As soon as I went to bed last night, a family of raccoons started poking around my campsite. I’m used to camping in bear country so all my food and scented items were in the bear box; the raccoons had no joy, but they still startled me. I was startled again when I got up in the morning to tear down camp and a racoon was still loitering around my campsite for food. I had to shoo it off a few times as I drank my coffee. It seemed food conditioned. Raccoons aside, I think it was the first day I cycled with blue skies most of the day.

I spent the entire morning cycling down the Sonoma coast, and it was really great. I cycled through a couple of state parks before slowly climbing up a series of curves, up to over 700 feet I think, before descending an iconic section of road which sweeps back on itself over a few miles down to the beach. The Sonoma Coast State Park was also particularly pretty. I crossed into Marin and cycled through towns with names I’m familiar with; Bodega Bay, Tomales, Point Reyes, and eventually ended up on a rails-to-trail bike path directly into the park I’m camped at tonight.

I’m again camped under the redwoods, for what will likely be the last night of my tour. I’m less than 30 miles to San Francisco, and I think I’ll push on tomorrow with the thought of my own bed in my mind.