After sinking into a truly blue funk due to the cold wet weather and the sense of wanting this most recent trek to be over ... the skys turned blue, the heat turned up and the ride turned off.
And the joy has returned.
After camping at Fort Stevens State Park (west of Astoria, OR) and at Fort Canby State Park (near Cape Disappointment ... southwestern-most corner of Washington), I had my fill of camping in the rain. These are two beautiful areas, very lush and very green. And very wet. One thing both of these campgrounds had in common that allows one to not dwell on the cold and wet is the size and the abundance of mosquitoes. I swear, I saw a small poodle being taken away by one of these monsters. At Fort Canby I decided to fore go dinner rather than fight off these nasty little pests while heating up something to eat.
The ride eastward from Fort Canby brought back some happiness into my life ... blue skys and (what several locals termed) very hot weather. 82 miles in 95 degrees. Felt like home! It was a very long day, but at least it was warm. The following day (Wednesday, July 2) I rode the 64 miles into Portland ... another clear and warm day.
As mentioned earlier, I had been ready for the ride to be over for about a week. I found myself thinking how wonderful it would be to be able to teleport (I think that is the word) oneself from one spot to another ... instantly!! Kind of depressing to want the day's ride to be over and still have four or five hours of riding to complete. Had it still been raining I probably would have considered the ultimate "bale out" ... rent a car.
Anyway, got to Portland and spent the next four days at the Portland Blues Festival. That's Boz Scaggs on the stage in the adjacent photo (click one time on the picture to make the picture large enough to see the stage, but not the Boz). He, like me, has aged considerably since becoming a music superstar (he, not me). Still makes great music. It is a joy to listen to such wonderfully talented musicians producing such great music.The setting of the festival is also wonderful ... majestic Mt. Hood looms to the east and the Willamette River runs by at the foot of the festival park. Really enjoyable. Immediately behind the festival park is downtown Portland, which is a great place to roam. I made a few trips into Powell's bookstore and purchased food from several of the food stalls. Quite interesting. Being that I have come to realize that I have acquired the ability to get lost quite easily and quite often, I found it amusing that several people asked me for directions, or info about the MAX transit system. Just walk fast and only break out the map in secluded spots.
So it has been a good time here in Portland, but am more than ready to get back home. I put the bike on the train today, and will be flying to Tucson tomorrow.
As for this past two months, I must say that even though the last week or so was not so great, overall it was quite good ... and quite hard. Would I do this particular ride again? No. Do I regret having done the ride? No. As difficult as it is (climbing non-stop), the route takes one through incredible beauty. I saw areas of California that were new to me (Yosemite, Lassen, Shasta ... and kinda-sorta saw Crater Lake).
But what allowed the ride to be particularly joyful was meeting Sarah and Alex. There I was huddled in my tent on a wet and miserable day, and what should I espy across the way but two cold cyclist coming my way. The three of us formed a fast friendship that carried me through the remainder of the trip. I can not say anything other than "thank you" to both of them. Could say much much more, but really truly ... thank you.
So this trip is in the books. I had planned on doing another ride this summer starting in late August, but at this point I am burned out on the bike touring thing. Time to get back home and get back to living a life with more than three shirts, one pair of shorts and long pants, etc.
On a different note, just received a text picture of Noe Haines Garmon (age: one hour +/-) in her Mother's (Lindsay, my daughter-in-law) arms. Both healthy (and I am sure Lindsay is happy her work day is over) ... and my son Chris just stepped into a whole new chapter of life.
With that in mind: Life is good ... and life goes on.
