The Motel 6 in Rancho Cordo, Sacramento
County had several security guards patrolling the motel the entire time I was
there, constantly walking around the perimeter of the motel and stopping anyone
who stood in one spot for more than five seconds, I am curious as to what
warranted that a necessity. It was a beautiful, sunny 15 degrees Celsius out
this morning when I left the motel; I had to roll down the windows, as it was
too hot, what a difference! I stopped to get gas and a woman was waiting at the
pump; she asked how I was and told me a story of running out of gas, 99.9%
certain it was a scam but just wanting her to go away, I gave her a dollar and
she was very gracious about thanking me, commenting on how cute Luna is and
getting out of my hair. I regretted that instantly and wished I had stood up to
her or just told her I didn’t have any cash, but it was too late, I just took
the lesson I got from that and left, trying not to let her dampen my good mood.
We drove the windiest road I have ever
driven for 130 miles through a forest, arriving at our destination in a little
over four hours. Mendocino County is lovely, there are so many big, beautiful
trees and many are clothed in vibrant green moss. It is warm and humid today,
very foggy and there is a light rain coming down. I am camping at Wildwood
Campground just outside of Fort Bragg, my first night car camping! I took Luna
for a walk as soon as we got here, I went to the ‘Hiking Trail’ sign and
continued along the path for about 15 minutes; I let Luna off-leash as no one
was in sight. I was reveling in the beauty of the forest when a large brindle
Pit Bull mix suddenly appeared in front of us, no collar and no owner in sight
for several moments. The owner walked in to sight and said forcefully “Who are
you”, taken aback, I replied stiffly with my name and she said, “Where are you
from?” “The campground” “You’re dog needs to be on-leash and you shouldn’t be
here” she replied angrily “I’m sorry, I didn’t know, I followed the sign to the
hiking trail”, why is your dog off-leash then?” I challenged, knowing full well
that she was likely somehow in charge despite her lack of professionalism “I
own this land and the trail is only to the pond, it’s dangerous to go too far,
put your dog on a leash and let me past”.
The words she said weren’t particularly offensive, but the way she said
it, like she was speaking to a lower life form that wouldn’t get out of her way
made me seethe with anger. Yes, I knew I probably should have Luna on leash,
but with no one around and no signs at the entrance, I was going with the
ignorance is bliss policy of having her off-leash in hopes that that would
encourage her to do her business sooner (which she hadn’t done since the night
before and can take a very long time when she is on leash) and if it is dangerous
back there, why was I not informed and better signage put up so that people
know not too go past the pond?! After cooling off, I drove in to town and ended
up stopping at McDonalds; I neglected asking if the Egg McMuffin was
vegetarian, so Luna was very happy to receive the meat from inside. I debated
whether or not to give it to her as it was so unhealthy, but realized I was
being very hypocritical as I was putting it in to my own body, I had to laugh
at that. Back at the campsite, I set up my car curtains and settled in to write
my blog. The rain is falling gently on the roof of my car and I am warm outside
my sleeping bag with Luna curled up next to me.
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