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© Carol Geary 1996 All Rights Reserved
((This is a journal about a cross-country bicycle trip from California to New York, USA. I copied Leo Geary's hand-written journal into this document on the Macintosh. Any typos are mine. Double parentheses enclose anything I inserted. 'S.P.' stands for 'state park.' If you are offended by street talk, proceed at your own risk. I've replaced vowels in some profane words with an asterisk (*). See some photos from the trip or an album of 142 photos of the whole trip on Google+. On August 27, 2014 added thumbnails of photo sites I can identify to the journal. Click on any small photo for an enlargement.))
((
Leo was my son. The bicycle trip journal starts in
July after the school year 1983-1984. All four bicyclists were biology
students at UCSB in Santa Barbara (University of California at Santa Barbara). The three men had just graduated but the
woman had a year to go. They were Teresa Brown, John Jolly, Pete Van Tamelin and Leo Geary from left to right in the
photo at trip start in San Rafael, CA.))
((--Carol Geary))
Pete & his mom pick me & stuff up at Mom's house, Menlo Park. Drive to Vista Point (Golden Gate Bridge). John meets us & we go to the Jolly's. Spend night getting ready. John's ma Marie makes excellent dinner: lamb shish kabob, tabouli, & homemade bread.
Teresa arrives 10:30. Photographer from Independent Journal interviews & photographs. We leave 11:20 from San Rafael. Shifting problems--bent one of the teeth on 28 chain ring. Bent it back with spoke wrench. F**k. Peter & John both got stung by bees. Arrived at Mom's house in Monte Rio ((it was unrented and vacant)). =59 miles
Fixed stove (plugged jet, used unbraided electrical wire to clean). Use fresh gas from now on. Biked to Roman Plunge for fine uninterrupted swim. Biked up Fort Ross road-absolutely f**ked-used 3 bottles of water, took 3 hours to get to Fort Ross. Camped at Stillwater cove-cool ranger-Scott. We feel tired but good after showers. =35 miles
On the road at 7:30. Nice riding until hit strong headwinds at Sea Ranch. Made it to Sea Craggs (between Gualala & Point Arena) where met Pete's friend John & fine, friendly family. Relaxed at beach. Fine spaghetti meal made by us for the Neth's (John, Tom, Pat, assorted little ones, and Grandma Dorothy Trevitt). Hot tub & beers at night. Slept in meadow, cooked huckleberry pancakes for the family. Good!
Took off late. Passed thru Elk (pretty hamlet). Met Mark, touring South, cool man, turned us on to camping at Russian Gulch (hot showers for 50 cents a night). Met Rick. Nabbed Pizza at Mendocino. Yum!
Early start. Threatened by logging trucks. Stopped at Wholesale food place outside of Ft. Bragg. Great deals! Ft. Bragg ugly place. Made excellent time to base of Legget Hill. Had bad diarrhea on hill. Took great nude sunning w/ Teresa on side creek. On other side, camped for 50 cents at Standish Hickey State Park on Eel river. Fantastic swimming & rock diving. Saw trout underwater. Crawled to within 5 ft. of dipper perched on rock. Met Kim Walsh, going from Crescent City to San Diego. (She's from Rhode Island.) Also met Lee, high school kid who had to bail out from bike trip because of knee problems. =53 miles
Hickey S.P., now riding on 101 following Eel river (South Fork) thru Benbow, Garberville (where John & I pigged out too heavily). Then off 101 on to Ave of the Giants for scenic thru-the-redwoods tour (nice huge old trees). Played recorder in one grove-beautiful ambience. Cruised against the wind along 101 to Scotia & Rio Dell, truly f**ked places indeed. Took small road some 11 miles or so thru beautiful farmland (American heartland). Made FernDale at dusk. Nice looking town, all old Victorian houses & such. Debbie & Van weren't at home (Debbie is Dennis Odien's sister), so we ditch our stuff and went out for Mexican food-incredibly delicious! We got back to find the Hargraves at home-nice folk. =83 mi
Slept really late, 9:30, and came out to eggs and pancakes cooked by Debbie. We raided their garden, robbing fresh blueberries, raspberries, carrots, onions, and snap peas. Got a late start (almost 2 o'clock). Worst scenery of trip so far: sewage treatment plants, smoke stack industry & stench, highway sweepers, mudflat ooze->Eureka sucks. Stopped at backpacking store in Eureka. Me & Peter got lost on scenic route to Dave Best's house in McKenleyville. Saw a Buffalo (!) and 3 Northern Harriers, and a black Turnstone. Dave's name & address were in the phone book, so we had no trouble finding his house, nor in getting there 10 min before John & Teresa. Had beers w/Dave & his friend Mark, then cooked an awesome stew with the Hargrave's veggies. Zonked in front of Dave's fireplace. =40+ miles (full moon)
First up. Breakfast in sun on Dave Best's solar Greenhouse patio. Left 12:30. Best scenery so far in own opinion. Beautiful coastline and small side roads. Even riding on 101 is pleasant. Coming to camp at Praise Creek S.P., saw herd of Roosevelt Elk besieged by cameras and fingers, waiting to cross 101 to sleeping pastures on higher ground. Beautiful animals. Prairie Creek has nice Natural History Museum. =39 mi
Beautiful sunrise at Prairie Cr. SP. Nice cruise thru redwoods to the
Klamath River (Hoopa-Hurok Indian Res. nearby). Bake sale by Klamath Women's
Society had tasty Banana Nut Bread, which we bought. They liked us so much
they bought us a pumpkin pie, which we devoured. Put in many miles, got film
at Crescent City, cruised past Oregon State line (spent while at beach-very
warm and sunny)-spent night at Harris State Park outside Brookings (hike n'
bike sites cost $1.00 here). Somehow, this b*tch we met at Russian Gulch got
here. Played recorder at beach. =64 mi Photo: Welcome to Oregon.
Nasty encounter with the witch from Russian Gulch. Full of racial invective,
etc. This woman doesn't cope with people well. We vow to outcycle her from now
on.
Incredible Oregon coastline. Esp. within 1st 5 miles of Harris S.P. (Natural
bridges, cool rock.) Peter & John's bikes got sh*tted upon by some bird, and
as they talked about it, bird shat on Pete. Riding after this wasn't so
nice, but I had a nice plunge in Bear Trap Creek. At Port Oxford, I found a
slash in my rear tire had caused a leak, so I reinforced it with a piece of
truck tube lining. Works OK. Got to Cape Blanco SP->incredible. Hardly any
RVs, we owned the hiker biker sites. Pete and I found strawberries, leaned
into fierce winds, and watched the sun go down by the coast guard LORAN/
Lighthouse complex. Beautiful sunset. =65 miles Photos: 7 of coast and leaning into wind.
Gathered wild strawberries for breakfast. Was last to crawl from sleeping bag. Tonight winds to Bandon, where picked this Myrtlewood leaf (smells like bay leaf). Had to wait for Teresa for 2 1/2 hrs. Finished off that S.F. book-now on to more serious stuff. Road windy miles thru Bandon, then Charleston. Stopped for directions on Seven Devils Rd, & talked with this cook, bushy eyebrowed guy about local power co-ops, the nearby Whiskey Run wind turbine project, and this bizarre old French racing bike. Set off thru windy, cloudy roads to Charleston, a town nobody can tell you clear directions in. Made it to Claire's house, where she was preparing rockfish w/ginger sauce, rice, vegetables, ice cream w/strawberries Peter picked. Went down to the edge of mudflats & got into some pretty good things on the harmonica. =67 mi
Bye to Claire under cloudy Coos Bay skies. Stop at good co-op in Coos Bay. Bought tire & tube. Teresa broke her shift cable & had to replace. Gnarly windy bridge out of Coos Bay was the low point of every riding experience I can think of. Gnarly winds and poor, depressed towns & landscape set the mood until we reached Honeyman State Park, where fine lakes & cool sand dunes were to be found. Played good tunes on recorder out at the Dunes after the sunset. =50 mi
Early start. The Oregon Coastal Bike maps mileages are all wrong. Noticed this yesterday. Nicer view, hardly any hills. Winds bad as usual. The "famous Sea Lion Caves" were a crock of sh*t. Gnarly winds blow sand into our faces. I fell down once, going uphill into the wind. No damage. Get to Amy & John Chapman's house in Waldport @ 3:30, hang out there. They come home and cook us fine beef stew & salad. I read Hemingway's "To have and to have not" that night, and next morning. =40 mi
Left late, but we're all stoked, until I take bad over-handlebar spill on Alsea River Bridge. Split upper and lower lips, bruised stomach badly. Paramedics took me to private practice of Jim Thompson, who had 6 or so people work on me for an hour, plus a tetanus shot. This was all for free. He was also a biker. Esther & Kermit Miller gave me a ride back to Amy & John's, and a guy named Jack (a tourist) drove me up to Newport to buy bike stuff. The forks I bought didn't fit, the Blackburn lowriders should. Stayed at A & J's again. Teresa made Broccoli quiches and an excellent salad. I began reading a book by Kenneth Brower about Freeman Dyson & son George called "The Starship & the Canoe." Good book, have to finish it some time.
John Chapman phones us from Newport, saying he had found me a ride to Corvallis. I was supposed to get the 10:00 Greyhound bus but the f**ked driver wouldn't let my bike on unless it was boxed. However, medical salesman in Dr. Thompson's office offered to give me a ride, and he took me straight to OSU Marine Lab. John showed me around, and Dr. Tom Murray gave me a ride to Corvallis. He was a really cool guy, and drove me to Cynthia's, where we were to stay until Tues. morning. Turns out my stomach bruise is aggravated by solid foods, so only liquids & squishy stuff. Cynthia was cute & cool. We talked for quite a while before she had to go on diving trip on Puget Sound. The house was ours for the weekend.
