Food, with a side of drama

The morning wasn't freezing like yesterday even though I was over 2000 feet higher in elevation. Cruising down toward Austin, I began to pedal faster in hopes of making it to town before breskfast ended. At 10:56am, I entered the Internatonal Hotel & Cafe and ordered a huge skillet from a bubbly waitress who told me of her biking days on Maui. When I went to pay however, I learned that my ATM card was missing and had to pay credit. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone with the bank and sipping on delicious iced tea from a rude waitress at the other cafe in town.

While writing a postcard, I discovered someone stole my phone and solar panal from under my nose! What a day! I stormed down to the Sheriff's office (two doors down) to report the theft. Turned out just minutes before someone turned it in thinking someone had forgotten it. I thanked them, packed up, and headed up and over Austin and Bob Scott passes before settling in at Hickison Rec Area for the night. I made an aquaintence there and we chatted for a few hours while checking out some prehistoric petroglyphs, learning a few new constellations, and watching a beautiful desert moonrise.

West-central Nevada blues

With tractors rolling in, I decided to quickly get up and going well before daybreak. It was freezing out so I stopped for 70-cent coffee before heading into the great wide open. At midday, I arrived in Middlegate and reorganized my gear and prepared to mail seven pounds of unnecessary stuff back home. Eating peanut butter and jelly on corn tortillas, I began to crave a solid meal.

The heat subsided and I continued up state highway 722 toward Carroll Summit. At the peak (7500') I set up camp next to the cows and could hear coyotes closeby. I was pretty beat and crashed before any stars could be seen.