Orick, CA to Eureka, CA - 45 miles
I'm an early riser. At home I get up to read in the kitchen or write on the computer. It's a bit more complicated while camping. The boys each need 9 - 10 hours of sleep, while my body is satisfied with 7. On this trip, we all go to bed at the same time around 9pm. Even if I sleep an extra hour, I'm up at 5am when it's still dark outside. If I sit in the tent to write (wireless keyboard connected to my phone), then I get a back ache in the sitting position and I wake up the men folk úwith my click clacking. I could sit outside in the dark, but the fact that the campsites have bear lockers for our food is slightly disconcerting. Usually I end up staying in the tent reading until my arms get tired of holding the phone over my head.
This morning I woke up to a screaming neck and back. For 3 1/2 weeks in a tent, I've been fine, but my body did not appreciate last night. At 4:45 am I was done sleeping and had to do something. Solution: the shower stalls have benches. This morning, I'm sitting in a locked shower stall click clacking away with no one to bother and no bears to bother me. I hope the rest of the California campground showers are as accommodating as this one.
Last night we are stayed at a campground called Elk Prairie State Park. We didn't see any elk last night, but they were out this morning. There were 4 grazing in the prairie as we rode out of camp and plenty more down the road.
When we broke camp this morning, I knew we would be staying at a KOA, so I prayed there would be a hot tub. My simple prayer was answered and my neck and back thanked me for the jet massage. The weather today was beautiful. We had a north wind that blew hard all day and helped us complete our 45 miles by 3:30pm.