Met Alice Sat. night. What a non stop character. They all took off to drink beer on some mountain top, while I was a dead beat at home. I sat about and healed while the others did stuff.
Felt better, ate a little stir-fried veg & rice with the gang & Cynthia, who returned.
Leo reactivates: outside; dealing with bike sh*t. Hey, Corvallis Cyclery had finest bike people anywhere. Let me work on my bike there for hours. Grey (owner) actually worked on my bike and hardly charged me for it. Cynthia had party, met people in Bruce & Jane Menge's lab.
Late start; bye to Pete & Cynthia; on road feeling weak: lungs & stomach
have atrophied. Rode to Salem thru incredibly beautiful farm lands. Everyone
waved at us. Arrived at Day park in Salem for 5 min, when some guy (Rod) on
mountain bike stopped to chat. He races, offered to put us up. Another gal
stopped, offered to let us shower. Oregonian's are too cool. We had ice
cream & talked & slept over at Rod's brother's, Roger & his friend Mark.
They bought us cantaloupe for breakfast. Rod wants to race bikes Olympics '88.
= 48 mi Photo: four cyclists. Is this where Pete left the bike trip?
Left under cloudy skies. Still weak breathing. Bought cherries & biked thru nice farm country to Milo McIver S.P. Walked down to Clakamas River. Saw Chinook & Coho Salmon Fish hatchery. Then played recorder while watching 2 ft, 10 lb salmon leaping as sun went down. =62 mi Photo: Teresa and John on bikes.
A late start, in part because of sharing campground banter with cool bikers, Scott, Joe, & Tam from Albany, Or.It was a pretty hot day. After Barton (small town) we spotted Mt Hood in the distance--incredible white dome rising above the haze. Dropped down thru Troutdale to Hwy 84, which follows the Columbia River Gorge. Enjoyed small tail winds up Gorge past Multnohma Falls-of calendar fame. Pulled into Ainsworth S.P. without seeing a store. John & I approached a lone guy & asked to share campsite. Folks next to us drove us 7 mi to get groceries-Washingtonians. This campground was under intimidating cliff walls, but didn't get a chance to get closer. Stuffed on spaghetti, I crashed early. John saw a bald eagle today. =43 mi
Bye to John and we're off, downwind up the Columbia. It's fast travelling and we make good time. Nameless, memoryless, towns like The Dalles, Hood River, etc. become a blur. We arrive at Deshutes S.P. for the night, one of the best steelehead fishing spots in the world. Shared site with Royce, a nice guy who is duped with Reagan. I got some fishing time in, but lost the one good fish I hooked. I liked this spot. =67 miles Photo: Teresa and John bicycling.
Hot, fast ride. Stopped in Boardman, Oregon, short of Umatila, where we wanted to stop, because tailwinds died. leaving us stranded in heat. We found our own campground, right on the Columbia River, within walking distance of showers. Teresa & I bought & demolished a 1/2 gallon of ice cream. Dinner was lousy. =66 mi
Before Umatilla, countryside became more interesting. Saw a Virginia Rail, a dead pheasant, and a Marsh Hawk. Rode across a (Wash) bend of the Columbia River on Hwy 14. Uphill through desert-sucks. John and I got to Kennewick and waited for Teresa while watching Gold Cup hydrofoil races. She never found us that night. We were helped by Bob & Sandy Tews & Dan & Diane Collins in searching for her. We left messages at Three Police Depts, but she never called. =46 mi
In morning after great breakfast by Diane, John & I found Teresa on road.
Rejoicing, then I got a flat. One long ride thru dry farmed wheat. Stop for
shower at Connell, where we were interviewed by local paper & I got shot of us
with 60-70 kids.
Dan & Diane surprised us by intercepting us with picnic barbecue, which we
consumed in Ritzville. We slept in city park. Went swimming in closed pool.
= 76 mi Photos: diver and group shot.
Rode thru heat to Spokane, where John's Dad had undergraduate buddy: Charley
Dorsey & fiance Alice. Fine eccentric hosts. Talked science & wine. Charley
gave us his bachelor pad for the night. =60 mi
Absolutely lazy morning, even tho I was up at 6:30. Talked to mom the night before. Called John Rosbelley about his book. Really cool guy. Said he'd send me a copy of his manuscript, was curious, informative, talkative & friendly. Said he's going to Everest with Lou Whittaker & Jim Wickmeirer. Since we decided to lay over another day here, we watched Olympics, lazed, I went to Library bookstore (I bought "Puzzle Palace"), bike shop, etc. Got rained on, but it was nice. Alice & Charley brought us chicken dinner. We got "Das Boot" and played it on Charley's Betamax.
Got late start from Charley's house. F**ked ride thru Spokane, but nice roads, no hills after that. First view of some snow on distant mountains (other than Mt. Hood). Cruised down into Newport for food, then slipped across into Idaho (Albene Park) to camp. Nice swim with Teresa.
Late start. 6 miles to Priests River, Idaho. got us there at 12:30. Ate too much, felt sick and sluggish most of the day, but near the end, felt better, made excellent time nearly catching up with John, who got a 45 min head start on me. Train passed by and caboose man said "Hey!" I looked up to wave, but he was proudly displaying a Playboy centerfold. We got to Bonner's Ferry. But I couldn't find John, so I bought dinner & a beer, and hung out on the road reading "Puzzle Palace." A cute gal on a bike cruised by so I asked her if she'd seen John & Teresa. She said she had, and suggested we camp at the Fairgrounds. We went there, and John & I went swimming in the cold, fast Kootenai River. Then Teresa & I jumped a train going over a bridge across the river. Fun!
Up a nasty hill, thru some open, wooded country, into Montana! In this state, they put up a white cross wherever there's been a traffic fatality. It's kind of unsettling to see where all these people have died, a good idea, I suppose. Stopped at Fireman's Park in Libby. Went for swim in a small creek that was truly fine. Had oxtail stew for supper. Good. Teresa & I slept in an adjacent cemetery.
Beginning a truly awesome day. Began cycling out of Libby on Hwy 37. Broke a rear spoke, cussed and adjusted to no avail. Oh well. Talked to a biker who promised good things. Indeed, Hwy 37 turned out to be an unbelievable road. Huge shoulders, good grades, no big hills, awesome views of Lake Koocanusa, and virtually no traffic. Teresa & I stopped, going down a deserted road to the lakeside with absolutely noone around. Swam, ate, massages--and still over 30 miles to ride. When we eventually left, there were still great views to be had. It started getting dark, and clouds & lightning were visible in the distance. When it got dark, the clouds caught up with us. Lightning all around. Had to stop to rewire light, which worked OK. Jammed down to road until rain started. Eureka and John were still some 5 miles, things were looking desperate when a concrete store on the left with a porch. The porch didn't work too well in the rain, but the building had a basement which was dry. We had the stove & some soup, so we were set. It stopped raining after we were settled.
Found John in Eureka. He, too had spent night in a basement--owned by sheriff deputy. We cruised down Hwy 93 to Whitefish-a poor road, lots of holes, no shoulders, lots of trucks. Farther down, looked nicer. Threat of rain slacked off. Traffic mellowed, saw nice mountains, a lake, a beaver dam. Found John in Whitefish. He nearly bit my head off when I made a typical cheap crack. That morning, he asked me if I'd laid Teresa. Could it be that he's pissed off that I'm spending a lot of time with her? Whitefish is a cool town even if it is geared for tourism. Stopped in a small park to eat dinner and think sleep strategy. I went to fill water bottles at a nearby house, and a cute young mother (Jamey Hanks) offered us pizza. Her brother in law (young Hang Mike) was to show us a cool field where we could sleep. After dinner, we stashed our stuff and headed down to the Great Northern Bar, where we consumed two pitchers of beer, watched Brazil kick the US's ass in Volleyball at LA, and talked to the cool bartender. We were buzzed and crashed.
Lazy, hungover morning. Laid in the sun, took our time. Took my bike to surf, cycle & sail shop, where totally cool guy put in new spoke, trued rim, lubed free wheel, gave me extra spokes, a spoke wrench and a free wheel remover for $9. Told good stories and gave good route advice. Bought food bread at a place called Mother's & we took off--late start at 3:30. Biked to Glacier Park, where John was told at gate that no camps were available in the Park. This meant we couldn't get in, but I led us around the Park gates by going off the road thru the woods to a bridle path which took us inside the Park. We met Dave and Lyda at Apgar campground, took a cold swim in Lake Macdonald, and called it a night. Teresa & I slept down by the lake, and watched the sun rise over the incredible view we had of the mountains. = 30 miles
Shortest ride (8 mi) of trip to Sprague campground where we shared
campground with motorcyclist Don from Connecticut. I suggested a hike, a loop,
based upon the crummy map of the Park we had. I talked to a ranger, who said
it was possible to hike cross-country up a stream between Lincoln Lake & Ellen
Wilson Lake to hook up two trails and make a loop. We took off on the crummy
trail. I knew the 14 mile trail would take a long time, but everyone
cheerfully agreed to come along anyhow. Finally got to Lincoln Lake after
too long--sun was nearly setting and we were paranoid about bears. Ranger
had his head up his ass, didn't know what he was talking about, because the
creek connecting the two lakes flowed as a 500 ft waterfall down a sheer
cliff. We cussed, swam in beautiful lake, and jogged most of the way back to
camp, hollering for grizzlies and making it before dark. Cooked excellent
dinner of macaroni, Campbell's cream of mushroom soup & cheese. Slept by
Lake Macdonald again after nice swim.
