I slept like a rock again. No dreams about bears or a ranger tapping on my window in the middle of the night, I was at peace. I had found a spot just north of the drive-through tree on a side-road off the highway. I don’t think a single car drove past all night. I was pretty much straight to bed after reshuffling the van, cozy under my doona with the windows cracked. U was up at 6:30, obviously excited for the day ahead. Bugger that, I dozed for an hour or so, letting some warmth creep into the day before I got up. I packed up the van and headed straight off, figuring I’d have breakfast somewhere more impressive than the side of the road.

Yesterday was wineries, today was redwoods. I pulled off after about an hour of driving to Williams Grove, ignored the $8 parking fee and made myself a bowl of cornflakes in the deserted carpark. I was underdressed in shorts amongst the towering redwoods that cast a misty shade over everything. I wandered down to the river while eating my brekkie, only to find it was not very impressive. This was just downstream of where I had camped with V a few weeks before, on her first wild-camp adventure – oh the good memories. Toes nearly frozen off and teeth brushed, I returned my breakfast tools to their rightful places and was off again. Before too long, I hit the coast and the fog. It was thick as mud, not a patch of blue sky to be seen – a normal condition for summer up here. Once I hit Arcata, I was further north than I’ve ever been. Nothing like hitting a milestone!

I was getting tired of driving, so stopped off at Patrick’s Point State Park. I only did so because someone had marked it with a star in my atlas so I thought it must be good! Turns out it was my Mum who had found it and had marked it since she thought it looked interesting. Thanks for the recommendation Mum! I drove in, then drove back out again once I found out the parking fee was $7 (are you noticing a trend here?). There was parking on the road just outside so I opted for that and walked my ass in there. I waved to the ranger in the booth on my way past. I did a loop around the Rim Trail which took me out to Patrick’s Point and around to Ceremonial Rock and the old Segmund Village. The sun came out for me while I was at the beach admiring the rock spires jutting out of the ocean, the first time I’d seen it all day.

At the village there were old houses there that were sunken into the ground. Super impractical with small holes for doors, but reminded me of Japanese architecture on the inside, with a large pit in the middle for living space and a single-bed width floor all the way around for sleeping. I’d hate to think who had to dig the big hole!

I popped back out onto the road, putting my jumper back on and getting some banana bread out of the fridge for smoko. I got back onto the highway and stayed within the redwood trees all the way to Oregon. Just past the border, I was looking for a good lunch spot. I had come up on two obviously touring motorcyclists, both with sidecars. Instead of having luggage or a person in their sidecars, they each had dogs! And I don’t mean little shiatsus either. The guy had two fully grown golden retrievers sitting shotgun! They turned off the highway so I followed them. They made a good choice with Harris Beach State Park. No fee here and a picnic table with my name on it. I got talking to the motorcyclist when he came over to take photos at my lunch spot. He gave his approval to what I was doing. I also confirmed that travelling with dogs in a sidecar is ok?! I soaked up the sun here for a bit, but it was too windy to stay long. Back in the car and onwards.

Not long up the road, I started driving through a field with a signpost stating “For Elk viewing, turn left”. Yes please! I would like to view some Elk. Feeling ashamedly like a tourist, I parked next to the other cars already there and looked in the direction everyone else was looking. Yes, there was a huge herd of elk in the distance, all sitting in a circle doing not a lot. Just big deer as far as I could tell! Still, I took a zoomed in photo and was on my way.

I didn’t stop much after that. The fog made the coast a little dull compared to what could have been possible with sun and blue skies. I started looking for camp around 6pm and found a few good spots out of sight of the road, but none had phone reception, which was a requirement for tonight since I wanted to talk to my parents. I carried on, looking and looking. When I got to the town of Florence, I saw a sign for Three Rivers Casino and “Free RV parking”. “Bullshit!” I thought, probably if you spend $100 at the casino. I said to myself, “Sarah, this is a learning experience. You might as well go and find out what the scam is now, then I’ll know for the future”. At the casino, the carpark was definitely full of RVs. There must have been about fifty parked up! Still sceptical, I drove in, observed the sign that said to check in with security, then parked at the edge so I wouldn’t have to drive too far to get out once I discovered the catch. An elderly couple were walking past, clearly patrons of the RV lot. I asked them what the deal was. They said there is no catch. You just sign in with security and put a permit on your windscreen and you can stay for up to four days. What?!?! They had to explain a few times to convince me. Walking up to the casino entrance, I was still unconvinced, thinking maybe I’d get rejected because of a dress code, or because I didn’t actually have an RV, but a baby van. At the security desk, I asked for my permit and lo and behold it was given to me. Not only that, the security gentleman explained where the restrooms were and the drink stations so that I could go and get myself free unlimited soft drink. Without gambling or spending a penny! Haha, turns out they are the suckers! Walking back to the car, I was tickled pink. I found myself a nice spot near some bushes so I didn’t have to walk the 200 meters to the casino to use the bathroom. The couple I’d spoken to earlier turned out to be my neighbours. When they saw me, I gave them a big double thumbs up. I’m sure they thought I was crazy, considering the size of the smile on my face. I had a chat to Mum and Dad, gave them a video tour of the van. Most of the concepts they approved.