Happy Birthday Mom from Laytonville, CA

Nov. 23. Finally got to a town with an internet connection. 5 bucks an hour to use it though. We are staying in a nice little cottage in the middle of town, but back from the street. We can't hear any traffic, which is a nice change. Happy Birthday to my mother, Rosie Hawley. This is a little late, but better than never. I love you, and Candy does too.

Last night we had to do some stealth camping off the road. We got caught between towns and campgrounds with nighfall coming, so I found a spot off the highway behind a four foot earthen berm. It wasn't untill we had all of our gear unloaded that Candy noticed the "No Trespassing" sign on the ground. I used it as a little table to cook on.

I hadn't realized how high in the hills we were. Around 1700 feet and it was near freezing when we got up this morning. We just folded up the tent and got on the road around 7:30, just wanting to pedal to get us warm. We finally found a sunlit pullout on the road about 10:00 am, where I fixed us some hot oatmeal and coffee. There is something a little off or "strange" about this area we are in. People out in the country all have gates across their driveways and "No Trespassing" signs up everywhere. I think the number 1 cash crop in this part of CA is pot, so maybe that's what it is.

We are taking the Branscomb road to the coast either tomorrow or the next day, we haven't made up our minds yet. Either way, we should be able to avoid the heavy log truck traffic we have been told about, since it is Thanksgiving. We avoided the most commonly used cycle route out of Leggett to the coast, Highway 1, because so many people told us how terribly curvy and narrow it is. So we decide to go on down 101 to Laytonville and then west to the coast.

Candy is down the street doing our laundry, and I am going to do a little shopping at the food market for our Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. I think maybe a turkey pot pie, some cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and Pecan Pie. We truly are thankful for the all the well wishers we have encountered, our familys who love us, and all the folks who are tuning in to our blog to follow us on our odyssey. Ron.