Although worried about aches from the hike, I felt perfect, and Teresa and I began riding towards Logan's Pass at 6:20. (Turns out we were still on Pacific Time--an hour behind). We saw outrageous scenery and the Pass wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be-probably 'cuz I travelled at Teresa's speed. We got to the Visitor's Center, then went for hike & swim at Hidden Lake, awesome views. Saw mountain goats. They were Park pets--came right up to people. Outrageous ride down other side of Pass to Rising Sun campground. Met Greg Newcaster from Denver who got us stoned. Camped by myself in a field away from camp.
Woke up in an incredible sunrise and a short rainfall that sent me
scampering for the bathrooms. Got stuff together and was first out of camp.
Was sunny and hot then. Paused by Lake Mary to play recorder & write. Wicked
hill out of St. Mary almost made me puke. Down onto plains in shadow of
Rockies, Blackfoot Country. Squalid rural slums of the Indians whisked by as
we sped downwind. Depressing. What can be done? Long stop in Browning, then
Teresa & I must wait while road is closed due to fire across road. Start
worrying about getting to Depuyer & John waiting for us there, when blue van
containing this guru-looking guy we saw on Logan Pass. Hosain & his partner
Betty. They offered us soda, cherries and a ride to camp. I played guitar in
the back of the van. At Depuyer, we partied at the Ranger Bar, played
Western music on the Juke Box and got drunk.
Stayed at city park
Raining ride-gear worked well. Teresa's rack broke. I fixed it with wire. We met two bikers from Grand Rapids, Mich. Mark & Judy were friendly, shared cost of white gas & gave us good road info. We cruised the plains for 60+ miles and camped in City Park at Angusta, with Mountains in a semicircle. Partied at the Buckhorn Bar-JD is $1.25 a glass
Had a glass of O.J. at Cafe in Augusta then on road against wind in heat for many endless miles. Finally caught up with Teresa, John passed us, and we went swimming in Dearborn Creek. Then on to Wolf Creek for ice sherbert & another dip. Rode many miles more to Helena, Montana's capitol. Outrode rain clouds despite major hill & hellacious headwinds. Got into town at dark, got dinner & met John at Memorial Park. Had excellent salad, and slept in dished ampitheatre. Good thing too, because of short harsh rainstorm. It still blew inside, so Teresa & I huddled inside her tube tent.
Up rather late, hot already. Took shower, shave & clothes wash in public pool. Good to be clean again. Went to big store & AAA, didn't get out of town until 3:00 for supposed 70 miles to Missouri Headwaters. John got way ahead. Teresa got crabby and felt bad from consuming tons of junk food. Woman named Betsy stopped and offered us a ride to Headwaters. We picked up John and got there well before dark. We camped at a bunch of exhibits at the confluence of the Jefferson, Madison & Gallatin Rivers. Beautiful sunset, many different mountain ranges in evidence.
Left first for a nice cruise by myself down Hwy 10--parallels the Big Hwy10.
Saw 3 large Great Blue Herons in field. The sunrise that morning was pretty
nice. Very easy 32 miles past Bozeman, then along 90 up minor hills, fun 10
miles downhill to Livingston Mt, where we stayed in a small city park. I
talked to an old guy I spotted folding a parachute. He was one of the first
smoke jumpers in the 30's. The NPs smokejumpers taught the army how to jump in
WWII. He had jumped over 900 times, once from over 16,000 ft, a free fall of a
minute. Mosquitoes & heat were ferocious.
Took off early, trying to beat headwinds down to Yellowstone but they were really bad the 1st 10 miles or so. Rode up the Yellowstone River, which was flanked by big 11 and 10 thousand ft mountains. The winds died pretty much and we made good time. I felt like jamming, so I moved ahead. Rain clouds threatened, so I outran the rain. So did John. But Teresa got wet. Stopped at the commune begun by Elizabeth Claire Prophet. Friendly people. Got to Yellowstone, camped at Mammoth Hot Springs. Were met Joachim & Martina from West Germany. Ate dinner there with Harley bikers from Oregon. They were friendly and not crude folk. We gave them JD and they gave us Oly & hot dogs. Rained that night, so set up tent. 1st time!
After John left for hot springs, one thing led to another with Teresa & I, and it was heavenly. It was a slow morning & we decided to lay over with Joachim, Martina & Rod from England. Went up to Mammoth Village to buy ice cream & beer for dinner. Worked on bikes (replaced shift cable) then went to hot springs--best I've ever seen. Met Mike there. Odd fellow, but nice enuf. Had dinner after dark with the folks back at camp in the rain--nothing on but underwear & poncho! Night rain again, only to be woken up at ungodly hour by ranger to be fined for leaving food & dishes out--stupid move paid for with $25.
Incredibly late start after hot springs & ice cream-- 2:30 with 35 mi to Madison for the night. Beautiful ride after f**ked hill. Stopped for pleasant interlude with Teresa alongside Obsidian Creek. Saw lots of elk along the way. Beautiful sunset. I enjoyed the last 15 mi immensely. I sang and bopped to myself the whole way. At Madison, more bikers than we'd seen anywhere yet. Cool folk, from Washington, St. Louis, New Jersey, Cupertino. Went down to a hot pool with some before bed.
Up and out first. Nice day. Stopped on the Fire Hole River to write at outrageous cascades. Traffic heavy, headed for Ole faithless, presumably. Stopped at Fountain Paint Pots for self-guided tour of fumeroles, mud pots, geysers & other geology found here. Got to Ole Faithful, when we nabbed showers in the employee's quarters. John met 3 guys--Kelley, Jack & Tom who worked there. They said they could put us up & provide us with food and beers. Jack served us with BBQ ribs and many beers for free at Snow Lodge, then we walked up a hill for sunset views of Ole Faithful. Had a drink w/Teresa at Bear Pit at the Inn, then stayed in the room of 2 other employees, Larry & Peter. Peter played 2 talking heads albums for us as we went to sleep. Great!
Mike Olenoff woke us up with offer of coffee & breakfast. John & I picked up a job application for winter work at the Park. Had lunch (free) with Mike at Snow Ledge, then finally left for West Thumb (20 miles). Got there before rain, met a cool guy named Don from Denver. He's in the Priesthood (Catholic) - -volunteered in Guatemala, will work with the poor. Played his alto recorder.
Took off for the Tetons. Stopped at Lewis Lake on way out of Yell'one to write
Post cards. I have a stack of 17 of them. Had lunch w/Teresa off the side of
the road where the Lewis River went thru an outrageous rock chasm. After that,
rode alone out of Park to edge of Lake Jackson, where I saw the incredible Grand Tetons ((G, T, and underlined with bold lines for emphasis)).
Rode on to Jenny Lake, saw Moose (females and calves). Store there was closed,
& I was freaked, until old guy who worked there gave me two cans of beef
stew to tide us over. We found two Texans, Dwight & Lori who let us share
their camp.
Got up with ice frost on our bags. Got climbing permit & headed out with
John up to Middle Teton. Outrageous climb up f*cked scale, talus, snow fields,
big boulders, & some nice rock. Left after 9:00 and got there at 4:00, spent
an hour at the top looking at Grand Tetons, listening to 4-second long echoes,
and eating. Some nice glissades down. Long, endless hike down, I was totally
beat & hungry, & had to sh*t badly.
Teresa cooked dinner & there was another biker there. Kirk, good guy. Talked
w/Teresa by the fire for a long time--I was too tired to sleep.
Lazy day. Moved to different camp-w/Scott & Tom from Santa Barbara. Also are sharing camp with 2 guys from St. Paul. John & Chip. We'll look them up when we get there to enjoy concerts & movies & good times together. Teresa & I went along Jenny Lake to a secluded spot with nice view of the mountains & enjoyed the day there together, eating smoked clams, cheese & crackers, reading, and writing. She read to me interesting perspectives on Scientific Methods by Bob Pirsig. Back at camp, we had spaghetti dinner w/Chip & John, drank Ranier & Jack, smoked, hit the hay. I feel great with Teresa. Started raining at 4:30, pitched tent, but rain stopped, so we stayed outside until 7:30 when it started again.
Said goodbye to Chip & John, packed stuff up, and headed out. It began to rain, so we & Kirk went 20 Mi and stopped at Colter Bay Village to buy the night's dinner & look at the Indian Museum. It was a pretty poor collection but had some good stuff. Hung out at the Colter Lodge for awhile, then decided to try and stay the night there. Had a beer at the bar, then snuck back in thru the window & cooked a good dinner. We hit the hay for only an hour when a rent a cop kicked us out. Drag. We retreated to an area outside some out houses, where after awhile we got rained on. We retreated to the Women's bathroom where in the morning we were kicked out by some women.
At P.O., met woman from Coronado who knew the Fledder John's. Rode with Kirk all day. We left 1st. Almost got hit by R.V. Stopped at Flagg Ranch (5 mi. South of Yell'one), where Kirk & I pigged out--I on french fries, donuts & a bottle of pineapple-banana juice. We didn't see Teresa & John pass us, so we waited for them most of the day. Kirk rides fast--it was good to feel pushed. We took a nap at Lewis Lake. Last 22 mi to Bridge Bay (Grizzly country) just flew by. We had chili & rice, and it rained like h*ll on and off
Took off first w/o breakfast, got it at Fishing Bridge. Blew over Sylvan Pass,
which wasn't bad. Outrageous downhill ride to Pahaska Teepee, where I waited
out a rain shower with snickers & some coffee. They were celebrating Xmas that
night!
Got rained on and off, then clearer skies. Passed thru Absroka Mtns, cool
crumbly rocks. One formation was called the Holy City. Saw a herd of tame
bison.
