Unfortunately, this morning I didn't get to say goodbye as they were still sleeping when I left. I returned to the library in Idaho City to upload yesterday's post.
Pretty nice library for a town of 458. And even nicer of them to leave the wifi on.
From Idaho City, I climbed for about 5 miles on the road to New Centerville (Centerville being off the route a bit). It was a dirt highway! There was lots of traffic. 
The dirt highway, sans traffic (because, well, it would look weird if I took a photo of the cars).
I think most of the traffic was going to the "Collection Site" (aka the Dump) near the top of the hill. I came down for a bit, but then had to climb some more. It wasn't too bad.
Pretty soon I came to Placerville.
The museum didn't open until 12:00.
Here is the cleanest vault toilet, with the most amenities, I've ever seen! There were wipes (diaper and Lysol), as well as hand sanitizer. Curiously, out front there was a parking meter.
The only person who used the parking meter was the guy who ran the museum. He would put a dime in the meter...good for two hours. Then he'd put another dime in, and when that ran out, he closed the museum. Funny guy.
I did my part to support the grocery store of Placerville by buying a muffin and some juice. The grocery store is called "Donna's Place". There is also a "Donna's Place" in Idaho City. Whoever this Donna is, she's got quite the chain of stores!
From Placerville, I headed to Garden Valley. It was another climb of about 3 miles. Then it was a much longer downhill to the highway (a pro for clockwise). As I began the descent, I noticed this cloud business.
I was hoping to stay away from it, but that was not to be. I made it down the hill almost to the highway, before it started to rain. Only, it didn't just start to rain, it started to pour! In a matter of minutes I was thoroughly soaked! I was riding along the highway through the torrential downpour when I spotted a Chevron station. I pulled in under cover just as it started to hail. I waited it out, wringing the water out of my gloves. I put my rain jacket on just to stay warm once I started going again. The downpour ended as quickly as it had begun. I got back on the road. Before long, my map said to get on the Garden Valley Trail. I did, but it was overgrown with grass, so I got back on the highway at the next opportunity.
I came into Crouch (interesting name for a town...guess it's better than "Stoop" or..."Squat"). I noticed the streets were completely dry. It hadn't even rained there! I took my soaked self into the grocery store (it had a better selection than the store in Idaho City). Once I secured my groceries, I continued to Tie Creek CG.
As I was riding along (on pavement), a car coming from the other direction, with bikes on it, stopped and three people got out. The one guy asked if I wanted free camping. Well, of course! He asked if I was doing the loop. They were headed to do a few days of the route, and had parked a car (and paid for a campsite) for three nights at Tie Creek. I'm not sure how far they were going before riding back (well, three days worth, I guess). Dane said the site was #8, and there was a red Subaru parked there.
Sure enough, I pulled into the full campground of Tie Creek, and there was the red Subaru in Site 8! Perfect!
I even used the bike rack to tie my clothesline to. Thanks Dane, Jessica, and Dana!
Due to the downpour, Mama Cass and Johnny P are the cleanest they've been since hitting the dirt out of McCall.
As for me, it's same ol' same ol'. I'm sure there is a real shower somewhere in my future! If the creek wasn't so brown, I'd consider a swim.
That, and these stairs end with a 4 foot drop off.
Total miles today: approximately 37
Average speed: 7.48
Here's a parting shot of a sign I saw several times today.
Idaho is the "Gem State".
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