Day 85, August 13^th, Republic, WA to Omak, WA.   We were up again before the sun to be able to get as many miles before the heat hit.  We left Republic, a town that has several buildings from its early times, and set out toward Wauconda Pass at 4310 feet.  We followed Granite Creek up to the pass, which was not a bad climb.  Along the way, we passed the original site of the town of Wauconda (named for Wauconda IL) where the Hedge brothers discovered gold.  The gold ran out so the inhabitants moved the town to the other side of the pass.  We ate breakfast in Wauconda which consists of one café/bar.  The next part of the ride was terrific.  It was downhill again for 25 miles and quite a steep grade (5-6%) for a lot of the ride.  I was grateful to be going west and not east again.  We took a short break in Tonasket about noon and the heat came on in full force.  The forecast was to be close to 100 degrees.  The terrain of this area of Washington was very different; very desert-like but with a green area close to the Okanogan River.  There were sprinklers watering everything from front yards to pasture land to orchards.  We headed to Omak and did about 20 miles in the heat with no shade opportunities.  The route along the river was flat and we made good time.  We planned to go another 3 miles to Okanogan but gave up at the first hotel.  Omak had their 97^th annual “Stampede” this last weekend, but all the visitors are gone.  Tomorrow is another pass, named Loup Loup, at 4020 feet.  Mileage for the day was 64.83.