Tail winds popped up, blowing pretty fiercely. It was great. Rode thru a
series of bitchin tunnels into Cody, where I waited in the Irma Cage for
John & Teresa & for Fred & Monty Whitmore to get home. Two bikers, Mark & Judy
from Grand Rapids Mich. suggested we stop by. No one was home when we got
there, but high school kids across the street said we could stay there:
weird breed--gun-toting rednecks who listened to heavy metal and break danced.
They wanted us to watch Judas Priest on MTV & have Elk steaks for breakfast,
but the Whitmores came home, and offered us a spot there. We went out to Pizza
Hut for pizza & beer. Their kids, Derek & Natalie, were great fun. I played
Mont's guitar when we got home.
87 mi.
Got up late. played more guitar, had a great breakfast, took pictures, then left Cody. Tail winds were outrageous. I practically never left 18th speed. Flew the 58 miles to Greybull with one 3 hr. stop w/Teresa. Found John at the Greybull City Park. Too warm, plus, mosquitoes. 58 mi
Up first, bought breakfast at store, left town @ 9:00. Greybull is at 3700 ft.
Biked uphill, upwind to Shell (4200). Took long stop, waited for J & T. John
came & went, & I left before T. She took her time all day it seemed, despite
how many miles we had to put in. Still we shared time together on Shell Creek,
in Shell Canyon leading up to Granite Pass (8950 ft.), which should be our
high point for the trip.
Waited on pass for Teresa, then we headed across to Barges Jct., rode uphill
again as sun set, then took the down hill to the Prairie in dark. The longest,
best down hill of our trip. Got to City Park of Dayton, where we found Jolly
asleep.
Left first, got to Sheridan where I went to the closed Christian Science Reading Room. Then had two scoops at an ice cream shop. While eating Haagan Daas outside of a super mart, started talking with a Christian woman about God and all. Long hot ride brought me to Buffalo, with antelope along the way. Got to town, had a Big Gulp & read the Caspara newspaper on Main St. before heading up to the City Park & Teresa,. We hung out there, jumped in a creek, then got stuff to eat for the next day. Just going to bed when we found John in a different part of the Park. He roasted us for not following correct waiting procedure. He was right, but Teresa pledged innocence based upon nebulous reasons. John was pissed. It seems we two and he are drifting apart.
Teresa & I woke at 5 and tried to get out of town early to beat the heat. Breakfast of donuts, yogurt, and cantaloupe. No wind, pretty chilly until pretty late. Stopped at the Powder River for a rest stop. Met John there, then he left while I hopped into the River there for a "swim." Winds were f*cked thereafter, and we made poor time getting to Gillette before dark. Jolly was not to be found, but Police said he'd gone on to Moorcroft. T & I had 99c margaritas that weren't very good. Then spent the night at the home of a triathlete she'd met on the road. Tom Charles has a future. He placed 50th in the Iron Man last year, and wins or places well in local events. A good guy.
Tom gets up at 5:30. So did we, watched a sunrise rose-tinted with smoke from 150,000 burning acres in Montana. When we got to Moorcroft, police said John had moved on to Devil's Tower. We took our time moving on to D.T., took a nap in the heat. Got to D.T., where John had shared a site with a bunch of climbers. Lori, Allen, Scott, & Woody, who crawled over D.T.for a coupla days. I found a really cool set of rock formations to play Flute. Came back, cooked dinner & talked with the climbers. Woody is stoked about my trip to the Inside Passage. Lori & he work with NOLS in Lander, Wyo.
Teresa rode out first, followed by me. I wanted to be sure and get to Spearfish for mail. Got to Sundance with 32 miles of headwinds to go. We decided to try and flag down a ride at the store there, but I left thinking we had to do it on our own, but 5 miles down the road, John & Teresa pulled over in a pickup driven by South Dakota evangelist Dale. He gave us a ride straight to the PO in Spearfish. There was no job info, so I called Childress & asked for a lowdown. He said he'd ask Johnson about it that day. I guess I'll know in St. Paul. Met two women bikers, Carol & Barb, headed to New York from Washington. We had a communal steamed veg & rice dinner, then slept in this big, old dance hall I found.
Off 1st again, to stock up on food (ate a pint of chocochoco chip Haagan Daas). Then spent rest of riding time blowing down tail winds to Rapid City. Felt in top form. John was left far behind. Got to Public Library in R.C., assembled stack of mags & newspaper, got an armload of records, plugged into stereo, and read until closing time. Teresa busted her rack on way to City Park, so bought a Black burn. She really felt depressed, and somehow I felt it was the right time to say I (heart, love) you. We met a drunk Indian, Cliff, at Park, hard to get rid of.
In morning, John met a man & woman, Bill & Roberta, who had found some food
and offered to share it with us. Poor folk looking for work, they were among
the most generous people we've met. Roberta was a remarkable woman & a talker,
we listened to her speak & play auto harp for quite a while. Teresa bought
an afghan that Roberta had made. On the road, I wore Teresa's Walkman, but the
batteries were out. I ran into an articulate psychotic hitchhiker who said
that since 1977, he was known as Vincent Page. John rode up, and incredulous
we spoke to him for at least an hour in the hot sun. Then on to Wall. Home
of the famous Wall Drug: massive tourist ripoff. Had bad experience in grocery
store with clerk b*tch who ripped me off on beer. John called folks & found
out that Teresa's old boyfriend Russ had gone AWOL. This freaked her out,
but it was good, because we had a long conversation in which she revealed to
me that she felt stronger for me every day. She also said I could live with
her for awhile in Santa Barb. I in turn was able to tell her how good our time
together has been for me in specific ways. I very much admire that woman!
We had burritos and turned in at Wall City Park, took dip in fetid pool, and
were victimized by nasty mosquitoes.
Got 5c coffee at Wall Drug and nothing else. Hit the hot road for the
Badlands. At 1st stop, at Pinnacles, saw whole herd of Bighorn Sheep. Badlands
were fierce structures with rugged beauty. Saw many geological forms before
hitting Cedar Pass Campground for night. Met biker Bruce Bauer from
Louisiana doing the Grand Circuit around the Country.
T & I left last today due to distractions. Bruce & John said we'd meet at Kadoka. This town sucked. A drunken Indian bothered me as did flies, and we labored upwind for 70 miles to get to Murdo. While trying to closely draft John rubbed tires once, twice, then wiped out. Minor scrape on elbow, but somehow, f**ked up front brake. John & I got into cruise mode while discussing future fate of life on Earth. We pulled into Murdo at dark with T & Bruce still behind us somewhere. John & I took a 50c shower at a rip-off camp ground. Heavenly. Teresa pulled in later to the City Park, exhausted.
Extremely sh*tty winds out of the East dictated a course to Pierre. We fought gnarly crosswinds out of Murdo along a service road paralleling I90 to 83, which went straight north to Pierre. John figured we went 18 m.p.h. down the tailwinds the 32 miles to this capitol. We made a huge rice & steamed veg dinner with Bruce, then went to bed under clear skies. I kept waking up, looking at the sky, and very late, I started feeling drops. After vacating to shelter, they stopped.
After Bruce & John had left, I got my act together and took off into the fierce cross winds between Pierre * Blunt. Passed John w/o knowing it in Blunt, and would have passed Bruce before Harold had he not yelled at me. I was myopically focused on the road. Stopped at Harold--a quaint hayseed town where someone parked their car right in the middle of town. John found us there, and while Bruce took off, John & I had a shake & got ice water at a cafe on Hwy 14. Shot the bull with two farmers about agribusiness & weather. The 3 of us decided to call it quits in Highmore instead of battling to Miller. Went down to Highway to intercept Teresa & just barely managed to flag her down in a red pick up that gave her a ride. Spent night at the city park there, taking an illegal nighttime swim in a nearby public pool. T & I sheltered under a structure while it blew & rained intermittently that night. At first, mosquitoes were bad, but then wind & cold saved us. 58 miles
Morning is cold! Wind was gently behind us, then got stronger & moved to
south. We decided to head for De Smet = 101 miles. Bought excellent bread from
the Bakery in Miller. John & I took a nice break at a cafe there while
Teresa & Bruce took off. We met for lunch at Wolsey & committed for the rest
of the way. Talked to a chap who's friends had biked from E. South Dakota to
N.Y. & back 90 years ago. This is truly amazing. We all rode together, did
lots of talking & laughing until De Smet at dark. When we got there, ran
into a coed softball team headed for the State Championships the next day in
Huron. They offered us beers & whiskey. Then we went to a park in town that
had hot showers for free, had an excellent chow mein dinner, and called it
quits on my first 100-mile day (T too!).
Windy morning. Tail winds! Stopped at the De Smet Cafe for coffee. Found out
that the De Smet area was where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived & wrote "Little
House on the Prairie." From here on, things were very much greener. Cruised
down wind casually, crossed into Minnesota! & spent night in Ivanhoe where
John & I took a cold swim in pool. Early in the morning, we got a little rain,
but instead of seeking shelter, T & I just crawled into her tube tent.
68 miles
Got up really late (after 10:30) before cruising to Marshall for long lunch stop. Talked to a friendly grandma, then cruised to Redwood Falls & beautiful Ramsey Park (with shower) where Bruce built a fine Stroganoff meal for us. Rain hit at dawn, so we just got up then.
Stopped at a cafe at Morton had coffee & roll gratis by two old guys, one a
Sioux Indian, the other a labor Democrat. Indian (Reuben St. Claire) served
during WWII on the Queen Mary and carved his name on the rail of the top deck.
If I ever go there, I'll look for it. Cruised on with this new pen, given to
each of us by another guy we met in the cafe. Tried to call Phyllis ((Leo's
paternal aunt)) in St. Paul, but neither her nor Grandma Geary's names were
listed in the phone directory service. Guess we'll go on in tomorrow and
hope they are ready for us.
