so much to report!

We have arrived in the golden state of California. This is to be the last leg of our bike journey, and we are only 280 (or so) miles from San Francisco. The biggest climb yet is behind us, a killer set of hills past Crescent City that climbed 1200 feet over several miles of winding road, with rough conditions and narrow to absent sholder, yikes! The saving grace was the awesome beauty of the ancient redwood forest. As soon as we started the hill there they were, towering massive trees! The second hill was gentler at about 900 feet, and this peaked in Redwoods National Park then wound down an incredible parkway for miles, off our main route of highway 101, with very little traffic and very massive redwoods. It has surpassed the lovely highway 38 as our favorite ride. The next day we took a lovely hike through the park.

We have met up and travelled with some folks who are riding a tandem and pulling a trailer with their dog in tow. Quite a sight! It's nice to share the experience of the road with another couple, plus they share their hot cocoa with us! Another animal traveling companion we met was a tiny month-old kitten that was riding the shoulders of a man walking from Mexico to Canada! He found a bag of abandoned kittens on the side of the road and this little fellow was the only one left alive. A sad tale, but the little kitten will luckily have an interesting life.

The legendary rains of the pacific northwest have arrived. A very wet night two nights ago has been followed by drizzling rain and heavy, grey skies. It makes the biking just a little less fun--we have decided to stay a few days in our current location of Arcata and hopefully the sun will shine again. Tonight is calling for 2 inches of rain!