Taking county roads along the way, I went through Dixon (motto: Birthplace of Ronald Reagan).
Nearby Gas City is a cute creative place (motto: Your low-cost, reliable municipal electric utility). The street signposts are built on miniature iron towers. I stopped for pictures of a quirky old shop “Primitive Inn” and the owner (Leilani) popped out to see what’s going on. It’s not actually an inn, but a shop for home design using “primitive” style. She’s originally from Seattle (actually Sultan) and we had a good time sharing stories.
Arrived in Dayton and went shopping, and had two near accidents. Here I am, 3,271 miles from home without trouble, and the parking lots cause problems. An old guy didn’t yield in the IGA lot, so I honked and parked. He drove over to find me and apologize, and we had a friendly chat (really!) for 20 minutes. And I heard all about his motorcycle experience at 16.
Then in a crappy gas station, the only one handy, the uneven concrete pavement almost tipped me into the pump. I told the manage about their serious safety hazard but, as usual, all he could do is buck it up to the distant cheapskate management chain.
The Dayton KOA kabin can hardly be called “camping”! It has wifi, a flat-screen TV, fridge and ceiling fan. Flowers, brook, quiet location, clean motor homes, satellite dishes, beautiful park, this is not your usual cut-rate kampground.