T & I met up with Bruce & John in Gaylord, after stopping for lunch in Gibbon.
We also ran into another bike tourer, Greg, from Conn., who had jammed out
from there in only 3 wks (but by himself, x = 100 miles/day)
After buildering in Gaylord on the Supermarket we bought our snacks at, the
four of us continued on to Arlington, where we found out that Bruce was
feeling very thirsty. None of us were hungry, and John wanted to check out the
49ers vs. the Redskins game at a bar, so Teresa, John, & I, after failing to
find an outside pool, found a lounge to watch the game. Left at 1/2 time to
head out to a nice park behind a hospital. We got dewed on badly under a
pretty much full moon, but it was warm under Polarguard.
Woke up pretty late, since discouraged by dew. Bruce felt much better &
cruised out before we did. Talked to an old fart who was mowing the lawn in
the park part time. He was also a photographer. Stopped for donuts & coffee
& choco milk in Green Isle, then cruised down beautifully scenic Hwy 40
miles to Chaska. Saw what I'm sure was an Indigo Bunting on the road. Also
caught a beautiful painted Turtle who was very camera shy & feisty. We left to
head towards St. Paul on the Hwy 16 then 13, saw some nice scenery. Traffic in
areas was pretty obnoxious, but a view of Minneapolis brought a lump in my
throat. ((Leo was born in Minneapolis, left before 2 years old, returned for
junior high school.))
It got dark quick, and an offer by some guy for free beers was a temptation
almost great enuf to pull me off the road, except for a thought of nearby
Geary family.
We had several route finding adventures before finding Phyllis's
house, and when we got there, it was dark. I rang the bell, and Phyllis looked
suspiciously out til I said: "It's Leo!" She shrieked, threw open the door,
and was in my arms. Inside the house was Grandma & "Little" William--now
pretty big. We got some excellent spaghetti & some fried fish & as many
beers as we wished. A good long talk over family picture albums followed
long phone calls to Mom & Liz & Dad. Mom told me I got the Hydro Thermal Vents
job in Dec. Pure joy!!! After a fine bath, I had a long talk with Phyllis,
wrote, and hit the hay in a fine soft bed with sheets.
Very slow, muggy day. About all we accomplished was to wash our clothes.
John & I got haircuts. Then the 3 of us walked downtown and tried to look at
the Minnesota Museum of Science. Met Anna's kids Glen & Felicia-cute kids!
Packed useless stuff & sent it to mom. Tried to check out books at Library but
couldn't pull it off. We went to the U of M to look up Bjorn Bjorkman &
Mom's art. Got his number, but Mom's stuff wasn't on display anywhere. Went to
Walker Art Center for a few minutes but didn't see much. Have been invited the
night before to dinner by Mom's friend Nancy James, so we went over to meet
her and her husband Martin, a labor relations prof at the U of M. She took the
3 of us with Edie Wright to a restaurant that she started and treated us to
a meal that actually painfully filled up Teresa--a 1st, I'm sure. Played
ping pong with Nancy & Martin who were killer players. Edie's daughter Maya
& her husband Roger & daughter Steena also came out. We had a good evening
with these folks. Met my Great Uncle Gene--good guy.
Up earlier than usual, spent time talking to T. John felt weird & feverish for no more than 10 minutes this morning. Met my uncle William. Sure are good- looking folk in my family. John & I went over to Minneapolis to check some equipment out. Bought him lunch, he got me ice cream, I looked at Kayak books, we went to a new bookstore & read. Then we went by the Lake Harriet area & stopped by to talked to Kevin & Moira Hartigan-now Mona. Kevin just spent a year in Uruguay, graduated from U of M in Int'l relations. Mona helped found Women against Military Madness. It was an interesting experience. Looked at the old house and school. Went next to REI and scored stuff, spent money. Got home, ate, & went with Chip & girlfriend Emily to check out a band on his campus. - the Wallets, new wave--excellent original music. Drank beer, danced, came home, wrote letters to Kayaking organization while Teresa went to sleep on me.
Got up early, mowed, clipped, & straightened up yard for the folks. Saw Anna, ate lunch, then the 3 of us went to fix our bikes up at Chip's bike shop--"Now Sports." Went back for dinner, then headed over to Walker Art Center to hear the Dave Holland Quintet. They were outrageous, and I was particularly impressed with the alto saxophonist, Steve Coleman. The drummer was good too. Got home & talked to Phyllis til late with Teresa, then they continued while I hit hay. Teresa was very subdued from then til she left in the morning.
Alarm went off at 6:45 but Teresa didn't get up til 7:10. She was extremely uncommunicative, and we got off to a late start. We got her & her stuff on the plane in the proverbial nick of time. Then had to say goodbye on the plane. She seemed like she was in bad shape. Afterwards, John & I went to eat & I bought a new walkman radio. Back home we ate, packed, I took a nap then visited Phyllis's husband Panama, a crotchety old fart in the hospital. Finally we were ready to go. We pulled out of Grandma's after 4. Jammed out to the St. Croix River at Stillwater then North to O'brien State Park along beautiful roads & bike paths. Found nice camp site next to the river. = 34 mi.
Friendly guy, Phil & Wife Doris from Sun Prairie Wi, offered us coffee,
toast & fruit salad at their camper. This place was beautiful in the
morning. I found an AM stereo jazz station & enjoyed that 18 miles along to
Taylor's Falls where we saw nice rocky cliffs. Across the river to St. Croix
Falls--we're now in Wisconsin! Rode down fine roads with trees turning to
red & gold. Met the Brits in Siren. They probably will stop in to see us in
Santa Barbara in Nov. - Dec. We went on, and I saw an animal that was probably
a red fox but might have been a marten or a wolverine. Sun went down when we
were in Spooner getting dinner, but the lure of showers drove us on in the
dark to Trago, where we got them as well as a lecture on using lights from a
cop. = 87 miles
Woke up to find that 200 5th graders were due there in 14 min for a Geology field trip with a presentation sponsored by the County Board of Supervisors. We bullshitted & drank coffee with some of the organizers & had a late start. Wind & weather have been good to us these past two days. John & I spotted 2 bald eagles--my 1st. We gambled on a side road to short cut to Hayward and it got us there OK with much beautiful scenery. Had soup & salad lunch there & ice cream. Then jammed to Clear Lake down relatively uncrowded road thru Chequamegon National Forest, where some guy said this area had the highest numbers of black bear in the country. Nice scenery, trees, spotted a deer. Listened to NPR, poll things, considered, then insipid R & R. Saw many small lakes. Bought beers & cheeseburgers in Mellon, then rode couple miles to Copper Falls State Park where we took a cold swim in Loon Lake. Listened to radio before falling asleep.
We veged out in the "Steakout" Cafe in Mellow until at least 11:30. Then talked to a biker who'd travelled from Seattle headed towards Boston. Then started out, only to meet two local Wisconsin folks who were now living in North Minnesota. They told us horror stories about Indian ghetto hood. I remain skeptical but hopeful. Crossed the Michigan border somewhere between Hurley & Ironwood, bought & ate lunch while talking to a nonstop local girl. Decided to head for Lake Gogebic instead of Porky Mountains as planned. Made good time, had some time to swim in lake before sunset. Cold! Pitched my tent for first time to ward off mosquitoes in warm night air.
Saw beautiful sunrise over Lake Gogebic but stayed in bed til later. Got up to have breakfast on a sunny rock sticking out into the lake. John was pretty slow in starting, so I took off to get dinner in Bergland & put brakes in order (still missing front brake from Okaton, South Dakota). We then headed straight upwind up Hwy 64 to the South Shore of Lake Superior. F*cked ride-- long 12 miles. The lake was like an ocean. We stashed our bikes at Porcupine State Park after hanging out for hours at a nearby cafe. Headed up to a hilltop where nice view of a lake and beaver pond and fall-colored hardwood forests was to be had. This is the largest hemlock hardwood forest in the Midwest. This park also has the highest vertical ski run in the Midwest. 600 ft. I talked to Ken Johnson & confirmed my job. I'm getting paid more than I thought. It sounds really good. Tried cooking biscuits for the 1st time--not too good. They need more water. Got a six pack of Bud with Michigan's 10c deposit on each bottle. Storekeeper says he hates the law. Kind folks (J.B.) from Colorado let us share their campsite. Took lukewarm shower in very cold night.
Pleasant ranger made us cough up $7 for the campsite. Raccoons descended on our stuff last night, but well aimed shoes seemed to discourage them after several attacks. We headed out into headwinds, but made it to Ontonagon in reasonable time. Met a cool store clerk there who in '75 had rode from N.Y. to Phoenix. Heading south towards Baraga we faced the worst headwinds since Oregon. After about 17 miles we decided to call it quits in Greenland, a tiny town where we found a great place to set up camp about 100 yards from a ripoff campground. It had trees, grassy areas, and a water spigot of its own. I made a tasty, peppery stew & we wrote many post cards. Slept well, no rain, but we pitched the tent anyhow.
Overcast skies. Early start. Despite crosswinds, we made pretty good time. Turned south at Baraga into terrible headwinds again. However, after 14 miles, we headed east, and wind shifted to give us some help. We decided to commit for Marquette, where Nancy James and Martin Duffy had friends. It started to rain, only for about a 1/2 hour. I rode thru it in T shirt. We absolutely jammed when tail winds developed, plus down hill into town. I listened to a cool radio program on NPR, "Prairie Home Companion." Pulled into town after dark, and met Betty & Ray Bergland and their daughter Judy. Nice folk, fed us, showered us, and gave us their TV & living room floor.
Left after 11, got picture of all the Bergland Clan. Met the son, Paul, who
worked on child abuse. Really nice guy. We rode on a nice bike path to Hwy 28.
