Onto Washington

Tuesday 4/24 Day 4
Today started off with some espressos and granola followed by Pete fixing a flat tire. Haha this was the forth day in a row for flat tires, I'm due for one tomorrow. We said goodbye to Kris in the morning. Our first six miles was all down hill. Although it was super windy it was very enjoyable. On the way down you could see a breathtaking view if mount hood. By the way I am taking pictures u just can't upload them with the iPod so when I get to a house with a computer that u can use I will update these posts with pictures. At the bottom of the hill we entered the city of the Dalles where we got a little bit of lunch and planned our split. Pete had another seventy mile day south to get just past Maupin in northern Oregon. I was going to merry hill which was only about twenty five more miles. We split after our food. It was great having him along for the first few days. It was super helpful to have had that support when I had my first flat tire and learning how to pack all my stuff and realizing what stuff I needed to send back home. He will be missed.
After he left I crossed a bridge into Washington where I got a few pictures of the state signs. Once I got to the other side I started riding due north into the wind. I was blown off my. Ike twice!!! But once u reached highway14 the wind was behind me where u cruised. Along this road were markers for the Lewis and Clark trail. I guess I have been following it since the beginning of my trip. Even though the land has changed and I'm surrounded by civilization it is fun to be able to walk where some American history took place. I was thinking how intense it would have been to be those first explorers for our country. To have been able to create the first maps meet the natives and to think fast with all the perils. Could have been a pretty cool job.
I made it to merry hill and my last stretch to it was a steep downhill section. There were times on it that the wind was blowing so hard that I was forced to a stop, going down hill!!! It was almost a 7%slope. I made it to camp at about four and relaxed the rest of the evening. Camp was a beautiful state park for all styles of camping i tucked my tent behind a few trees and i was able to overlook the river and was pretty secluded from the park. I got really excited because I got a message from my next warm showers location. A man by the name of John called said that they were looking forward to seeing me and hearing my stories and that he was going to rude out and meet me on his bike and take me into the city. Just hearing that brought a warm feeling to my heart. I will probably write it over and over again in this blog but so far I am amazed at how hospitable people in America can be. This is what I remember my travels in Europe like, and why I enjoyed the people from there. They had a way of making you feel welcome and want to figure pens the time to figure out who you were. Biked about 40 miles today.