Start: Page,
End:
Miles: 424 miles
Route taken: Route
89 north
to Route 28 north to Interstate 15 north, exit at
It
was apparent to me that I was in the final days of my trip and there
was a
definitely mixture of anxiousness and sadness. I wanted to keep going,
felt I
hadn’t seen enough, knew there was more out there for me to explore.
The
feeling I guess, is often like when you are nearing a vacation’s end
and wonder
if you saw everything you should have.
The
other thought is what awaits you when you return. I knew I had a stack
of bills
sitting at the post office for me to pick up and my attention was on
those as
well.
It
was difficult pushing those out of my mind, but I was going to have to
do so if
I was to make any success of the remaining three days.
Lake Powell
Dam, just outside of Page, Arizona
Fortunately
the Southern part of
This
was a bit out of my way, but I wanted to go this way for two reasons.
One, I
haven’t seen this section of Utah, and secondly, I needed a healthy
meal and
knew I could get one at One World Café in Salt Lake City.
That
pushed me on as I wound my way up through
Then
I came across the Big Rock Candy Mountain after the town of
I
had no choice, my iPod had finally quit on me after nearly three years
and I
was humming a variety of annoying songs that would stick with me for
miles at a
time.
The
rest of the way to
I
checked into the motel and shot over across town to the café. I
love the fact
that the street signs are all numbers and tell you how far you are from
the
temple. It is impossible to get lost and for someone who enjoys logical
thinking it is brilliant.
My
stomach was growling pretty hard when I reached the café. New
wave music played
in the background and people are moving in and out of the small venue.
No
one seems to be in a hurry and the two guys behind the counter are busy
attending to the food.
In front of me is a college student who is also a musician,
meaning he is doubly poor. He gets his food and retires to one of the
tables by
the front door. I get as much food as they will give me. They have
penne pasta
with Swedish meatballs, black eyed peas and brown rice, steamed
vegetables with
seaweed and pork and cold salad soup.
I eat everything and am extremely satisfied. I take my dishes
to the counter and place them in the bin and take a $20 bill and put it
in the
box.
The box is where you settle up your account. At One World
Café there are no menu prices. You pay what you think the meal
is worth.
It is the brainchild of Denise Cerreta, who has owned the
restaurant for several years. She believes in the philosophy of
community and
if people can’t afford to pay for food, they can do other things like
wash
dishes.
That is what the musician is doing. He is behind the counter
washing away, singing happily while he is doing it. I do a little
writing while
sipping some water and let the meal digest. It was the most satisfying
food I
have had on the trip.