It seems odd to find a bike route in Utah called simply ‘Utah Hill’.  Why this hill specifically, when there are thousands to choose from?  Maybe it’s because it’s near the Arizona border and it’s the first ridge you would cross climbing out of the Mojave Basin before they blasted a blasted freeway through the Virgin River gorge.

It’s a great riding route though, and very popular with the local cyclists (you should watch the video), but not exceptionally colorful by the exacting standards of Color Country – just the usual red sandstone cliffs and rugged brown formations that you’ll see everywhere here.

Fortunately I found a painted wall of colorful Paiute emblems passing through Santa Clara; otherwise I couldn’t submit our ride over Utah Hill for this month’s challenge.