Sonoma County

Yesterday was another gorgeous, cloudless day, with a rich, blue sky as far as you could see, though hot and dry, at nearly 100 degrees. In the evening, away from any city lights and smog, the stars seemed more abundant than usual, even with the competing, brilliant, three quarter moon that shone so bright that you didn't need a flashlight.

Yesterday, as I rode from St Helena, through Napa, Sonoma, Alexander, and Dry Creek valleys, I saw my fair share of hills again. A short, 48 mile, hilly day was capped off by a monster climb to my campsite at Lake Sonoma. I bicycled up a 1600 ft elevation to get to the site and nearly cried when I realized that I missed my turn for the campsite at only 1000 ft, fortunately, Mark, a kindly local not only gave me directions, but let me throw my bike in his pickup, saving me nearly another hour of cycling after nightfall.

A grueling day was capped off by a good, hot, campside dinner. A good day, all in all. More tomorrow...