get as far up the road as possible after a brief view of the south end of Zion National Park.

After our truly glorious visit to Zion I voted for an early stop but Sherwin had his heart set on making it to the Best Western in Fillmore where we have stayed every time we have travelled I-15.

By 9:30 we pulled up to the Best Western and there was a line-up of vehicles in front of us.  I looked, blinked my eyes again to make sure , and laughed out loud.  There in front of us was a white trailer with Saskatchewan plates and standing to the left was a biker...one of the boys!!!

What were the odds of this happening?  Three chance meetings in one day?

As we all headed to our rooms one fellow said, "See you at breakfast!"

You know, I never did introduce myself to them or get their names...but don't underestimate chance encounters.   At the very least they can give you a big smile and great photos (with permission).

Good wishes to you all in your chance encounters...and be well.