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Thursday, 6-26-08, First Baptist Campground, Austin, NV

We woke up pretty early, had breakfast, cereal, and our family Bible reading then left with Jacob toward Austin. It would be our hardest mountain climb day. On the way, we stopped at Nevada's famous Shoe Tree. I finally managed to hang a pair way up there on a high branch after several misses. The climb to Carrol Summit wasn't too bad at first; towards the end it got hard, but we made it all the way to the top without walking. Jacob cycled with us to the top where we took a picture of us - me, Becky, Chimi. The ride downhill was fast and fun. Towards the end of the day, everyone was hot and tired. My chain fell off several times. Something was out of adjustment. The gears were slipping and the chain was loose too. The last 10 miles I rode with Willie and Adriana rode his bike. It was a very steep climb for being as tired as we were so we rode in first gear the last mile into Austin and got there around 7 pm. We were directed to a campground up the hill at the First Baptist Church. The lady in charge, Donna Wright, was very nice and let us stay our first night for free. There was a shower too. I helped her pack boxes with food for needy local families. It's part of the church ministry. When I left, she gave me a box of food - tuna, spagetti, beef stew, and other treats. Nice lady. She also gave us two hymnals. We cooked up all four cans of stew along with boiled potatoes. It was delicious. 66 miles.