Day 7: Sue-meg State Park

 Distance traveled: 310.8 km

Cumulative distance: 1989.1 km

Maximum speed: 123 kph ("freeway")

Moving average: 73 kph

Temperature range:  16.2 - 25.2

I was up from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. listening to my next door neighbour’s dog crying her eyes out. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs, but how is it that the dog’s parents couldn’t hear her yet REST of the campground could. But I did go back to sleep and woke up after 7. I took my time to get organized,

after all, it wasn’t raining so why the rush? I draped the fly over some bushes and stood the tent on its end with the side panels open to get some air through, and everything else was draped over the picnic table. It took about three hours for things to be dry enough to pack up, which was helped by the sun coming through the thick Douglas firs behind me.

Scenery wasn’t quite as good today; it seems like the Hwy 101 sweet spot is between Fort Stevens and Charleston. Maybe make a note of that if you think you might come down here. Nonetheless, it was still worthy, especially at lunch time when I broke down for an all-American breakfast: BELGIAN waffle with eggs, bacon and syrup. In a classic all-American diner that included a counter. After I ate, I spent a long time on the phone ordering a mirror for the bike and sorting out a destination for tonight. So long in fact, the waitresses, only slightly older than my mother, thought I was moving in with them. But I got a mirror ordered and so now I am making a side trip through 

Sacramento, and I determined a destination for the night. Sadly, California state campgrounds do not allow same-day or even next day reservations. They don’t care that I am riding a motorcycle and don’t know up from down, right from wrong or what is going to happen over the next few hours let alone days.

One spectacular scene today was driving through the redwood forest. I realize this is lame talk about something and not have a picture but it comes with the territory on this trip. The only photos of the redwoods I managed were with the GoPro camera on top of my helmet and I need stronger cell service to get those pictures. The road is twisty but the forest is so thick and the trees so tall I needed to turn on the high beam on the bike to help me see. Because I was wearing sun glasses. I need to look cool going through the forest. But it was dark in there. 

I found the campground, which is one of several in the Sue-meg state park. When I pulled up to the gate, I asked the attendant "who was Sue Meg?" She told me it is a Yurok (local First Nation) word for “always there”. 

There is a bit of the funky chicken for picking a camp spot. They wouldn’t let me make a reservation, so I had to take a plasticized sheet showing all of the four (six?) campgrounds with a green highlighter indicating which spots were open. My job, while holding the card, was to ride around and pick THREE tent sites because other people were doing the same thing and somebody else might pick the spot that I pick before I get back. I only dropped the card one time, and had to find a level spot to park where the bike would lean sufficiently in the correct direction, then run back and retrieve the card. I picked a long, narrow deep camp site so that in the morning, the sun should shine in and help me dry my stuff if there is a lot of dew, though it seems drier here than the other places I have camped on this trip. Mainly because it is not raining.

I actually wanted this particular campground because it was the closest to the beach however, when I went for a walk thinking I would visit the beach, I discovered I would need to take a couple of days to include that in my itinerary because I am 50 vertical metres above the beach but the view is spectacular. I sent this picture to Nan and she asked me if that was the view from my tent site. Sadly, no it is not but if it was, I would stay an extra day.

Agate Beach.

One other thing: I was warned that there are both bears AND cougars in the park. There are metal storage bins in each tent site and at the gate, I was told to use mine. I was putting away my dinner items like cooking pot, stove, almonds but wasn't all that fussed as i was talking to Nan on the phone, when I heard a rustle behind me. I just about jumped out of my skin. I struggled to get my headlamp lit and when I did I saw a HUGE mountain lion staring me in the face! It had a bandit mask, dark muzzle, grey features and actually looked kinda cute. I yelled "shoo!" before it made off with my almonds. I saw on one sign around here that said if attacked by a bear or cougar, FIGHT BACK. I'll be more ready next time.