Today’s been a rough day. We got less far than we hoped, I felt rushd and my mind focused on things that made moments of bliss fleeting.

We left the motel later than planned, but still OK time-wise. I checked my bank balance before we left, and it was lower than hoped. This started a bad mood.

We got to the Redwood National and State Parks Visitor Center, got the stamp, and asked about hikes. The ranger referred us to a short-ish hike over in Elk Prairie through the redwoods and by one tall tree. We then went behind the visitor center to check out the beach.

After a longer than expected stay at the visitor center, we went to the hike. We set off in to the woods. The trees are MASSIVE. Our hike slowed down as we kept being in awe of the trees. They were huge and impressive. We finally arrived at Tall Tree – which has earned its name. It’s huge in both diameter and height.

Impressed, we continued on the trail. While we hiked through some much shorter trees, my brain reminded me of my various work responsibilities and the fleeting nature of time. This erased any peace I felt from the hike and I became VERY aware of just how behind our plan we were.

We got on the road, and off US-101 to take CA-299 towards Lassen. This meant saying farewell to the Pacific Coast for the foreseeable future, and due to my temporal troubles, this occured with no fanfare.

To make matters worse, traffic on 299 was delayed by about an hour due to construction. This continued my downward spiral of crankyness. Right before we got there, Lara made the call that we should stay the night in a motel in Redding so I could work as well as because the delays meant setting up the tent in the dark around 10PM.

We found a motel with a low price and, after issues with doors were resolved, I got to work. After an hour, Lara and I ate some delicious pizza from Upper Crust Pizza, and I continued working. She made the comment of “Don’t worry, the road trip’s almost over so you can focus on work soon” – this crushed my spirit because I want to enjoy the trip, not focus on work.

I kept working and finished around 3AM. Hopefully I can get some good, albeit limited, sleep.

Tomorrow: camping in Lassen National Park with a hike to Cinder Cone$

Stats: 8 National Parks, 12 hikes, 54 miles