5-14-08

I'm back! Well, we're actually still away, but you get the picture. Speaking of which, we have many pictures, but unfortunately not a library that will allow us to download them onto a computer. We're looking, though and once we land one, you will see many a photo of this crazy adventure. Thank you for your patience, and may I recommend dusting off the ol'atlas and turning to the state of Washington to follow our town-by-town travels? Great...

Ok, right now, Zo and I are sitting in public library at Centralia, WA - it's in this cool, ol' town hall-type building in the city center. We found lodging at an RV park just inside of the city limits, and we're going to set up camp snug between two enormous RV's. I'm talking plush of the plushest rigs - occupied by the nicest people - which leads me to the theme of the ride so far, "Abounding Graciousness." The people we've met so far have been some of the nicest, most accommodating strangers one could meet. Seriously. We already typed about Gus and his wife, Clyde from the Belfair State Park, now get this - last night after riding in the rain for most of the day, we realized that our goal for the day was not going to be met and a new plan had to be planned. We passed turn-off to a YMCA camp - Camp Bishop - before Elma, WA. We rode down to the gate and rang to see if anyone was home, and if we could put up our tent somewheres for the night. We met Doug, the caretaker of the camp, who not only allowed us to camp out on their property, but also opened up the bathrooms/showers and a cabin for us to use! Nevermind that he and his wife had never had such a request in all their years of managing that site, they opened their doors to us and then some! Wow. So, Zo and I endured the rest of that rainy patch in the warmth and comfort of a YMCA cabin. We shared 4 packets of Top Ramen (chicken flavor) and many glasses of water for dessert.

This morning greeted us with less rain, but more drizzle. We headed south thru Elma and on towards Rochester, WA. We briefly stopped in Oakville to gather our whits (relieve our bottoms), refill the bottles, and move forward. The next stretch was the hardest traffic-wise - highway 12 between Oakville and Rochester was about 80% semi-trucks and the rest cars. The country out here is filled with logging patches and logging trucks. I've been calling the clearings "gravesites." The scenery is very, very green - it looks like the rolling hills of Ireland. We've seen sheep, goats, baby goats, horses, cows, and a few sprinting dogs. I'm very proud, if I can be, of Zo and the 50+ miles she conquered today. Sweet. We're going to call it a day - about 6.5 hours of riding. Tomorrow, we're Toledo, Castle Rock, Coal Creek-bound. Find Longview, WA - we're running south towards Longview, WA and the mighty Columbia River. Hope this finds you all well...later, M.