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Rested... Fed... and Warmed, I got on the road with
the intent of making as many uphill miles as I could before the ice got
bad. You get a "Few" odd looks from people as you peddle up the side of
a mountain on a 40 degree day, but the Scenery is breathtaking (in more
than one-way! =)
However, the pine trees tend to cut back on the amount of sunlight that
makes it to the road, and by the time I had reached Cook's Station,
I had begun to hit small patches of ice. The bulletin board at the station
informed me that these stations had been founded during the wagon-train
era and had been set-up every four miles along the Sierra Nevada trail.
It gave me an appreciation of the Travel they must have endured, when
the notice explained that the stations were 4 miles apart because that
represented ONE days travel by wagon-train!! I had made 30 miles already!
The next station, Ham's Station, 
accepted ATM cards, and I settled down for a warm bowl of soup and a sandwich
made by Tom.
He owns the place and used to own race-horses... the walls are lined with
pictures of his many steeds. Conversation from the locals clarified that
the road ahead was ONLY "Icier" and that I should "Reconsider" the rest
of the pass. Wisdom spoke clearly... I'm coming back to the High Sierras...
in the Summer! While I waited for a ride, I met Dan and his friend, they
are volunteer firefighters monitoring a "controlled" fire to clear up
some of the undergrowth. Thanks guys! Your hard work ensures that we will
ALL enjoy beautiful forests that have not been destroyed by fires. I was
picked up by George,  and
we shared some great conversation as we headed up the mountain to Lake
Tahoe. I decided that Heavenly Valley was calling my name (for reasons
that I'll explain later) and he just happened to be heading that way.
George had spent a career in the Navy, so we "chatted" Navy-Talk and shared
life experiences as we drove. Pray for this man, who was returning from
his Mother funeral...
I headed into the Personnel Section of Heavenly Valley Ski resort to track
down if the people I wanted to see were still working there. The person
I was introduced to happened to be one of those people! Jim not only was
there, but he remembered my name and quickly researched what people were
still available to talk with. We made plans to see each other the next
day, and he located a hostel I had seen earlier in my travels. The BluZu
Hostel was a short (down-hill) trip from the lodge and a "sharp" contrast
to the "Commercial" market of Tahoe's hotel/motel industry. Although relatively
NEW on the scene, the hostel staff has been working hard and expects a
BUSY season! It's only been Open for 6-weeks, but I would make my reservations
now...  Christina,
Richard, and the Gang are great! (Christina makes an Awesome carrot soup!)
And watch out for the Hostel mascot... She's a little terror! Michael
(on the left of the picture) is just passing through as he begins working
as a ski-instructor at Heavenly. In "Real-Life" he works as an engineer
and has a REAL familiarity with Computers... He gave me loads of insight
into what, and WHY my computer did what it did! After washing my clothes...
drying my tent... and having a LONG HOT Shower, I nestled into my cozy
blankets... on a REAL bed and drifted of to a warm nights sleep! Peace
be with you...
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was
perfect and a few of the local personalities were in having their morning
coffee. My breakfast was brought to me by Lin 
(AKA
"Precious" to her customers!) and I enjoyed warming up to a cup of coffee
while the "outside" world slowly warmed-up ALSO!!