It's past 10 pm now, and finally dark enough to start feeling like calling it a day and going to sleep.
We're camped in an oasis of well-kept grass and non-native trees with the Columbia River to the south and the dry rugged hills of Washington to the north. Strange but wonderful to arrive here after a day of hot sun and headwinds.
Brock, Aaron, Meredith and I got off to a record late start this morning, mostly due to the fact that I refused to sleep for anything less than 11 hours! I've been so jittery and go-go-go for the past week, scrambling to wrap things up at home, say goodbye to my students and friends, and squeeze in a few Pedalpalooza rides, that I lost the ability to truly sleep.
It was nice to regain that skill.
This morning we checked out the fish ladder at the Bonneville Dam, and then Brock and I said goodbye to Aaron and Meredith as they pedaled off across the Bridge of the Gods to the Oregon side of the river. I felt sad to see them go.
But the stiff headwind that fought us as we continued to head east soon drove any other thoughts from my mind. Fortunately, the scenery was breathtaking. It almost made up for the wind. Green forested slopes gradually gave way to bare red rock cliffs and golden hills. In a car the change from lush to dry seems to happen all of a sudden, but on a bike you have time to notice the subtle shifts.
That's all for today! 15 miles from here, at the Stonehenge replica out by Maryhill, there are doubtless some crazy revels going on for the Solstice. We couldn't quite make it there. End of story. Happy Longest Day of the Year.
No comments:
Post a Comment