It was hard to believe after what we ate last night we could ever be hungry again, but 5:30am rolled around we were all up drinking coffee and eating the last of the chocolate chip cookies AND trying to figure where we would go to eat. We decided on Marty’s, a local eatery owned by Marty, who was a Chef for George H. Bush in Maine. We were there when the café opened at 8:00am and had a hearty Republican breakfast!!!! So hearty . . .  we needed to stroll around town a bit to help with digestion. The fire and smoke had driven everyone onto town and here was a family of locals parading down the promenade. Truckee is know mostly for skiing in the winter and many winter articles were starting to appear in the local stores. Today we would be climbing to Donner’s Pas, something not for the faint of heart. Even though we had a filling breakfast we bought this whole tray of popcorn covered with chocolate and caramel for a snack  up the mountain. Most of it was gone before we even left town!!!! Yesterday we had passed through Donner State Park and tried to find a scenic shot. A little ‘foggy’ yesterday because of the smoke. During the night the wind had shifted a little and blown most of the smoke out of Truckee. MUCH nicer this morning! Our route up to Donner Pass. Photos never do justice to grade and elevation. The red line is part of our approximate route . . . . . . up, up and up . . . time to take a breather as we climb up above Donner Lake and the State Park. Yippee . . . we summit! . . .and had a quick ride down to town. You can see the four boys on the road in the middle of the photo. BEAUTIFUL weather!!!! Believe it or not it was time for lunch . . . BillyB started with his favorite ‘recovery’ drink! He needed it because we still had the 10-12% grade rode back to the condo . . . . 4 miles of it!!!

A quick shower, some laundry and a few snacks prepared by the G and we were on the road to Squaw Valley for some sightseeing. We had hope to ride the gondola to the top and have dinner. But alas. . . in the summer the tram stops at 5:00pm  AND it was $39 to ride the tram to the top. What to do . . . ? How about make friends with some of the locals from the Hard Rock Café who were selling t-shirts. Billy was so impressed when they told him he had such  BIG shoulders, he bought one for Marci, his wife!!! As you may notice the sizing might run a little small though. The ones the girls have on seem a little ‘tight’ !!

It was time to head out for dinner in downtown Truckee. TommyH, Greg and Rick went to Morey’s, a fine dining place establishment strategically positioned in the middle of Truckee social scene. The B and G went to a family pizza parlor with lots of screaming children playing Pacman. When they finished they walked towards our very well positioned outdoor corner dining table where we had dined and watched Truckee’s finest pass by on Friday night. Greg bought a final round for the gang and Ann Marie was nice enough to let a couple of non-diners join us and soon there were drinks al around. A great way to spend our last night at the condo in Truckee. Tomorrow night we start the ‘official’ bike trip part of the adventure. Sweet dreams!!!