Day 20 - The Good News Is...Tomorrow Will Have to be Great Compared to Today

Day 20
Richardson's State Park, CA - Merced, CA (80 miles from Yosemite)

Milage:  Not sure because the oil change guy reset it!  I hate round about numbers!
Money Spent on Gas:  Not sure since I forgot to get a receipt today after 19 days of saving them all.
Are the Animals at Farm Sanctuary California as adorable as the ones in New York?  Your guess is as good as mine since I drove up and down mountains, on dirt roads, in The Mendocino National Forest most of the day and couldn't make it to Farm Sanctuary before it closed.
Are those sea lions still near the piers in San Francisco?  You mean the ones I missed to go to Farm Sanctuary today?
What should you do if you get lost in the Mendocino National Forest, you ask?  I recommend stopping at the Soda Creek Store to ask for directions.  You'll know it because it's the only store for about 2 hours in all directions.  You'll see lots of broken down cars, trucks and various other equipment strewn around the yard and if you turn down the radio you'll likely hear some gun shots from the people hunting in the woods.  As you approach the store be sure to check out the kittens in the playpen on the front porch and heed the sign to leave all your dogs in your truck.  If you dare go inside you can tell the owner I sent you.  He'll be the guy behind the counter cooking food with a grizzly gray ponytail and beard, no shirt, home done tattoos and several missing teeth.  Lucky for you he is extremely nice and great at giving directions even if they do take you 2 hours to get back down the mountain and on to pavement again.  Also, in case you're not great at remembering directions there may be a lady eating corn dogs sitting at the counter who will write them down for you while bickering with the shirtless man about the best route.  Oh, and when you walk in to ask for directions she'll tell you you're in Nevada but then feel bad when she sees the shocked look on your face.  About half way through the directions another lady will probably walk through to see if the dogs have been fed and watered yet.  The shirtless man with ask her to give you directions up over the mountain.  She'll look at your car, look back at shirtless man and mutter...I'm not sending her over the mountain in "that".  Apparently and Element is not a good mountaineering vehicle.  If you follow your directions well you will eventually make it out alive.  While on your journey you may see dozens of squirrels running beside your car, a wild turkey and some fabulous photo opportunities.  You'll surely be too exhausted, stressed out and worried you may not make it back to civilization to stop and take any shots though.  I'd recommend stopping once or twice.  Watch out for the fire rescue truck and the four wheelers, though.
Tomorrow a whirlwind tour of Yosemite and surrounding parks. Tonight I used to make to make it to Merced...not the GPS!