The perfect paved road continued for 20 or so more miles- it cut straight across the hills with steep ups and downs. We reached the halfway point of our route in the morning, and fate (in the form of a guy named Mike in a pickup truck) bestowed upon us the most perfect half-themed beverage: three cold cans of Arnold Palmer. You can’t make this stuff up. The pavement gave way to a gravel climb through a birch and aspen forest- the first trees we’d seen in days! The mood was spoiled somewhat by prodigious washboard, but we powered through and ended up at our second glorious pavement stretch of the day. The Battle Pass Scenic Byway curved through very lovely aspen forests with tall dark buttes shrouded in wildfire smoke in the distance- the view almost reminded me of somewhere tropical. We got rained on a bit right at the Colorado border (also there was no Colorado sign! disappointed.) and cruised the last gravel climb up to Brush Mountain Lodge. We’d heard a lot about this place, a site of great hospitality and much Tour Divide lore. Welcomed with a hug from Kirstin and greeted by several trail fam friends (and some new Nobo pals) we felt right at home on the patio with pizza and beer.