lets take it back a couple days

like to the 17th. i had that day as an "extra" day in my life where i was in sacramento but couldnt really go too far because i had to catch the greyhound to portland the next day. i didnt want to spend ANOTHER day walking around sacto, because it is a dead town...and very hot.

so, i looked at the map and found somewhere else to go. that place was lake tahoe. i have heard about it, but didnt know anything about it. apparently it is a lake town that is surrounded by mountains. it was only 100 miles away so i went for it.

i got about 50 miles there and decided that it would take longer than i thought to get through the mountains to lake tahoe, and that once i got there i wouldnt have much to do because it is a resort town and i am not resorting.

big hill lookout @ el dorado

so i starting looking for something else, i wanted nature. i was just entering el dorado state forest, but there werent any signs for turnoffs/turnons so i just kept driving. another 15 miles and there was a brown highway sign saying that a picnic area was to my left. so i took it.

after miles of climbing i came to big hill lookout. it was a helipad during the fire season and also had a 30 foot tower that you could climb to get a panorama of the forest. i took the climb. it was a straight up metal rung ladder, a bit scary but well worth it.

i drove around and found a lake, i went to it and waded for a bit. it wasnt very exciting. then i drove higher into the mountains and found a mountain creek that was flowing! it was going very fast, and it was super cold.

that was actually to weirdest part of the day, it was about 100 degrees out, there was snow on the ground, and the water was freezing. it was crazy. i spent some time on huge rocks by the creek and tried dipping my feet, but i couldnt do it for very long. i took some pictures that you can see here.

then i drove back into the city, parked and walked the three miles to the bus station. i walked in the heat of the day about 103 degrees. it was ridiculous. as i do, i was about 2 hours early for the bus and walked all around downtown sacramento looking for a bar...or at least something that was open. and there was nothing but that big mall. no bars whatsoever. i was unhappy about it.

but i got over it and got the bus to portland. the rest, is history.