Days 85 and 86: Eureka to Hickison, then to Austin

Three days ago, at the Eureka city park, I was just listening to some music at the pavilion when two men showed up with some picnic items. They were going to have dinner at this park and enjoy the July Fourth fireworks before driving down the road to a campground. I learned that their names are Gary and Bob. They have been friends for a very long time. Every year, they take some time off to camp and hike together. Gary and Bob invited me to eat dinner with them. Bob made a killer salad and Gary cooked some corn and peas. I didn't expect this meal at all and I'm so grateful for these wonderful hosts!

Bob and Gary

After dinner, I invited them for ice cream. We walked to the convenience store and I bought them ice cream bars. I also bought a bag of beef jerky to add to my food supply.

Back at the park, I learned that Bob had traveled the world twice. He inspired me to do the same. I had a goal of traveling the world before I turn 35 years old. I'm already 34. I'll have to see if I can travel the world next year if my finances are in order.

The three of us had the park to ourselves. At 9 PM, the fireworks started. It lasted for about 20 minutes, but there was no grand finale. We were a little disappointed by that. At least we celebrated the nation's birthday. Before Gary and Bob left, Bob told me I can stay at his place in Sacramento when I get there. I'll be sure to visit him and hear more of his travel stories.

Watching the fireworks in the park

That night, I slept under the pavilion. I had thought about putting my tent in the middle of the park and sleep under the stars. Good thing I didn't because the lawn sprinklers turned on in the morning. After packing up my things, I decided to visit The Roost for an early breakfast, but the place wasn't open. I went back to the same convenience store that I had been going to and bought a cup of coffee, some fried bread sticks, and two fried wrap of some sort. It was the best I could do early in the morning.

I started my ride around 6:30. It was mostly flat, so I made good speed. I stopped by a rest area to drink some water, then I kept on riding.

Mostly flat road

On the side of the road, I thought I saw something shiny, so I turned around to see. It was an iPhone! The screen is all cracked and I can barely see anything. I picked it up and put it in my phone bag, thinking that I'll have to stop by an Apple store to let them fix it and figure out who it belongs to. As I continued riding, the phone made some strange sounds. I picked it up and it started dialing. As it turned out, the woman on the other end is the daughter of the owner of this iPhone. I told her I'll be in the Hickison petroglyphs campground for the day and she can pick it up there.

I made to Hickison petroglyphs campground around 10:30 AM. I could have continued another 25 miles to Austin, but I didn’t feel like it, plus I told the woman that I’ll stay here. I made lunch that consisted of ramen noodles, Vienna sausages, and pineapple pieces. Then I decided to go on a self guided walking tour of the petroglyphs and the overlooks. I tried my best to occupy my time here.

My campsite

A petroglyph of a bicycle?

One of the overlooks

When I was just chilling at my campsite a couple stopped by. Howard and Marlene are retired and they went to a wedding in Colorado. On their way back, they decided to stop by some places to visit. Howard is now a photographer and I’m interested to see his photos.

Later on during the day, I met a man about my age. His name is Grant and he works in Las Vegas. We had a good time talking and walking around the campsite. I told him about how I found the iPhone on the side of the road. Soon, a white truck pulled over and the driver is a friend of the woman who lost her iPhone. He told us the woman has been missing since July 2. The police found her car in Ely. I gave him the iPhone and I hope everything is ok with the missing woman.

I had my last bag of ramen for dinner and another can of Vienna sausages. Grant gave me a banana to eat. After setting up my tent, I said good night to Grant and went to sleep.

The morning after, I checked my phone. Good news! The daughter of the missing woman texted me. Her mom has been found in Ely. What a relief. Just as I was packing my things onto my bike, a man named Mark walked up to me with his dog. We started chatting and soon talked about politics. We chatted for over half an hour before I continued packing.

The ride to Austin is only 25 miles but has two hills. I walked my bike on both of them. After coming down the second hill, I stopped by the first restaurant I saw, Toiyabe Cafe. They were still serving breakfast when I got there, so I ordered a Denver omelette. Coincidentally, the waitress there is the daughter of the Lincoln Motel’s manager. I decided to stay at Lincoln Motel for the night.

Going up the second hill

After checking in at the motel, I had to wait for the staff to clean my room. I decided to visit the library since it closes at noon. I only wrote about half of my blog post before the computer decided to do an update. When I came back to the room I took a much needed shower, cleaned my clothes, and took a brief nap. Around 3 PM, I went back to Toiyabe Cafe to get a cheeseburger and a milkshake for a late lunch.

I stopped by the convenience store to buy some peanuts and candy. I’m running very low on my food supply and there isn’t a grocery store in town. I hope there will be a proper grocery store in Fallon.

I spent the rest of day taking a four hour nap, then went to bed around 9 PM.

This morning, I’ll be getting breakfast at the Toiyabe Cafe before hitting the road to Middlegate. It’ll be about 63 miles of riding.