Miles: 5.5    Total Miles: 224.6

So 5.5 miles from Florence, (still Florence land) we stayed at Jesse M. Honeyman State Park, it was a short day but a much needed one for rest, we hoped it didn’t rain and glad it didn’t, we got to meet some nice guys at the hiker-biker camp–they were there when we got there.  They said hello as we climbed up the hiker-biker camp, small but nice, I liked it. A walk from showers and bathrooms though and no port-a-potties.

So Will and Adam are from Tucson and are doing the Pacific Coast Trail all the way down to San Fran. They’re carrying a lot less than we are (well, everyone is). Adam has been mountain biking for a while in Tucson and Will just started, this is also their first tour.

Ryan and I took a walk to the sand dunes, they were beautiful. Some people were sand boarding (if that’s what they call it), hiking, or fishing at the lake which looked mighty dirt-ay. We climbed up, my legs were screaming, on fire, but we got some nice pictures and the walk was really nice too. I really enjoy the trees covered in vines and moss, very pretty.

Will and Adam asked if we wanted to play some cards so they taught us how to play rummy.  We learned that Will just got a bachelor’s in archeology and Adam in geology, very cool especially at their age (early 20s). It was fun hanging out with other people for the first time, but I think that game lasted way too long…for me at least, I was ready for bed.

While playing cards Dave joined us. Dave was quite a character. We didn’t know what to think of at first, I think everyone felt a little uneasy after his introduction and first few minutes of interaction. Dave asked our route, destination, where we were from, the normal intro to any day conversation with a fellow biker. After a few minutes, he took out this flyer he was showing everyone he encountered. His purpose for cycling from Michigan and back. One of his daughters apparently committed suicide at 17 years old. His wife also passed away (didn’t say why) last year. So I guess he only has one daughter left, no money, and I’m not sure if a house or not. The purpose of the trip was to raise awareness about teen depression and suicide and to talk to parents about communicating with their kids better. Sad story, hard to say anything after that.

He was willing to give us anything or let us use any of his stuff in return for money, but we didn’t need anything or had any cash. He somehow got to stay there that night for free. He also said he’d been working around Florence for a while to earn some money, either picking up weeds, cleaning up yards or something like that. At that point, I wasn’t sure how safe it was to leave our stuff that night.

We got to talking a little bit more before we went to bed and we even signed a journal he had full of signatures, good lucks, prayers and all from people he had met along the way. This is when we realized he wasn’t making it up, or at least it felt a little more real. He gave us some tips on where to stay along the coast and which campgrounds are better, even a couple of places we could stay for free to save some money. I locked our bikes up as we do every night and went to bed hoping nothing bad would happen and hoping that he was just an honest man with a terrible story and an odd personality.

Nothing happened. We wished him good luck in the morning and he left before we did. He’s going back to Michigan now. And we are going to Reesport, Oregon. Less than 20 miles away.

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