Day Twenty Three- Done (Over 1685 miles)

August 12th-

It was truly an early morning. I woke up to dogs barking in the trailer park which was 100 yards away from my tent. I started packing everything up when I thought to check around me to see what there was to do until Clair came back for me. Lo and behold, there was a McDonald's just three buildings away. So, I waited and ate breakfast.

When Clair got there, we put my things in the van and headed over to the bike shop; "Full Cycle." The shop didn't open until 10 am, but there was a coffee shop called "Mugs" right across the street. That is where I passed the time until the shop opened. Clair ended up coming back from his meeting very quickly, because the lady was out of office until 1 pm, even though she scheduled their meeting for 9 am. Oh well.

We sat and talked some more until the shop opened up. I went in and had my rear rim looked at and replaced within fifteen minutes. The guy who worked on it was a little abrupt (yeah, that's the word I'll use), but he got the job done. I rode it around for awhile to make sure it was better before heading into the rockies (or the hill, as the locals call it).

Clair gave me a ride up to a camping area. We said our goodbyes, and off he headed back to the meeting. As I was setting my bike up, I met two more people; Dave and Christy (sp?). We chatted for about fifteen minutes or so as I got my bike ready and relaxed by the water for a bit. They gave me some almonds that were well taken. Dave and I (see picture) came up with a good idea for a bike part. I cannot disclose the information contained within that conversation at this time.

I left from there slowly climbing the mountain. The roads were a bit dangerous, but the drivers were mostly kind enough to give me room. Along the thirty mile trek for the day, I went through a small "town" called Rustic. It was more of a tourist's stop. But, it served me quite well. I reloaded my water bottles and had lunch.

I passed many scenic areas. I took a lot of pictures.

I found my destination to be a little too far away, but heard about a nice camping area which is free just twenty miles sooner. I decided to set up tent there, and get an early start to make up the miles. The place is absolutely beautiful. Picturesque (see picture)! There are some ice capped mountains off in the distance, a huge lake, tall pines, and a free campsite. I set up for the night excited for the downhill I was about to receive.

It started to get a little chilly outside, so I got the thermal blanket that my uncle gave me ready to be used if I needed it.

Daily Lesson: Sometimes it takes longer to climb a mountain than it does to go around, but around has no downhill.

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