June 11, Side of the Road, Again

We are now sitting behind another pile of gravel, somewhere between Mitchell and Dayville. Mitchell is seriously a one horse town, straight out of the old West! Some cool looking buildings, though. And, even better, there was an espresso drive through just on the highway! Seriously, she has been there for a number of years. I know that the coffee revolution happened in the Northwest first, but it is still surprising to see so many little espresso drive through places, particularly in the middle of no where! But it was nice to have a Mexi mocha.

I guess out here in the middle of Oregon, hunting and beer work ok together.... hmmmm.

I stopped at a historical marker today. I should probably stop at more of them. It was interesting. Something about the guy who the county was named for, was a mail carrier, and was attacked by Indians "near this spot", and the mail was riffled. It is pretty humbling to think that 150 years ago we would be sitting in this little valley with a covered wagon, worried about being attacked by Indians. I said that to Jeff as we sat outside the Big Beast eating our dinner grilled over the hot coals of a propane grill! He thought I was being a little dramatic.

Have I mentioned how spectacular the scenery is here? I just think this is one of the prettiest states!

Jeff had a really good day, over 30 miles. I think about 34.... I think he is doing ok. He certainly doesn't complain much about anything, although I did offer him a Tylenol, and he took it this morning! So something might be bothering him, but he won't really say what. It might have been his back, since we were parked a bit on a slope last night, and I know I felt like I was going to fall out of bed all night. Didn't, though.

We met some people, 3 guys and a girl, that are walking from Boise to Portland. They were an interesting group! They had a couple of large packs, and obviously no support. They were nice, though.

Jeff also talked to some cyclist who is doing the Race Across America, otherwise known as RAM. It is a bicycle thing. We have seen a bunch of them! They are going west to east, as well. The one he talked to today, also said that the flag lady we passed yesterday at some road construction, was showing our Support For Firefighter card to all the cars that are stopped at her flag! She also gave Jeff some pineapple cake yesterday. Seems she saw him in Redmond, and was looking for him to come through. People are really nice and seem to appreciate what we are doing.

I had to drive ahead to Dayville, to see if I could find a dump spot this afternoon. We had no illusions that we would make it there for the night, but since Mitchell had no services, going ahead was the only option. It is a nice little town with a couple of businesses, and a really cute city hall. I found a general store, with an espresso bar, and went in to ask them if they knew of a place. They directed me to a place that had a few campsites, and a dump station. The guy that owns it, Dennis, and I talked while I took care of business.

So, now we are camping on a wide spot in the road, again. It is quite peaceful out here, with birds chirping, and a little river down below. There is very little traffic on this road, although there was a bit more during the day. As beautiful as it all is, I just can't imagine living this remote from a large town. But you should see the stars out here! And of course, tonight there is a full moon! Ah-rooooo!