Baja day 7

Nice sunny morning. The oak trees were full of tiny peeping birds. There was a trickle of water in the creek but not nice enough to filter. I figured I had enough to get to town.

First thing when I started, I passed these guys digging a ditch for their water pipes, the ones I’d camped by. Riding back the length they’d already dug and buried, it was amazing to see the amount of work they’d done with shovels. The pipes led back to a small ranch with some animals and a few straggling grape vines. This is Baja wine country. I passed vineyards and other ambitious ventures. I saw a falling apart stadium type building with a faded sign that said Horse Racing. I’m sure it seemed like a great idea at the time.

The hot springs at Uruapan had no water. In town, no tacos. I found some premade bean burritos at the store, also a water filter machine where I could fill all my bottles for pennies. I fed chips to a cute little doggie. After that the route went out onto the highway, by El Palomar. I remember stopping there on Baja road trips. I drank some coffee and ate an empanada.

The ride along the highway was mostly okay. There’s a bike lane but it’s also the slow vehicle lane. I left the highway and started up the hill. Mostly I could ride, there were a couple of times I gave up and pushed up the rest of the hill. Plenty of pickups zooming by, extra friendly waves hello.

The forecast said maybe rain tonight and in the morning. I really didn’t want to camp in the rain. I may have a thing about it now, after my soggy last couple days on PCT. I knew I could find a roof if I really tried. Just around sunset, I saw my barn. It looked kind of new, like someone had built it but never got around to using it. I felt kind of bad sleeping there without asking permission. But it was Christmas Eve, and I figured Catholics might be okay with travelers seeking shelter.

I still set up my tent. It was super cold. Also I don’t want any mice or poops to touch me while I slept.