Said my goodbyes to Judy and family for hosting me through the rainstorm: the forecast looks good today, no rain on the horizon, but coast weather is never certain.

Judy is the postmaster in Elk and I stop to visit and mail some postcards before I leave. Around the corner from her counter is a door, she opens it and shows me five of her paintings hanging by the front door. She has a spiral polka dot psychedelic style going on, it's wonderful and brings a human touch to Uncle Sam's mailbox. Thanks Judy, you're the best.

The ride today is a strange one, there are no climbs but the road is never flat, always either ascending or descending small pitches. +10% for 30 meters and down -6% for 20 meters, again and again all day. It's challenging terrain but beautiful!

Most of the day is a blur, the sky is a mix of sunshine and foreboding rain clouds, I'm fleeing down and un-energetic, pedaling along trying my best to zone out - Radiohead helps a lot in this mood, the melee colony it's nice actually.

By 2:00 PM the sun breaks through and I'm Gualala, a cute upscale coastal town. I stop of a coffee shop I visited years ago and have a massive lunch and coffee, instantly I feel better. Funny how that works.

The last 40 km to Salt Point are quite scenic, I transition from Mendocino to Sonoma county and the terrain changes noticeably. What was once lush green cliffs and coastal rocks becomes coastal plateaus and golden grass ranches stretching to the ocean.

I was hoping to push on to Bodega Bay, but my legs won't have it and I would have arrived after dark. Mary the park ranger is exceptionally friendly and shows me around, I have the entire campground to myself, a first on this trip. The silent emptiness is unnerving at first but opens up eventually. The sky is clear the the stats are pinholes in the sky, the Milky Way stretches over the treetops and I get to stare for an hour before getting some rest.