We squeezed in a second rest day at home by taking away our Vernal rest day. Yesterday I was up and out the door by 6 AM for a walk. Today I hardly had my eyes open by 8 AM! Look how easy it is to get lazy. I didn't set the alarm either day and slept very well. I think I'm allergic to alarm clocks.

Our time at home has passed far too quickly. My first business of order was to try and get the red dirt out of both of our shirts. Mine wasn't so much red as dingy. Jacinto's bright yellow shirt seemed to hold onto the red dirt more. End of that story is that I wasn't successful. Washing the shirts was the first thing I did coming in the door. I guess wearing the same shirt for 31 days in a row and never being in a washing machine during that month makes it tough to get something clean . . .

My big priority for the layover was getting my wheel taken care of, which we did the first night we were home. That wheel happened to have a new CST tire on it. My front tire looks good for another month. Jacinto has a flat tire. We rode through so much glass the last day, I'm not surprised. Let's see if he goes for a more robust tire now that we are home and have options.

Jacinto is tricky. He asked me if I could use an entire pannier of his, what would I put in it. He stunned me into silence. I mentally ran through what I carried on the bike. I pretty much need what I have, there's no extras. I told him that he was already carrying what I needed help with - oatmeal fixings and other food items. At this instant I have the kitchen counter covered with all sorts of food items for him to carry. Admittedly, we don't need two bags of crasins straight from home, but they are hard to find at little stores. I also have two bags of pecans for oatmeal. Those can usually be found, but at a high price. I have three quart size bags of Spiz meal replacement. I've tried over several years to not use Spiz, but I'm darned if I don't think it's a good product and I perform better when drinking it.

Jacinto went on to say he thought he'd leave the coffee fixings home, it weighs too much. I told him I'd rather see him carry the coffee than extra items for me. His day doesn't start well if he doesn't have good coffee. At the Gateway Resort they had Kuerig coffee and that wasn't up to Jacinto's standards. Just imagine how unhappy he will be with plain coffee . . . I told him even if he doesn't have honey and real cream for his coffee, at least it is the right coffee and tastes a little similar to what he likes. We shall see what he ends up doing.

I've purchased two Travel Kuppe brand stainless steel sports water bottles to replace my water bottle and Liquid IV bottle. That way I will have cold drinks at all times. There have been several important instances this trip when a cold drink of water revived me enough to get me going down the road.

We've been to the store and out and about while at home. Many people here wear masks. It's a change from most days on our tour. Heading north, COVID cases are on the rise in several states. We still have the same opinion, we are passing through very small areas with minimal people contact. Missoula will be our biggest place on the northern section. Whitefish is second. It looks like dine in eating will be hit or miss, but we can at least get food everywhere we are going. I don't think there are any cans of chili in my immediate future.

There is road construction at miles 16-20 tomorrow, out of Rifle. We are going to go drive it tonight and assess the situation. My friend said it was bad, a one way dirt road, with traffic stopped for 30-60 minutes at a time. We could go around it on a parallel dirt road. The alternate might be worse than dealing with the road construction. It includes 13 miles of dirt and slightly more climbing. We've ridden that road exactly once. I'm glad I rode it and don't care to ride it again. If we did choose the dirt road, we would get off at Rio Blanco hill, rather than staying on the dirt all the way to Meeker.