September 24th,
It was sad to leave the wonderful walls and heat of the motel but with a bundle of muffins and bagels from the free breakfast we started pedalling again. And then it started raining, again. It seemed like we couldn't escape it. We stopped and sat under trees and buildings' awnings as much as we could but it soaked us through. Err.. it soaked Rigel through as I actually brought rain gear. He just has this really thin sort of material that is water resistant. I am usually the driest one out of all of us. Even the people we were biking with part time had very little rain gear. But they also were not carring two panniers of food and two tarps and all the other luxuries we have....I think this is where we decided its time to cut down on the amount of food we carry. There are enough grocery stores along the way I think we can start planning meals the night before.
After a wet but wonderful ride (view wise, not terrain) we cut the day slightly short and stayed at Washburne State Park. It was a gorgeous park with the huge trees and mossy ground but it never stops raining when you are camped in the trees. So another night went without the ability to dry anything.
After a nice long sleep (as we pretty much go to bed when the sun does) I woke up at 7 to see that racoons had been snooping in the only pannier on my bike and had found my stash of powdered milk and unopened candy. Man what a mess they made but at least they didn't chew through my bag. Alas, nothing like a clean wet pannier to start the day with. I now store anything and everything edible in the food bags that get hung every night. Except my tea since they apparently can't get into davids tea canisters.
