Albion

Nov. 28. Albion River Campground. Well, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. We are in our tent waiting out a day long downpour. Or maybe a two day-er. Can’t complain too much though, as the last 3 weeks have been really good weather for us. It is 2pm and Candy has caught a ride back to Mendocino with the owner of the campground so that we can access our bank account and pay for our stay here. We arrived with precious little cash, then found out that they are not set up to take plastic. Note to self: Always keep 60 or 70 dollars in cash on you. I hope she can also do a little shopping, as we could use a few of the necessaries. Like some fruit, paper towels, wet wipes, and maybe a book for me to read. We were in Mendocino yesterday. We took a little U-shaped detour through the town and I came to the conclusion that it’s just another one of those precious little Artsy-Fartsy coastal villages like Manzanita or Cannon Beach up in Oregon. During our brief swing through town, we met a couple (Sherri and Phil, that is Sherri in the picture, taken in Mendocino) on bikes that were very interested in our setup and our trip. I hope they log on and post a hello to us. We also noticed that the sewage treatment plant is right up against the town, and we could smell it when we got within a block or so. Tsk, tsk, all that expensive real estate smells like you-know-what. Although they do have a bike shop.

It is raining so hard that we are able to collect all the water we need for cooking and drinking by setting up some pots under the edge of the rain fly. Filled up the 2-quarter within an hour. I am really glad now that Candy insisted on a larger tent. I have room to cook in here without disassembling my bed. And we can move around without crashing up against each other.

I think we will probably be taking some time to go back to Silverlake for Christmas, as Candy’s dad has had another mild heart attack. I think we may make it to San Fran, find a place to store our trike and equipment, then catch the Amtrak up to Portland. I don’t see this as an end to our odyssey, just a minor interruption.

Our campground here on the Albion River is way down off the highway, in the bottom of a gorge. The bridge across is very high and of timbered construction. If it weren’t raining so hard I would like to get a closer look at it, as that sort of thing interests me. One thing we are concerned about is getting out of here. The road into the campground is a 14% grade, maybe a quarter mile long. I think we can climb back out on the trike, very slowly. At first, we were going to stay in an inn up on the highway because of this. But when we checked their rates, we decided we could handle the hill easier than the bill. Two hundred dollars a night, no tv, no phone, no internet. We can get that for 10 dollars a night right where we are.

Ron

PS, I never the left the tent from the time I got in it on the afternoon of the 27th till the morning of the 29th. I cooked in the tent and we have figured out a potty system for the vestibule, outside the tent living area, but still enclosed. All day on the 28th it rained so hard that sometimes I could not hear Candy talking to me. Oh yeah, Candy taught me to play gin rummy on the evening of the 28th. After two practice games, I whipped her for the next three games, har har.