Hit more headwinds, not as bad as before. Met father & son team who had biked,
using a support van, for over 500 miles since Tues, started from N. Dakota.
Stopped in Munising for lunch, talked with two fishermen from Kalamazoo. The
stretch of road between Munising and Seney was straight as an arrow, with no
shoulder & no relief. We finally pulled into a wayside rest stop which had an antique water pump. It was a nice site and we were treated to a beautiful
sunset. I made a very delicious chicken, rice & soy sauce stir fry which
filled us up. The water was brown from organic acids.
Woke up to troubled skies. We were ready to go mighty fast - it was cold! Got 4 miles to Seney where it began to really come down as we bought snacks. We were very unhappy bikers at that point. Trying to psych up to a cold, wet road, two folks in an RV stopped, and in a bantering tone, offered us a ride. In a serious tone, I said yes, and after strapping my bike to the back & putting John's inside, we zoomed off down the road through pouring rain. Ken & Carlene were two cool folks from Ventura who quit jobs to spend a few months circumnavigating the US. A ways down the road, we spotted people flagging us down. We jumped out to discover a man unconscious behind the wheel of his car with some sort of seizure & his distraught wife as well as two other passersby. I quickly began unbuckling him and John tried to help me carry the guy to the other women's car to get him to help. I jumped in the car with the guy, John got in the wife's car and we sped away, leaving Ken & Carlene with all our stuff. The guy was breathing regularly with a strong pulse, so I mellowed out and bantered with the two women in the car. Both AA's, the 16 year old girl had run away from home that morning to her sponsor. Got the old guy to the hospital where inept, slow, unconcerned medics dawdled and dragged their feet. Eventually, Ken & Carlene arrived & we left without knowing what happened to the guy. After that, we rode leisurely to the Canadian border, exchanged traveler's checks at over 31%, bought stuff at outrageous prices (36 exposure roll of 400 ASA Ectachrome was $10.00!) Then had hamburgers for lunch in the RV. Then cruised for many miles to stay at a provincial Park at Massey. Ken & Carlene cooked a fine stew for us, followed by ice cream and talk. We turned the lights out for awhile and watched lightening as rain poured down. That night, it rained so hard that water came thru seams at front door of tent.-have to fix. = 4 miles
Up to gray skies by waterfall John & I swam in the night before. Ken & Carlene were late risers & we wanted to say bye, so wrote in journal, walked to town & wrote Teresa, & had coffee. The folks were up when I got back, said bye. I called mom collect at work. We took our shirts off on the ride to Espinola, it was so warm & muggy. But while there, it got cold and started to rain. We hung out in a cafe and flirted with the waitress & looked at maps, then developed the courage to go out and get wet. It was no fun, but after I warmed up, I began to enjoy the scenery. We went thru rolling hills interspersed with interesting outcroppings of rock. We got to Whitefish Falls, checked out several untasty living options, helped out a kid who fell on his bike. Then went to a nearby store and loitered. Got to talking with the local guys who owned the store & an adjacent campground about on future route. I offered to buy him a beer in exchange for a hot shower, but he said take a shower & set up tent there. I went one step further and asked if we could sleep in an empty shed instead. He said, "come here" and took us to a cabin with beds, a heater and rugs & said it was ours. After degrimming, we headed down to the local bar & had many beers, played pool & bullsh*tted with this guy Bill & his buddy Joe about gun control & such. Came back & had an excellent dinner & slept in dry warmth.
I was ready to go long before John, so left early,
since winds appeared to be blowing straight south.
They actually were blowing East, and as such constituted
headwinds in some stretches. Rode along a pretty
lonely road under bright sunshine & fast-moving
clouds. For the first time I had on my balaclava,
as well as long johns & gloves & shell. Watched a
little current on Manitoulin Island. {Sonny writes
that Little Current is a town in the north east
corner of Manitoulin Island.} Had a butter tart for
the 1st time, it was good. We looked at the clock,
and it was obvious that we had to make at least 20
miles an hour to make the last ferry. We started
out, then began to hitchhike. 18 minutes to go and
we had that much more to ride, when a guy in a pickup
picked us up, so we got to the ferry with 5 minutes
to spare. Had a few brews on board, then biked 10
miles to Cypress Lake for the night. Cooked spaghetti
under bathroom shelters, then spent night with periodic
rain.
John's B-day! Rode into slight headwinds for 20 miles under gray skies to a
cafe in Ferndale where we hung out, typically, for hours. Talked to a guy &
his Australian wife who had done some incredible bike tours themselves.
Eventually, we pulled out of the cafe, and rode about 10 miles before
running into the former bikers again. They offered to give us a lift to
Toronto, and since we wanted to spend more time in New England, we said yes.
They ended up taking us 118 miles to Brampton, ONT. We played darts & had very
expensive drinks before crashing on the lawn of a Catholic Church.
Woke up under gray but mellow skies listening to Catholic kids coming to
school. As we were picked up, the caretaker for the church came up and offered
us coffee, sandwiches, and use of the washroom. He was a friendly sort, but
said "Here's something to remind you of our parish," while shoving two cheap
metal crucifixes into our hands. He didn't think we'd make it. We set off, and
soon entered Missasanga, a pretty big city with big buildings and nasty
traffic, as well as industrial armpits. We found quieter sailing on Hwy 2 thru
residential areas in Hamilton. Stopped for pizza, then hit heavy traffic and
once almost ran into oncoming traffic. Went on to mellow Fruitland, where in
the yard of a bank I picked the sweetest, tastiest D'anjou pears I'd ever had.
Saw cute high school girls along the way. Got to Niagara Falls & wasn't too
impressed, since it was so gaudy. It got dark, and we rode on in Darkness
for maybe 25 miles to the Pecce Bridge & rode over to USA. At customs there,
met Ken Gerstle, an official who knew John's family. We got to the uncles's
house, let ourselves in, and had a fine stew they'd left. Then Bill & Rosemary
arrived and we had a fine talk until bed time. Rosemary cooked breakfast for
us next morning.
John & I took off after breakfast to get seam sealer & go to library. Read good books at EMS mountaineering store. Bought John McPhee's "Coming into the Country" about Alaska. At Library, looked at maps & got good references on Inside Passage. Had a fine dinner that night with Bill, Rosemary, Colleen & John's other cousin, Cyndi & her husband Bob, a surgeon.
Slept late, read in the morning. Beautiful crisp, warm day, but cloudy, rainy later. Seam sealed the tent, and lower stuff sack, put on new handlebar tape & padding, had a good lunch, read National Geographic article on Martin Luther, then went to see "Barefoot in the Park" after a lasagna dinner with the folks.
Got up for early goodbye to Bill. Rosemary already gone. It was raining, and we were virtually ambitionless. John took off to track down a rear view mirror, was gone for so long I read and played piano. Workmen had ripped the floor of my tent, so I fixed that. We didn't pull out til 4:10, by that time, it had stopped raining. We rode on pleasant back roads to Akron where we spent the night under a shelter in a state park. The Park Ranger saw us, but was cool & let us stay.
Spent the whole morning on scenic, untraveled back roads, but infested with vicious dogs that had to be disciplined. Stopped at Sam's Diner in Holley. & was told to put my feet down off the seat by Sam himself. Rode on nice, then increasingly crowded roads to Rochester, found a bar that sold beers for 50 cents apiece, hung out there for awhile, then rode down Lake Ontario to Sea Breeze, where we found a place to camp at a Pee Wee Golf course before heading down to a combination bowling alley/bar to watch the first playoff game. Tigers against the Royals. We left when the Tigers were ahead 7-2. Back at camp, we got stuffed on Mac & cheese, couldn't fit a salad in with a shoehorn. Bedded down on about the 7th green under clear skies. Eventually, thru the night, skies became progressively cloudy. Had two skunk attacks in the night, they were repelled without event. It finally rained a little so we set up the tent & slept pretty late after mulling over what to do in the event of a skunk spraying.
Rained again after light, & during lulls, we packed up. John took forever to get ready, so I enjoyed McPhee meanwhile. Took off during lull down nice tailwinds. Passed Ginna Nuke Plant, joined up with Lynn, triathlete from Webster. Had coffee & shot bull with her at a cafe on 104. Hung out there, typically, until too late, figuratively speaking. Headed out down wailing tailwinds. Turned off of the main 104 to go down nice back roads. Stopped for salad in Wolcott. Rained for a spell, I waited it out in a coffee shop, where the waitress treated me to a cup. The sun came out & winds increased in velocity, but we turned straight North to Oswego to see Bert's old buddy, Dave O'Brien. The winds, ferocious, flew straight across our bow. Got to Dave's just before sunset, to meet his 3 beautiful daughters and two sons. Had fine dinner and tasty beers. After shower, had that warm glow that seems to impact itself on me after these luxuries. Read myself to sleep as furious winds whipped heavy drops against the window = 72 miles
I got up pretty late & had breakfast of coffee, toast, bacon & eggs prepared by the housekeeper--"Grams" with daughter Kathleen & John. Dawdled for long time before taking off with good tailwinds. Rode past a group of 3 nuclear power plants, and drafted a truck with a container on it labelled "Radio- active waste." Everywhere in Upper Central New York, we are seeing harvested goods being sold in profusion. Dave O'Brien had given us the address of his sister's family near the Delta reservoir, so we called them up and asked if we could pitch our tent in their backyard. They were very friendly, husband Bob, sister Carol, & son Robbie -- if a tad bit stilled due to the presence of us undefinable strangers. Carol plied us with beers, then wine with beef stew and a butterscotch pie with whipped cream for dessert. After watching the Padres kick Chicago's ass in the National League playoffs with Bob, then an old rerun of a Star Trek episode, we ended up sleeping in Robbie's room under sheets & blankets. = 59 miles
We crawled out of bed by 9, Carol fixed us eggs, toast & bacon. Bob showed me his horse & the lake, and we took off. The roads east through the foothills of the Adirondacks are beautiful with color. We rode past the tomb of Baron Von Steuban, thru quiet, untraveled farmland. Started into the Adirondacks, which had a lot of Fall colors. Problem with these mountains is there aren't very many good views, since the road is on same elevation as the hills. Ran into a racist old fart, which initiated an intense discussion on Racism between John and I. Eventually, it got extremely cold, and we ended up riding a couple of miles in the cold dark to a bar where John beat me at two games of pool before we started watching the Tigers clinch the American League. There we found a spot to camp at down a dirt road. We froze our butts off under clear skies.
