M to N to O: Ferndale, CA to Fortuna, CA to Covelo, CA

August 10, 2011

We woke up, showered, and said goodbye to the camp host who was nice enough to squeeze us in during his busiest time of the year. We drove back to Fortuna to find a vet we had driven by the day before to see if they carried the type of cat food that we had been feeding Buzz. On the way, we saw a frame shop, cleverly named "How's it Hanging" (no question mark, because, according to the owner, "she doesn't really want to know.") and stopped to see if they could frame our new collection of postcards of vintage posters advertising National Parks from the 1930s we had gotten in Lassen. The shop was closed for lunch, so we killed some time exploring Fortuna. When we returned, the nice woman at the frame store seemed to really like the idea, offered to cut a matte for very little money considering the time and materials it would take, and said because we were doing it in a common size, it would be easy to find a used frame and not spend an additional $60 on her cheapest 24 x 36 frame.

She told us to come back in two hours, so we decided to tour downtown Fortuna some more. Although we were tempted to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes again, we instead visited a few antique stores (no suitable frames) and found a Mexican Restaurant for a late lunch. On the way to lunch, Max had seen a window display advertising C.Crane radios with directions to their showroom down the street. Max loves old radios, and C. Crane, so we decided to check it out. We walked down the street and after chatting with the woman working there, realized that we weren't just in a showroom, we were in the headquarters. Max got really excited and asked if they were hiring. They weren't, but we took an application (although Max did ask if his ten minute conversation about how much he loved radios wasn't enough of an application). We had managed to idle away more than two hours and walked back to the frame shop where our project was finished and waiting. It looked great and we were happy that we had a fun souvenir to bring home.

It was after four, and we figured the trip was finally really over and we should start the 2.5 hour drive back to Round Valley. The van started acting funny near Laytonville, possibly due to 100 plus miles of hot exhaust blowing on the engine out of the hole left by the oxygen sensor, so we stopped in Laytonville for dinner and to give her a break. By the time we were finished eating the van had cooled off and gave us no further trouble on the last 45 miles home. It was dark by the time we got back but we moved our bed out of the van and back into our apartment and fell asleep, exhausted but happy.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip and the least stressful out of our more recent journeys. It actually felt like a vacation, not work. By staying at high elevations in the Cascades and High Deserts of SE Oregon and NE California, we had perfect sunny yet cool days every day. It never rained. We hardly had any stinkers of camp spots over the two weeks. Most everyone was really nice to us. Only a few places were way too overcrowded and there was usually a less crowded alternative not too far away. The van was awesome - the new radiator worked like a dream and the new bed Max built in the back was roomy and comfortable. Buzz proved again to be the very best travel cat - ever.

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