We camped amongst the redwoods these last two nights at Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Pretty spacious tent sites tucked right there amongst the big trees. Jordan and Martin have eaten up 806 miles. Wow. 184 miles to go. Today was an especially grueling ride. Right out of Garberville, the duo began ascending 1700 ft over a 12 mile span with the infamous curvy, winding roads, stretching out before them for nearly all of the 91 miles to Ft. Bragg. Kinda freaked Jordan out, those big rigs and RVs passing really really close by them. At one point it got so nerve-wracking they both stopped and flipped the bird at a particularly aggressive trucker. Later, after having a chance to unwind with hot showers and dinner, they were able to rethink their actions, though neither seemed particularly repentant about it. They were still pretty steaming mad.
Martin and I headed out shortly after the duo pedaled away. If you ever pass through Garberville, CA check out the Getta Up Coffee kiosk. Think that's the name. Good coffee. The folks we met Sat- Sun in Weott and at the campgrounds unanimously warned us about driving those curvy roads. The word Dramamine kept popping up. So armed with 7-up and the dramamine, the sag wagon set out. It was as curvy and winding as we'd been told, but thankfully there wasn't that much traffic; able to navigate full loopy turns at what Marty calls an "age-appropriate pace" Actually, it felt like we were driving through a puzzle.
Both the bikers and the sag wagon got a good whiff of the smoke from the fires that have been burning amok in N. Ca. We saw the fire-fighting helicopters flying overhead, hauling their load of fire fighting chemicals. Again, thank you for your prayers. Wasn't looking forward to today's drive. Thankful for His mindfulness and care over us. We ran into a whole bunch of firefighters at dinner tonight, shipped in from various places around here to fight these fires. Please say a prayer for them going out there.
On Sunday, we worshipped at the Weott Christian Church with about 25 believers. The preacher, Bill, was a pretty plain-spoken man. Straight-forward message about trusting God for our needs, how we define needs, and how at times, our definitions of wants get blurred into needs. Can we keep it simple or do we get so caught up in pursuing the good life that we forget to put Him first. Interesting because earlier that morning, was having my quiet time before the others got up. There is something so time-standing, near sacred in those early morning hours, you know what I mean? It's just you and Him. Now it's no secret that camping isn't my thing. I am perfectly content to remain an underachiever in this area. But yesterday morning, as I recounted His faithfulness by writing it out in my journal, I realized that though I had slept in a bottomless tent coated in a fine layer of dust, steeped in that unmistakable camp-fire scent of smoke--still, I had been given shelter. We had food. Bratwursts and Mac n' Cheese. Not an epicurean feast but any means, but so much more than what many in the world live on. Interesting to hear similar themes later at church.
Coming into Ft. Bragg, Martin and I went down to Glass Beach. For our RDI time, we looked for any other Washington license plates on the walk down to the beach. The extended RDI plan for the day was to collect the different kinds/colors of beach glass, finding all the green ones, or white ones, comparing, contrasting, etc. How idyllic (and sedentary) to sit at the beach to collect rocks, sea glass. But Martin, being Marty's son, immediately gravitated towards the rocks and began climbing them. Which meant I had to take off after him and climb those darn things as well. My Tevas actually got used for their intended purpose. But they will never be the same after this trip.
For Sherri's benefit, we actually had a nice walking segment later on strolling along Ft. Bragg's Main Street.
Tomorrow Bodega Bay. Another hotel. 81 miles for the bikers. Marty's whack-a-mole pains still keep migrating around his body. His knee is bothering him, and now one of his toes seem to be cramping, blistering, or something.
Again, thank you for your prayers. We were really touched that the Weott church prayed for our trip. They have a wonderful way of closing their service. They share requests with one another, then they all pray. We were especially touched that the man, Bud, who asked if they could pray for us, referred to us as family. We asked them to pray for Jenna. Very touching how they were willing to pray for a little girl known to them only by a name. Yet because she is 'family', because she has touched their hearts, they prayed for her.
See you in Bodega Bay.
Soo
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