Woke up with very cold toes to an absolutely still, crisp, clear morning. Leaves fell like snowflakes from the cold snap that occurred in the early morning. It must have gotten down into the low 20's. I was ready to go quickly, so headed down to a nearby cafe to warm up & wait for John. He never showed up, so I left the cafe. By this time, things had warmed up, and ((it was)) beautifully clear. The road was very scenic, had little traffic, and I eventually met up with John. We thought to get as far as Lake George that night, but things were getting late & cold, so we stopped at Chesterton. We found a nice big field to pitch the tent, not far from Wallace's bar with TV. Had Ramen with cheese & ham, then went to the bar, where we got sh*tfaced. We had many beers, plus I continued to feed us both many shots of Jack Daniels. We had drunken discussions with several guys, before staggering back to the tent in freezing weather. Slept nice & warm in the tent.
Absolutely worst hangover I've had in years. The whole meadow was completely coated with hoar frost - pretty. I staggered off to a cafe to swill coffee and read the Sunday NY Times until I could handle reality, then went back to camp, where John was up & had eaten. We hung out for another hour or so, then John headed out & I followed after packing up. This ride, thru Brent Lake, over a gnarly pass, down to Lake George, and up to Ticonderoga. From there, we took a ferry over to Vermont. On the other side, two women on bikes, Leslie & sister Debbie eventually offered to let us camp in their yard and watch the debate. Turns out, they were back to the Earth folk, had pigs, garden, turkeys, chickens. Were good folk: husband George, kids Cosmo & Star. We wound up sleeping in the warm house. Presidential debates.
Although rain was predicted, we saw no more than a few drops. Saying good bye to our new friends, we rode out toward Brandon Gap, a beautiful, but terribly gnarly pass thru the Green Mtns. Made it up, grunting, with shirts off in humid overcast. Tailwinds plus downhill in excess of 6% made the ride down pleasant. After a cool ride down the White river, we ended up camping out behind a bar where the TV couldn't pick up the 49ers game John wanted to watch. Weather predictions for that night and the next day didn't hold up, but we slept under cloudy skies.
Up & out quickly this morning. It was cloudy, but patches of sun were evident all day. getting more frequent near the end. We rode down the White river to Bethel, where we hung out in the Black Forest Inn for coffee & donuts. Lots of sidewagon-supported bikers stopped in & chatted, as well as a long-winded guy from San Jose, whom I let John deal with. Riding again, we passed many more such bikers, & also caught up with two guys who had lived in Long Beach, now else where. They had met up to tour New England's Fall Finery. They were talking to this old guy who had a foldup bike with one of those sling seats. We tried it out. Farther on down the river, it became really beautiful. I'd like to canoe down such a river sometime this time of year. Crossed the Connecticut river into New Hampshire. Up a nasty hill or two with beautiful foliage, we got to Bill & Barbara Whitmore's. They treated us to beers, showers, food, World Series & soft beds.
Spend most of the day in and around Dartmouth in Hanover, at bookstore, cafeteria, College library and home for dinner. After eating, we all headed out to see "Pixote" a Brazilian movie about street waifs. It was incredibly graphic and I'm sure Barb & Bill were too sensitive to deal with it. Read "The Cat in the Hat" before bed. It's good to read such stimulating material again.
We left John's folks' at a 1/4 to 11 for Aunt Ann & George's. 10 miles down the road, went past the factory outlet for Granite products. Stopped in and bought a bunting shell for $27. Finances are getting mighty low. I've got less than $100. Beautiful territory, lakes & trees to Laconia, where we called George, whom we followed up a nasty hill to get to his house. A fine dinner, then the Vice Presidential debate followed, I was beat, but crashed late.
Borrowed George's car to go climb Mt. Washington. I was impressed with the mountain on the approach--it seems to rise above the surrounding area as much as the Sierra does. The weather was incredibly balmy--high 70's, no shirts. At Pinkham Gap, the trail head where the Appalachian Mountain Club has a visitor center, the guide told us that it would be an 8 hour round trip. So we went for it anyway at 1:20, made it to the top in 2 hr 15 min. The trail up was very interesting and challenging. Once we got above the treeline. We took the Lionhead trail--steep, no fooling around. Boulder hopped to the summit, where we were met by many milling tourists who'd either rode up by car or train. Spent some time lying in the sun, tried to go to the museum but it cost. On the way down, we ran into an old guy who had lost his sense of balance; John & another guy helped him down to his car and received a T-shirt. Back at home we ate pizza with beer and watched some world Series. I crashed before it was over.
Woke up late (10) and made feeble efforts to get ready. After long session of journal updating, we simultaneously & spontaneously decided to make it a layover day. Besides our legs absolutely killed us--sore top of thighs. So wrote many postcards off to friends. Tigers blast the Padres again. After a dinner of fine chicken & rice, Ann & George took us out to see Gene Wilder & Gilda Radner in "The Woman in Red." On the way, Ann pointed out some attractively colored bushes. George said, "Yeh, we should buy a couple dose." John & I cracked up heavily. The movie was very funny. Back home, I picked up a book of George's that was some WW II adventure. Can't figure out why the hell, but I stayed up until 4:30, when I'd finished it.
George had risen early, so we had breakfast with Ann & Gretchen before they went to church. Leaving, we negotiated a long series of hills, after which we got into Maine, where the inclines were gentle. We polished off the 80+ mile job pretty easily after only one stop. Listened to good 60's rock & roll: Janis Joplin, Sarah Vaughn, the Trogs, Rare Earth, Woody Herman, and more. Lunch in Sanford, where we ran into a weird group of kids, with one particularly ugly kid with a huge wad of gum in his mouth. Took Hwy 111 to Hwy 1, which we rode into Portland to cousin Butch's house; but not before a very friendly nail met my tire. It went in one side and out the other. After a repair was effected, we rode another 1/2 mile to Butch's house, an interesting, huge old house, more of a barn, where we met fellow Marine Bio major Joel, young painter Kevin, Butch, and enigmatic Harrison, who worked in Glacier Park in the past. They plied us with beer, then showers, while Butch went off and fetched a 30 inch sub. We inhaled that, then I woked some veal & veggies while Butch made rice. Met Butch's friend Margie (?), nice gal. We all headed over to a epic weird flick, "Repo Man," starring Martin Sheen's son. It was cryptic, but good entertainment. Had a few bong hits before bed, listened to Marly's "Exod" in candlelight, wrote, then bed. = 80+ miles
I got up late, after everyone had left. It was a fine sunny morning. I made myself pancakes for breakfast, then John & I hung out for a long time - til 12 before leaving that battlezone of an apt. Beautiful day again, but this time with fantastic tailwinds. We stopped at Jolly John's car dealership for a quick picture, then off again down Hwy 1 to Wells, where we crossed back into NH on Hwy 4. Got to the university town in Durham, where we had pizza & pitchers of beer. We got to cousin Jim's house just before dark, but he wasn't home. Instead, we were entertained by his two charming female roommates, Cathy & Liese--two cuties on UNH's running team. Then Jim & his folks came over-- then Chick, his brother. We had a good time, and were able to distract everyone from study. I played Jim's fine classical guitar.
Woke up with the phone to see Liese's pretty face. We had breakfast together until the girls had to go to class. The morning was nice, so I took Jim's guitar out into the sun. We made a wrong turn on the back roads, but it didn't really matter, since the scenery & traffic were exceptional, at least until we got on the main Hwy, 27 into Manchester. This turned into a big 4 laner. I got far ahead of John, so waited for him at the 1st Manchester exit. A highway patrol cop stopped, would have kicked us off, but instead gave us directions to get to John's Aunt's house. We got there OK--nobody home, I played their piano, then we listened to a couple of jazz albums. Charlie arrived in his Porsche with steaks & beers - German. We had them while the meat sizzled away on a propane broiler. Me & Charlie bullsh*ted about jazz, & all three of us got pretty buzzed. Sally arrived rather late, and after some dessert, I was overdue for bed.
Late rise for me. The folks were all gone. John & I eventually mobilized, again in good weather, to head for Boston. We made excellent time down nice roads to Lowell, Mass, where gnarly traffic intimidated us to Somerville, where John's cousin Chris met us at cousin's Martha & Candy Whitmores. Beers & joints were produced, & Chris fetched scallops & shrimp, which I cooked up for a fine meal. Finally, I passed off into an exhausted state.
Cooked, John & Chris omelettes & bagels, which were indeed good. Then Chris drove us out to the Bay, where we saw the Atlantic for the first time this trip. His car had problems which he attributed to a slipping clutch, but I correctly identified it as a clogged gas filter - no problem. Chris really knew a lot about the history & politics of the area, and truly was the perfect host. He bought endless amounts of beer & scored $20 worth of lobster for dinner. I cooked it up, Candy made a great salad. They went to see the circus, while John & I went to see movies: "The Brother from Another Planet" & "Under the Volcano" - the latter, we snuck into.
