Day 95, Friday, November 11, Jediah Smith Redwood Forest State Park, northern California,
What a splendid park Harris Beach was. While i will usually aim for a park i have been to before because i know the roads and the camps, i really enjoy staying in new parks, and last night's experience was one of the reasons. The only drawback was too many RVs. I saw only one other tenter in the entire park. And too many dogs, too, but i guess they are as entitled to use the parks as much as Donner does.
I did see an small RV of sorts, a trailer really, that sparked my imagination. It was made of wood and had the look of caboose on a train. Great idea. Now that's something i could upgrade to. Or maybe something that has the look of a log cabin. With my new engine, i would not hesitate to pull something in the future.
I am wirting this af 5:00 p.m. and usuabke daylight is gone. This confirms my decision to call it quits at 4:30 last night at Harris Beach, only 30 miles but one hour up the road. I would not have liked driving the road to get here and then having to set up the camp once again in the dark. Also, the campsite i wanted, 76, where i stayed with Erde two years ago, the best tent site in the camp, was taken last night and just freed up when we arrived early today.
Speaking of Erde and this site, it was here where she started to not hold her food. I had her treated at two different vets down the line over the next two days before we hit the desert for three days and no vets, and things worked out fine.
We arrived at the camp at noon and i took my sweet time setting up the camp, and i do mean sweet time. What an absolutely fantastic setting our site is in, situated in an isolated section of the camp, amidst hundreds of redwood trees soaring into the sky. The canopy high above allows little light to penetrate so it is always like dusk. There are no other campers near us, and only two tenters and three RVs in the entire camp. And here i thought everyone was going to be getting in one last camping outing this long weekend. What a peaceful, tranquil setting it is. I needed this on my first day of relaxation in weeks, maybe the enture trip. Yesterday, I had planned to stay here for two nights, but I am glad it worked out as it is since i would not have gotten this site. Imagine you are pitching your tent alone in the sanctuary of some huge cathedral and you have just imagined the way i feel now. As i set up camp in this sacred place, and i do believe nature is sacred, Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma wafter through the foresf. If this were the only splendid day on this entire trip, the 100-plus days would have been worth it. I take these trips for days like this.
I took a two-mile walk with Dnner today without any difficulty with my sciatic nerve. At the end of this trip i will describe what i have been going through with that pesky nerve since i don't want people to feel sorry for me. But also, i will describe another pesky issue that suddenly appeared in August 2015, which will explain my motiation to take this trip now, and not give up on it. Kind of like a race against time. Again, in the last posting.
Tomorrow we move on down the coast 200 miles to perhaps Richardson Grove State Park, another park i know. But if another place comes along, we might just stay there.
Its 5:13 and dark and raining lightly. Time to head into the tent for the night. I am going to have to adopt an entirely new scedule as i am not used to going into the tent before 8pm.
More tomorrow.
Photo...Donner relaxing amidst the redwood trees.
Ed
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