Two days ago, I was at the library in Ely. I decided to grab some lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Happy Garden, a couple of blocks from the library. My meal was just ok. When I paid my bill with my credit card the waitress added 50 cents because I was paying with a card. I told her she could have told me that. Rather than saying sorry, she told me there’s a sign on the counter that indicated the surcharge. The counter was behind me, so I had no way of seeing it since I don’t have eyes behind my head. I gave her a 10% tip. In actuality, with the 50 cents, it’s an 18% tip. Don’t get me wrong, I support local eateries. Businesses with minimum charges for credit cards are actually not obeying Visa’s credit card terms. Sure, a 3% charge for credit cards is hefty. If that’s the case, just don’t take credit cards at all. I was definitely not happy at Happy Garden.
After lunch, I rode back to the library and browsed my favorite magazine, Consumer Reports. Soon after, I came back to the inn and took a nap.
Around 5:30 PM, I went across the street to the bar. The owner of the inn was there and she allowed me to fill up all my water bottles. I will need all of them for the next two days. I learned the owner’s name is Mimi. She made me a ribeye with rice. She also had homegrown lettuce leaves and sauces ready. I ended up putting the sauce on the lettuce leaves, then added in chunks of ribeye and rice to it, then I ate it like a wrap. It was so good! Adding to that, I had a side dish of bean sprouts and a bowl of soup. It was the best homemade meal.
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| Best homemade meal |
Mimi invited me to come back again for breakfast. I will certainly do that.
Back at the room, I received a message from a friend that Jack, a friend of a friend, can host me for a few days when I get to San Francisco. That’s great news! I wasn’t going to use Warmshowers hosts because I will need to stay for more than one or two days. I’m glad things will work out in San Francisco.
The next morning, I woke up around 6:30. After packing and returning the room key, I walked my bike over to the bar. Mimi was there already. She made me a ham and cheese omelette that was delicious. Mimi is a great cook! I gave her husband my phone number in case he wants to send me information about the price of the motel and the bar that Mimi would like to sell.
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| Another great meal |
I started riding around 8:30. My plan was to ride half way to Eureka and stay at a campground called Illipah. I certainly didn’t want to ride the entire 78 miles in one day, going up three hills. A kind driver stopped and asked me if I needed anything when I was walking my bike up a hill. I thanked him but I didn’t need anything.
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| Riding on the so called "Loneliest Road in America" |
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| Beautiful clouds |
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| Another summit |
By the time I got close to the campground the clouds ahead turned gray and I felt some rain drops. The campground is accessible through a dirt road, which I don’t want to ride on. The gravel may puncture my tire if I’m not careful, like the time when I rode on the levee trail and got my first flat tire. Luckily, I met a family in a pickup truck. They offered to take all of my luggage in their truck, so I can ride the bike without all the load. That was a great idea.
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| Dark clouds ahead |
I officially met the family at the campground. Perla, Bruce, and their son, Carlos, are great people. Perla told me to camp at a particular campsite since it has fences to block the wind and a pavilion to block the rain. I thanked them before I unpacked everything.
I made some ramen, ate some canned meat, and had a cup of pineapples. The wind and the rain kept on coming and going. After setting up my tent, I decided to eat a weed gummy since I was a little bored. I laid inside my tent the entire time. Getting high by myself is not very fun since I fell asleep.
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| My campsite |
Awakened by the rain, I decided to put up the tarp over my tent. Soon, I went to sleep for good.
This morning, I woke up just a few minutes before the sunrise. I love it when I can either see the sunrise or the sunset. It was cold in the morning. Must be in the 40s. I had to put on my long sleeved shirt. After eating some trail mix and drinking some water, I packed my bike and walked the 1.5 mile dirt road from the campsite to the main road.
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| A beautiful sunrise |
I thought there were only two more hills to ride up. As it turned out there were three. On the last of the hills, a motorcyclist saw me and asked if I needed any water. I’m so grateful for nice people. Since I was only less than ten miles away from Eureka I had plenty of water.
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| Looking back |
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| The last summit of the day |
When I rode into Eureka I was stopped by the police. He told me there’s a July Fourth parade ahead, but I can still ride into town since I’ll be staying there. I checked with two out of the three motels, they were all booked. After getting some chicken fingers, M&M’s, and a frappe at a convenience store, I decided to ask the police officer guarding the other end of the parade if there’s any places for me to stay. The police officer told me about a park and said I can ask a fireman if I can use their shower at the fire station. After going back up the street, I asked a fireman about a park and a shower. He pointed at the park across the street, behind the main street. But he didn’t allow me to shower at the fire station.
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| July Fourth egg toss at Eureka |
I’ve been mainly relaxing at the park. There’s a pavilion, a spigot, and a bathroom, but no shower. Tomorrow, I’ll be camping again if I don’t make it to the next town, Austin.
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| Camping here tonight |
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