Sierra City
I’ll add more tomorrow, but I got into Sierra City this afternoon and have a few minutes before I fall asleep. Because we’re at the tail end of the nth heat wave (I can’t tell when one ends and the next begins), I’ll hang around town until late tomorrow afternoon when the asphalt of the road I need to walk will re-solidify. Plus, the next stretch of the trail is a climb I’d rather not start if I’m liable to melt.
A hundred degrees would fry your Pepsi pretty good. This was at 5:30, when the general store closed. The deli served grilled cheese, which may well have been a loaf of bread and block of cheddar thrown onto the pavement..
The next adventure was finding my resupply package and a place for the night. Both were available—after some phone calls—at the Red Moose Cafe/Inn.
All other rooms in town were taken, so before I heard back from the Red Moose (why red? Did it want to be a fire truck?) I wandered down to the River Haven guest house and local woo-woo epicenter. One comment on the hiking app said that if you missed wacko ladies, that place would nourish your soul. Though I didn’t meet the owner—she leaves the door open for anyone—I don’t doubt it would.
The rooms in the house were full, a hiker in a flowing dress (?) told me. But I could stay in a tent—a tent with a queen bed, electricity, and some sort of carpeting. For $79.
Most of the woo-woo including angel sculptures, glass bottle ornaments and outdoor kitchen sink happened outside this shot of an $80-a-night tent.
I’ve been sleeping in a tent for free. And when you add the $5 laundry and excessive woo-woo? Nope.
Soul-nourishing? In that case, I’ll let my soul starve, thanks.
Strangeness aside, you know what’s amazing about Sierra City? Their library:
Isn’t it incredi—oh, that’s not the library. That’s a picture of the memorial water fountain inside a gazebo on a street corner. Oops. Here’s the library:
But sadly, even such concentrated literacy could not save this notice in the general store:
Dear sarcastic sign: I looked 1st. Now can I open the door for a 2nd? Sheesh.
Oh, and “you’re welcome”.
More to follow “soon”.