Day 10 - A quiet day in California

This morning I ran onto Mickey and Jerry at the hotel (you can see "JER" on Jerry's vest in the pic). I first met them at a gas station in Nevada yesterday and they are heading to Vancouver Island, as am I. Hopefully I will run into them again; they are good people. After an uneventful ride into the California mountains (thank goodness), it is good to be back in the cool weather again. I am camping in Lassen Volcano National Park at about 7,000 ft elevation. It is cool and quiet again and I am looking forward to some good sleep. I met my neighbors, a family of four staying for 2 weeks. I went on a 5.5 mile hike with Justin and Trent and it felt good that I could hold my own - Justin set a tough pace! As we were hiking we came across a deer and some fawns. Trent's dog Titan took after that deer like no ones business and no one saw that dog again. After we got back to camp the boys went back to look for the dog while Rachael and Tabitha came over and visited with me for awhile. It was very nice of them and they were fine, polite people, all 4 of them. Unfortunately they are a bit down on their luck right now; I wish there was some way I could help. Instead, later that night as i was preparing for bed they brought me over 2 camp made smores. Good people. I should count my blessings more often. Tonight it was a dinner of an apple, peanut butter, jalapeño cheese and wheat thins! It actually was really good - especially the apple. Slow day... Nice. Good day to read and journal and enjoy the solitude in nature. Tomorrow it is off to Oregon.
ODO - 2596 to 2824