Salida to upper dome reservoir I stayed with some people in Salida who were kind enough to invite me in for the night. To make a long story a little shorter, I met Debbie in Frisco at a hotel happy hour, and we started talking about my bike trip, among many other things, of course. Turns out she lives in Salida and we made plans to meet up in Salida with her husband Jerry. We had lunch, and they invited me to stay in their house for the night! I was blown away by their generosity and of course jumped at the opportunity to sleep in a real bed! I very much enjoyed their hospitality and conversation and was a little sad to leave. But, the border awaits so we said our goodbyes, made sure we had each other’s contact information, and I rolled out. After a short day and a rest day, I felt like a caged animal and was ready to make some miles! My (Jill’s) plan was to go to a place called upper dome reservoir, an 80 mile day with a 4000 foot climb early in the ride. There was a small town about half way, and I planned on getting dinner to go there. I didn’t get out as early as early as I wanted, but didn’t stress about it. Off I went at 10:00. The climb was long, but had a steady grade and I felt good. It seemed like it went pretty quickly and I still felt fresh and ready to keep going at the top. I met another bike packer—John from New Zealand—right at the top, and we got a couple pics and chatted for a bit. We rolled down, and I caught 3 more bike packers I had met about a week before, so we talked on the way down to the little town. Turns out those guys were stopping for the night at the town—I agonized over whether to stop or roll on. After much thought and a quesadilla, I chose to forge ahead as I was feeling so good and had plenty of daylight left. I shoved a hamburger into my bike bag and off I went! There were several miles of flat pavement, so those miles went by quickly, and I was still feeling good. Still, I was glad to turn off on gravel and the traffic peace it brings. I enjoyed the terrain as it rolled out of the pines and into rolling sage with timber slopes up higher. After one more short paved section, I turned south toward my destination only a few miles ahead. I pulled into the upper dome reservoir area, and decided I would take the first spot that looked good. I found a spot at the outlet of the reservoir and set up camp. Evening arrived quickly, and I was able to look at the brightest stars I’ve seen in a long time. Beautiful. I tucked I into my sleeping bag feeling content and happy. I enjoyed the day.