Friday June 16, 2006 64 miles - Total so far: 644 miles

This day required us to cross two mountain passes on our way to Great Basin National Park. We both enjoyed the remarkable changes in scenery from desert basins to forested mountains (take a look at the photos). Crossing the last basin we met a young Swiss cyclist named Pius, who was traveling from Miami to Vancouver via San Francisco. He was taking his time, stopping often in scenic areas such as the Grand Canyon, and had budgeted 6 months for the entire trip.

At the second summit my wife, Sue, joined us to ride the final miles into Great Basin Park (hey Norma, recognize the bike?). Great Basin is one of the least visited of all the National Parks even though it is beautiful and provides many opportunities for hikers including the ascent of 13,000 foot Mt. Wheeler, a grove of bristlecone pines (the worlds oldest living things), and a glacier. While cycling into the park we met a local cyclist named Terry who invited us to his restaurant (Silver Jack) for dinner, where we enjoyed the eclectic atmosphere and a fine meal.

After dinner we returned to our campsite, which was an island surrounded by a rushing stream (accessed by a wooden bridge) and we all fell asleep to the soothing sound of the running water.