Illini 4000

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Day 68

Happy I4Halloween and New Year's Eve! This morning we awoke in the last day of team camping. Kevin dedicated the ride out of Humboldt Redwoods State Park to his aunt, Luz. The first time cancer affected his life was when she was diagnosed ten years ago. Kevin is actually leaving tomorrow to go to the wedding of his cousin, the daughter of Luz.We rode out via the Avenue of the Giants, and alternated between redwood forests and sunny clearings all day. The redwood forests are such a sacred place, with incredible trees reaching up to ridiculous heights. They also tend to have winding roads without a shoulder. Apparently we climbed 6,000 feet, but the climbing was well-distributed throughout the day, with plenty of descending too. Towards the end of the day, we noticed helicopters carrying water towards a plume of smoke on a mountain. Soon, we were able to smell and see the smoke coming from the forest fire, and this resulted in several later groups being shuttled to the stayover.We are in this adorable hobbit-home dome of a church, called Community Christian Church. Upon arriving in Laytonville, California, we had shell-shaped pasta (not spaghetti!) and hot dogs for dinner. We ended the evening with a movie and popcorn.