It seemed like I was the first one up at the camp, so I tried to keep it quiet and packed up slowly. The trailer latch had been giving me trouble on a regular basis (the pin holding the latch lever kept slipping out and the latch lever would then come disengaged - that's why I also bungied the lid down, just in case). I had replaced the pin with a large paperclip but it wasn't a large enough diameter so the latch lever flopped a bit and would then refuse to open. It took about 20 minutes to get into the trailer but once I did, I found the pin again, put it in place and locked the whole thing down with the aforementioned paper clip. It's worked so far.
I didn't stop often on the way up the coast but thought I'd take at least one. Then I noticed the shelters built on the beach. Last time I saw one of these, a young couple was living in it. Most likely those hippies I've come across before.
It was about 150 miles from the campground to Leggett where I finally took a break at the drive through Chandelier tree. This was very tiring, doing that many twisties. Also, I stopped in Mendocino, a quaint little coastal town and paid the highest price yet for gas - $5.249. I probably could have made it to Fort Bragg where is was .75 cheaper a gallon. So, just one picture, as I started further into the big woods until Leggett.
A nice young lady took this picture for me. People take turns doing that. I didn't, I'm in too much of a hurry (JK). This young lady's friend was fascinated by the solar panels so I explained the setup to here. An elderly gentleman was listening and came to talk to me when the young lady left. He was very interested and wanted to take pictures, ask detailed questions, etc. He asked if this was a kit I bought and I told him that it was just a bolt-together with off-the-shelf components and Home Depot / Lowes bits and pieces. He mentioned that he was driving the big RV, towing a jeep, over in the parking lot. He is probably a rich executive and will bring something like this to market. I can expect a royalty check any day, I'm sure!
I merrily snapped pictures along the way.
Have YOU hugged a tree today?
A picture with my big friend. I think my face really was that red...
This was my last picture of the day. Even though there were some other spectacular redwood pictures (an area had fog through the woods and made all the trees seem bigger as the tops disappeared into the fog) and gorgeous coastal pictures, I just didn't want to delay anymore. I had gotten a chill earlier in the day and couldn't shake it, the wind didn't help. I had developed a knot in my neck and shoulders that was excruciating and trying to work it out by rotating my arm produced such grinding noises in my shoulder joint that I had to stop that too.
I thought I'd share an "unsmooth" moment. We were stopped for some construction somewhere along the line, but later in the day. I was between two large trucks. The flagman waved the truck ahead of me to go on but told me to stop. After only a second or two, he waved me on. There was no indication on what side of the barrier we should travel, so my addled brain said follow the truck. I noticed he had stopped and then noticed the drop-off into the gravel that I had stopped short of by a couple feet. I saw in the rear view that the flagman was hanging his head and shaking it. They had to keep traffic stopped in both directions while I backed the bike and trailer out of my impromptu parking spot.
I arrived in Coos Bay just before 8 but realized I didn't know where the hotel was and drove around the main town for about 20 minutes before asking for directions. I got to the Plainview and saw that Mike (utemike) had texted me that he was at Capt'n John's Motel, so I headed over there. He found me, took me to the main meeting spot, handed me a beer and set me by the fire - what a roomie! After sampling some of Scorpion~ and Maccs' Road Kill Chili (muy caliente), I stopped back at the beach house and headed to the Plainview. I was very disoriented getting out of Capt'n John's and to the Plainview. Good thing my riding for the day was done.
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