In Kanab

On Tuesday, I made the drive from Moab to Kanab via I-70 and I-15. It's about an eight-hour drive, very desolate - including one stretch of 106 miles between gas stations - but also very beautiful.

Yesterday (Wednesday), I spent the day getting my bearings. Found the BLM office where they hold the lottery for permits to hike to the Wave, and also set up camp in a really pretty campsite called Ponderosa Grove, about 15 miles from Kanab.

So today I made my first attempt to get a permit to hike to the Wave. They start taking applications at 8:30, and conduct the lottery at 9:00 sharp. This is a big damned deal. Among the aspirants were people from China, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, and various states. But I had a good chance - there were only 33 people in the room, and ten get to go. Unfortunately, the bingo ball didn't bounce my way today. I learned that the record for showing up and not getting to go is 11 straight days, held by someone from South Korea. I hope I'm not the one to bring the record back to the USA.