Where there is smoke, there is fire

Today started out in Pueblo, CO. Once out of the city, we ran into the lake pictured left. It was here that mom decided to try her hand at the bike. She took off at a good clip, however her speed quickly declined. She made it almost half of a mile between the biking and the walking. After that it was my turn on the bike. Riding was difficult, as smoke from the California wildfires is passing through the mountains and causing a burning in the lungs (instead of the normal ones in my legs). So when mom pulled up next to me a short time later telling me she had a great detour for us, I gave little protest. We headed to the Bishop Castle. This is a massive stone castle that has been built by one man since 1969. It is amazing the details this work in progress has with turrets, towers, great rooms, and soon even a portcullis. By this time the clouds had rolled in along with the smoke, so we decided to head to Salida for the night. Only to run into a traffic jam. As it turns out when mountains flank your path, there is no option for a detour. So I grabbed the bike and headed the mile down to the road block to get the information from the fire police. As it turns out two trucks had collided and spilled diesel all over the road. Three hours later, we had made some new friends (Hi if your reading this), and demolished a bag of sunflower seeds. When we finally got into Salida, we ventured out into new territory for the journey: Chinese Food. It may have been that everything tastes better when all you have been eating is burgers and fried food, but this was some of the best Chinese food I have ever eaten. If you are ever in Salida I recommend the Great Wall Chinese Restaurant. Today I also made plans to get through Utah and Nevada. With 90 mile stretches with no services, I was worried about how I would be able to complete this leg. Not to mention, 90 miles with nothing to see except my feet pedalling does not sound too appealing. So to add to my modes of transportation I booked a seat on a two leg Amtrak trip. One from Denver to Salt Lake City and then on to Reno. I will spend some time in these two great cities and check out the sights. After that back on the bike to finish off the trip into San Francisco. As for tomorrow, I conquer the Monarch Pass (>11, 300 feet). Oh boy......