Laura and I didn't sleep very good. I woke up to an upset stomach. Lucky for us, we had been considering a short day today, in order to position us at the base of the next mountain pass. Loup Loup pass will be our second longest climb yet, yet the steepest. Our legs are still tired from the last 2 climbs in the last 2 days, so it is a good time for a break. We rode 31 miles to Okanogan, with less than 1000 feet of climbing today. It was a pretty easy ride, although I sorta struggled having not been able to hold much food or water down.

The kids seem ready to roll, but us 3 old folks needed the break. The terrain was pretty beautiful today. It was almost a desert landscape, only broken up with the green areas that were irrigated. If it were not for those green stretches, I could have easily thought we were in Utah or Southern California.

We had breakfast in our room, and then stopped for lunch at the town of Riverside in their tiny grocery store. I had my very first Yoohoo beverage. It sits pretty well on a tempermental gut! That and a can of cold ravioli and I was fueled up for the rest of the ride.

The grocery store had a wonderful collection of pocket lint! Katie was trying to make an un-impressed expression.

We passed through the town of Eagle, which appeared to be nothing but an abandoned gas station, and a Bald Eagle watching over the area.

We were considering camping, but passed up the campground before realizing it. We settled on a hotel instead of backtracking. The Caraboo Inn has a nice restaraunt downstairs, perfect because my apetite came back. I even ordered meatloaf......not something I would usually eat. Laura and Rog really liked their food too, laura had a chicken and peaches plate which looked great.

Tomorrow morning we will attempt Loup Loup pass, and a 3000+ ft climb. Wish us luck. If we succeed,, it will be our 4th mountain pass, with 1 major climb remaining. The final climb will be the Washington Rainy pass, which will be the second highest climb of the trip.....but lets try to conquer Loup Loup first. To have all 5 of us still pushing forward at this point is amazing. We all have a list of aches and pains, but nobody has thrown in the towel yet. 2 more mountains to go.

31 miles (1890 total)