Okay, I'll admit it - I am a little tired but we ended early today so I am relaxing. Although the day was "easy", there were still some ups and downs along the way that tested my fatigued legs. While Eddie was attempting to break land-speed records, I hung back and enjoyed the scenery at my pace. The landscape changed rapidly between rich farmland and desert. Saw a place called "Operation Santa" that had live reindeer (really, I saw them!)...strange for the desert, poor reindeer. We reached Prineville whilch according to the crew last night is "strange". We stopped for lunch and kept cruising 8 miles past Prineville to Ochoco State Park. The camp hosts are Skip and Cindy. Skip is an ex-marine (USMC tattoo gave it away) and said we were crazy...They had a cute little kitten which I cuddled for a bit missing my cat, Neko. We have a nice hiker/biker campsite for $4/person and are just making the most of the shade. There is a reservoir which we could swim in if we could see the bottom - it was a bit warm and murky. We decided instead to head to the air-conditioned shower/bathroom facilities! Our first shower in 3 nights. Cooled me off nicely. We fuel up tonight on Mac-N-Cheese, got to bed before the sun goes down and get up at 4:30 to get a very early start for a hot day and 2 climbs (Ochoco Pass and Keyes Creek Pass) - total elevation climb ~3000 ft. Looks like we'll have some great descents which we'll need to make it to Dayville and to cool down. Heats up to unbearable around noon.

Met some fellow bikers who rolled in around 7:30pm as Eddie and I were heading into our tent for the night. They were a couple heading to Clearwater, MT. From the looks of their gear, they are veteran tourists. Nice to meet others - helps us feel a little less crazy.

Another pre-dawn departure gave us a bit of respite from the searing afternoon sun and took us to the Ochoco Reservoir just 7.5 miles east of Prineville. This was the perfect place to stop. The hiker biker sites were set wonderfully in a shaded hammock of trees and the park had cool air conditioned showers. A slow quiet evening of laying in the shade after this short day was exactly what my body needed.