Went for a sail with Chris & John aboard Chris's 30' sailboat. The boat needed work, but was in sound shape. The wind wasn't blowing very strong, so we spent most of our time just attempting to get out of the harbor. We had two six pacs and a couple of joints, so I wasn't thinking very clearly when I set up my camera for a self timer shot of the three of us in the stern. The water was calm enough, but when we posed, the wake of a power boat hit the bow and sent the camera skidding across the deck, and -alas!- into the Bay. I made a sluggishly retarded dive for it, but too late. Only an odd run of gallows humor kept me from crying, and we made it back to berth without further mishap. Chris dropped us off at Mass PIRG headquarters, where we met George, Lynn, Carolyn, & Katy of CalPIRG fame. I had tracked down their names that morning by calling, asking for George. We all went over to George's where we had beers & I cooked rice & veggies. It was good to see those folk again. Candy & Martha picked us up to take us to Chris's house, where we got wasted again and watched marvelous Marvin beat the sh*t out of Mustafa Homsho. After that, John & I could only crash--we'd been stoned for 12 hours that day.
A slow morning - no hot water. Nice enuf weather. I made us pancakes--with real maple syrup. Martha, John & I then walked over to some Harvard museums where we saw the famous Glass House collection. I wasn't too into these things. Afterwards we had great ice cream at Steve's in Harvard Square. Supposedly one of the world's best ice creams. Then I spent time at various bookstores tracking down info on the Andes. Amazingly, I think that within a few days since flipping through a book of Candy's, I've already changed my mind about the Kayak trip. Already, I'm fantasizing about a mountain climbing summer through the Andes. The more I think about it, the better I like it. After all, this is the longest mountain range in the world, with dozens of peaks over 18,000 ft. I also bought Paul Theraux's book, the "Old Patagonian Express." After I got back, we took off to see Airplane at Harvard. I smoked way too much pot here, for chrisakes.
After goodbye to Martha, we pulled out down those insane Boston streets. Crossing the Charles river, we spotted crew teams warming up for the Regatta, biggest of its kind in the US. The road eventually mellowed out. It started getting dark & drizzly, and we had some problems with route finding. We got to the Bourne Canal at dark, but we still had some 20+ miles to go. Going over the Bourne Bridge was no fun, and neither was riding down Hwy 28 (bikes illegal) and on Hwy 151, where my generator kept failing. At last we got an escort from Marie's old roommate, Margo, to her & her husband, Dave White's house, where we were just in time for Presidential debate #2 and dinner with cold beers. They lived on an interesting spit of land sticking out into a Bay facing South Cape Cod. Slept in my own bed and room that night, after playing a beautiful Ovation guitar.
We left very late (after lunch!), saying goodbye to Margo, riding into headwinds & intermittent sun towards Woods Hole. This was a beautiful ride even though the weather wasn't perfect, but could have been better. We got to the main laboratory of Woods hole, but the person Nancy Sanders told me to see, Diane Stocker wasn't in. I had an embarrassing conversation with the office mate of K.O. Emery, whom I thought had done some of the work on Hydrothermal vent chemistry. We left frustrated, sailed down tail winds North over the Bourne Bridge to a huge camp ground by the Bourne Canal that was closed for the season. Big ships passed by every once in awhile. Later in the night it began to rain, so we pitched the tent just in time before it absolutely deluged for the rest of the night. Some of both of our stuff got wet, but we intended to get to Jack O'Connell's house next night.
Got up super early. We were gone quick, riding along the old canal road. On well kept, low traffic back roads, we made good time to Mattapoisset, where we stopped at a bakery/cafe, owned by this stout woman who couldn't stop talking, but was very nice. We also got interviewed there by a reporter from the local newspaper. We got some free rolls & a loaf of bread and were off again into sunshine. We crossed into Rhode Island somewhere, then had to deal with some nasty traffic after New Bedford. But this scarcely prepared us for the incredible ordeal of braving the Newport & Jameston bridges, back to back, which separated us from Nanagansett; no bikes allowed, a narrow walkway close to racing cars--in short--a nightmare. Definitely the most stressful riding of the trip for me. But we got to Jack's safely--he rode out to greet us. We bought stuff for dinner, and he bought a huge beer supply. At home, we met & talked to his roommates Jim & Dave, and bullsh*tted until early in the morning.
Got a phone call from Judy Syck in Pennsylvania this morning. I'd left a message with her answering service. She had lined up a place for us to stay with her friends in E. Lyme, Connecticut. We left for there quite late in the day, but we didn't have far to go. We stopped at Graton Airport to wait for Ken Sargent, who could drive us over the New London Bridge to his home. He used to work in the same office as my cousin Jim Syck ((hey, Leo, that's my cousin!)). Ken's wife Sally Sargent knew Judy pretty well. They treated us well, and plied us with beers. We had our own beds again. We were up early the next day to catch the Orient Point Ferry. The weather was beautiful. On the ferry, the water was calm, no wind, an uneventful crossing. We joked about how this was our last day of the cross country bike trip. Riding on Long Island was fine, little traffic, good shoulders. John had some funky noise coming out of his bottom bracket. We stopped our trip in Coram, Long Island by a Burger King and called for Dad to pick us up. We bought a 6 pak of Heinekin to celebrate, and reminisced. It was good to see Dad again and the skyline of Manhattan as well. We got home to Wanda, then Dad and I dropped off the truck he'd borrowed. Dad, pressed by me, admitted he will vote for Reagan. So this automatically called for an hour argument from me. I didn't get to sleep until 4. New York--Then Menlo Park for a few days: evening with Jeff; dinner out with Tom Elliot, Mary, Art & John in San Rafael. ((After having flown back cross- country.))
John had arrived with his folks last night, and was awake when I got home from visiting with Jeff. We woke up early the next morning and mom fixed us fine whole wheat pancakes with maple syrup & cranberry juice. She took us out to buy fuel for the stove. We left by 11:00, headed out University Ave., met up with a biker called Phil who showed us a much better route than we'd planned. We went out Sand Hill Rd., then LaHonda Road, a steep yet beautiful narrow road thru the mist. John shopped for an adjustment & Phil & I rode ahead with Phil. He told me where US & Japan stand with respect to the quest for artificial intelligence. He took us to Skyline Dr. where we got his address & he went North while we headed South. This road was truly amazing, because of fierce multidirectional gusts & spectacular panoramas. We took a right on Hwy 9 & took an intense downhill cruise that had to be experienced to believe. We saw alternating overcast skies & sun. Boulder Creek was strongly reminiscent of Guerneville on the Russian River. Complete with woodcutting rednecks with pit bulls & pickup trucks. John complained of sore knees & I hurt too, but after a short session of stretches I felt fine. We sped down to Santa Cruz & climbed a brutally long persistent hill to UCSC & Paul's ((John Jolly's brother)) dorm. He was a fine host & so were his friends. By all measures I could perceive, Santa Cruz was an experimental success in education. He even brought us meals from his cafeteria in take out cartons.
We got breakfast, again--by the Santa Cruz Dorm Scam. Meanwhile, we peered anxiously out the windows at an intermittent, light drizzle. But off in the Southern distance, we could see sunlight bursting bravely thru the clouds. Said goodbye to Paul and headed off downhill for several miles. It drizzled on us for awhile, but we beat out the rain by the time we got to Capitola. From there we paralleled Hwy 1 down past Moss Landing, jumped onto a bike path all the way into Monterey, where we met a crazy Canuck who rode from Eureka south, staying at motels, thus travelling light. He seemed like a flake. Later, seeing him fly by in a pickup, this hunch was confirmed. A stranger stopped us when we were headed the wrong way, and pointed us straight. We rode thru Carmel pretty quick, then it was down the Big Sur coast! It got dark & overcast, then the wind blew stronger & stronger into our faces. It began to rain, we got wet & unhappy & the State Park, Morena where we intended to stay seemed further & further away. I was ahead, saw some old sheds near a house. After talking to John, I decided to go up and ask the folks if we could pitch the tent up in their yard. The guy who answered the door seemed pretty stand-offish at first, but let us pitch our tent, then eventually invited us in to cook our dinner, talk, & sip wine and tea with his sexy wife Pamela. Jim & her had lived in this old school house for the past 7 years. They had known Ansel Adams--in fact had an original Yosemite print of his. Pamela used to cut his hair. Meanwhile, the rain was howling outside. When we said goodnight & went out to where I'd pitched the tent, we found it & our sleeping stuff soaking wet in a windblown bundle--the stakes had ripped out of the wet rocky soil. It was grim, but we repitched it, & crawled into our wet sleeping bags. Our body heat almost dried the bags, & we got no wetter, though the storm got gnarlier yet.
Woke up to warm, clear skies. Stowed our wet sh*t, then Jim came down & announced that a mountain lion had killed two neighbors' sheep last night. We had a cup of coffee with them before riding off. This day was some of the best of the trip--lots of climbs, downhills, good folk, scenery. Talked to a guy with a sea kayak who'd been to Seattle & amongst the San Juans.
We stopped at Borda, discovered that there weren't any camp spots between there & San Simeon. Said the heck with it & went for it anyhow. In the last few minutes of sun, we found a halfway decent spot near a drinking fountain. John set the tent up so that I was on a slant with bumps (no sleep). We had Mac n' cheese with Coors. Pitched the tent under rainless moonlight, & I listened to John snore all night. Sometime, I heard & felt a bit of an earthquake.
Woke up to overcast skies, but a wee bit of a promise for some sun. We finished off all the big downhill for this trip, then cruised past Hearst Castle, Morrow Boy, SLO town, to Grandma's ((Evelyn Lind, Leo's maternal grandmother)), who filled us up.
((The next day, back to Santa Barbara.))
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