Day 90 - 9/5/16 Maryhill State Park, WA to Hood River, OR

Colin and I woke up before the sun to try and stay ahead of the winds but, that's not so easy here in the Columbia River Gorge.  Oh well, at least the scenery is enough to keep you pedaling onward.  I haven't had an early start in a while, mostly because the mornings have been so cold; today felt really good though.  

We had a few hills to climb but, they only lead to breathtaking views of the river and the highway and all the lovely trees and mountains, it all looked so perfect like a miniature model of some utopian land.  

We stopped and talked to a lot of other bikers and even got invited to spend the night on Mac and Cindy's lawn.  Life is good on the road and riding with Colin had just been wonderful,

 

we're both drinking in every ounce of the sweet scenery and letting the universe direct us in one way or another, looking out for those banana peels.

Day 89 - 9/4/16 Paterson to Maryhill State Park, WA

Billy and I didn't get to Paterson Elementary until after 9:00pm, the only place that seemed to have any space for us to pitch our tents.  There was a big garage with a couple school buses parked inside and plenty of room to eat dinner and set up camp inside.  

In the morning on the way out of town, we were hoping to get coffee and pancakes in the one restaurant in town but, I guess it's just closed down for good.  But outside was another cyclist hoping they were open as well.  

It was this dood, Colin who I briefly met in Missoula.  Heading to Portland, Colin joined Billy and me and left town.  Colin tode ahead and Billy dropped back until I lost site of both of them.  Billy had more tire issues and decided hitching to the next town was best for him.  

I caught up to Colin when he got a flat himself.  We rode the rest of the way together, for the most part, Colin's a quick rider.  Some of the hills we got to go over were incredible, brilliant views of the pure blue Columbia River glistening at the bottom of the rustic brown and gold rocks.  

The last mile of the ride was down one Hell of a hill that plummeted back down to river level.  The river engulfed my whole vision in the golden hour of the day, the bridge leading to Oregon looked like a toy model that grew to lifesize as we came around the last downhill bend to the campground.

Day 87 - 9/2/16 Pomeroy to Walla Walla, WA

Just as I was about to retire to the rent for the night, another cyclist rolled into the park, his headlight cutting through the freshly fallen night.  Billy's from Ohio, fresh out of high school and he's been riding his bike all summer long.  I wish I had those kind of guts to do this trip when I was 18 but, I guess 26 isn't that much older.  

It was a windy ride from point A to point B, about 70 miles total.  The sun was shining and the sky never looked so blue behind the big splotches of pure white clouds cruising across the sky.  Billy said the hills of golden wheat looked like Zen gardens, they sure were beautiful.  Going into a store to buy weed fit right in with the surrealness of this whole trip.  

Glass cases of products, lists and menus and that smell, fresh bud, just lingering, going nowhere fast.  We found a place to pitch our tents and enjoy some of Walla Walla's finest just as the sun went down.  Tomorrow, we continue to Portland.