I woke up early to the sound of roll call, and peeked out of my tent to discover that this park -- which the police had recommended as safer -- was adjacent to an impressively large prison facility. The felons, as felons will, refused to shut the hell up, but I pretended to sleep anyway -- you can't let them know that they're getting to you.
I finally roused myself and began to pack up, at which point I discovered an unwelcome visitor. Yes, my dear readers, you narrator has made a friend on the road, and that friend decided to display his affection by burrowing into my foot and sucking my very lifeblood. It is, I should mention, very difficult to strike a waterproof match on most occasions, but with the added pressure of a tick under my skin, I displayed an impressive lack of coordination. I finally got one to light, then managed to make the little bugger's perch as unpleasant as possible. When I saw the tick pull its head out of my skin, I grabbed it and threw it out of the tent (you shouldn't crush them, as it exposes you to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and other illnesses). At any rate, I give even money that my little friend was embedded for at least 24 hours, the requisite time for a tick to begin transmitting its infections.
Having thus started the day on a positive note, I finished packing and rolled out. I hit Spokes again for lunch, then enjoyed a moderately rolling ride toward Centerville, where Shan had warned me that the steep climbs would begin. As I mentioned before, a few of the climbs were very challenging, but most of the hills were tolerable enough.
Hey, there's water in them there hills:
I checked into Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, where I was lucky to get the last available campsite. I set up camp and cooked myself dinner, pleased to note that my stove was working once again. The Coleman fuel (white gas) does evaporate more quickly than kerosene, which makes priming the stove a bit more exciting. Finished with my evening chores, I walked over to a small trail that lead me to the Shut-Ins, which turned out to be rock formations. The formations were a bit mundane, but the evening was beautiful, so I enjoyed a few relaxing moments before heading to bed. Here are a few pics of the evening:
The moon, duh.
The Shut-Ins, duh.