Gliderpalooza Day 2, May 29th - Around the Horn
The return to Avenal After an amazing day Saturday with thermals, powerful convergence and wave the unstable weather filled in and rained on us for a good part of the night. The rain wasn't really all that bad. But a combination of factors put that night at the top of Julie and my list for worst camping night ever. Mercy Hot Springs is a nice place, a little oasis in an obscure valley in between I5 and 101. They had a group camp area in these brushy conifers that seemed like an ideal place to pitch a tent out of the wind. Setting up in the dark, the first bad sign was a bird that wasn't happy with us invading it's territory and was beeping incessantly. Surely it would quiet down once we went to bed. Next were the beetles. Beetles you say? Why yes, think of the movie The Mummy and the floor covered in beetles. Sure, these were smaller and mostly they just covered the trees, but there were thousands and thousands. After a great soak in the hot tub and a few li