California's Highway 1

. . . after hiking about crater lake I headed straight for the California coast. I arrived in California late at night and after some searching found a place amid the redwood forests to camp for the night. It was extremely damp and cold--quite unexpected for this time of the year. As I lay in my tent attempting to sleep, I heard some large animal rummaging about my campsite--There was nothing around for it to find as I literally pulled up, pitched my tent, and went straight to sleep. Whatever it was, it didn't stay around long and I didn't bother to find out what it was--I was too tired at this point so I simply went to sleep. The next morning I traveled down Highway 1. It is an impressive drive. I kept pulling off of the side of the road in order to get pictures. I ended up camping again somewhere in the northern part of the state and during my drive I made sure to stop at a number of lighthouses. To be brief, I made it to the bay area where I stayed the night with some good friends of mine--Erik and Tammy Shipley. The next day I was off again, heading down through Big Sur where I arrived for the sunset. I was at a pretty good vista for the sunset itself, but kept convincing myself that there must be something better around the corner, so I kept driving around the bend, got out of my car, took more photos, and then drove around the next bend convinced that it could only get better. This allowed for some great photos just before sunset, but to my dismay, when the sun actually was setting into the sea, I was in the worst possible location for photography--Needless to say, I learned a little lesson in greed! :)
I had thought about camping in Big Sur, but it had been a long trip since I left Home in June. It was now August and I longed to sleep in my own bed, so I drove home through the night and arrived at my apartment some time around 3 a.m. My Roommate was not expecting me and upon hearing me enter the apartment was on his feet ready to discard the intruder with his bare hands (my roommate is a former marine who loves weapons and is three times my size).
Anyhow, it was a wonderful trip, and I enjoyed it all (I have left a lot out from this blog as it would be too laborious to include everything that I experienced on the journey. I got a few nights sleep in my own bed before heading out again with the high adventure scouts, spending a week in the Sierra's and hiking half dome. I had one more night in my own bed before heading out for another week at scout camp. It was a fun and eventful summer to say the least.