A Time To Hurl

Mike demonstrates the hurley

Gonna kill THIS one!

At last we had the chance for a full Irish breakfast, which was included with our room. Eggs, bacon, mushrooms, sausage, toast, tomatoes, and beans, of course, were all available in a nice buffet, as well as fruit and pastries. We didn’t want to face the blood sausage pudding in the morning, but we each partook of many of the choices. That’s enough to get one easily through to dinner.

We hit the streets of Kilkenny and wandered up the Medieval Mile, a quaint winding street that runs from Kilkenny Castle to St. Canice’s Cathedral. It is lined with shops and restaurants and has several intriguing alleys leading off the Main Street. As we neared the cathedral, Tami noticed people standing on top of a tall stone tower that seemed to be next to the cathedral. Tami loves to climb towers! So we headed to the tower and sure enough, it was right next to the cathedral. While the cathedral dates to the 13th century, the tower was built by monks in the 9th century. How could we resist?

The Medieval Mile

Young hurlers

School girls

Church window

Unearthed during restoration

The tower is 30 meters high, but very narrow, and we had to wait a bit for our turn. Access to the top is via a series of wooden ladders that become steeper as you go up. There’s not much room for getting around people going the other direction. The final four steps are on the original stone spiral steps, and at that point the tower is so narrow that the steps are tiny and the rise is quite high. There is no graceful way to take those last few steps, but we hauled our newly fattened butts through the opening and marveled at the view from the minuscule top of the tower. A grand panorama of the town, castle, churches, and countryside was laid out before us and was well worth the climb.

Cathedral and tower

Mike is coming up

View from the top back towards the castle

Next, it was time to hurl! Julie had discovered that we could take a hurling lesson in the afternoon, so off we went to learn about and practice this sport that has prehistoric roots and dates back 4000 years. The Irish are passionate about it and the young fellow who taught us described it as a combination of field hockey, handball, and rugby. It’s a bit of a free for all since you can advance the ball with your hurley (stick), foot, or a proper hand pass. The pitch is huge at 150 meters long, and each team has 15 players. The object is to put the sliotar (ball) between the posts of the opponent’s goal, with more points awarded if it passes below the crossbar.

It’s fair game to whack at the opponent if they have the ball and the only player protection is a light helmet. We got to spend the hour lesson learning to whack that sliotar as far as we could, try and pass to a teammate, and see who could traverse that huge field with the fewest passes, with a free beer at stake. Mike was the winner! Four strokes! Well done, Mike. We had a grand time and were quite tired afterwards. There WILL be sore muscles tomorrow.

Tami showing Mike how it is really done

Lisa also had a mean swing

Couldn’t drag Tami off the pitch

The hurling experience included an Irish meal back at the pub and an actual game of hurling shown on the big screen. What a great game. The action is non stop, fast, and furious. We just need a little bit more practice, I’m sure. Wonder if there is a hurling club back in Seattle?

We were very happy to see this next to the pitch

Great sign!

But of course the adults smoke while they train

Now That’s A Castle

Picture Gallery in Kilkenny Castle

We said farewell to our Dublin flat this morning and strategically squeezed the four of us with our full packs into one trip on the tiny lift. As Lisa said, it was like a big game of Tetris. We climbed onto yet another bus to begin the day’s adventure, but this time we were headed south to Kilkenny for the next couple of days. It was a pretty quick trip and we were walking the picturesque streets of Kilkenny by midday.

Did not see a pie shop nearby

Loved this picture in a bar we walked by

Cool old church

In the churchyard

A blaa is a type of roll that is often used to make a blaa sandwich

We found lunch at an Asian restaurant and it was a delicious and well-prepared change from our pub fare of the last few days. Properly nourished, we walked down the street to the centerpiece of town, the Kilkenny Castle.

Portions of the castle date back to the early 13th century, and it was remodeled and added onto several times over the century. From about 1930 to the 1960’s it was left empty and suffered from serious decay and rot. In recent years it has been painstakingly restored and the “before and after” pictures were fascinating. Replicas of some original wall coverings were reproduced based on scraps of those coverings that were salvaged from behind baseboards. Copies of the original carpets were made after receipts were found for the original purchase and the patterns were tracked down at the company that made them.

Castle front

Moorish staircase

Mansplaining

The final room, the Picture Gallery, was truly breathtaking. It was built during the early 19th century and featured a huge arching timbered ceiling with gorgeous detailing. The end result is a beautiful and sumptuous castle that blew us away. After visiting many, many castles over the years, this one was the most impressive in the restoration of the original elegance.

Even the roof was painted

Each brace was a different animal

Next to the castle was a very large gallery showcasing local art and high quality crafts, such as Waterford crystal, Barbour coats, fine ceramics, and woolen goods. There were also some jewelry workshops on the grounds. The jeweler was quite talkative and told us a lot about the history of the shop and his work there. Mike and Lisa were very interested in his tools, both having taken jewelry making classes.

Old Irish rune alphabet the jeweler uses on some rings he makes

While in Kilkenny, we had to sample the locally brewed Smithwicks beer and hear some Irish music. Mike also tried clonakilty, chicken wrapped in bacon and stuffed with black pudding, covered with leek cream sauce. It was quite good!

Outside the bar we went to – apparently Smithwicks is brewed in Kilkenny

Hurling is a MAJOR sport in Kilkenny

Pineapples For Rent

Malahide Castle

Boy howdy did we ever finally get some sleep last night! After three nights of very little sleep we fell into deep comas. By the time we finally woke up the day was half gone, but our bodies were thankful. We took our leisure over the small bit of the morning that was still left, then went out to explore some of the area north of the river. It’s an area of pedestrian malls and is obviously where the locals shop as opposed to the area south of the river, which is full of bars, restaurants, tourist shops, and museums.

Our afternoon was occupied with a bus tour out to Malahide Castle and Howth, a fishing town on the coast. Our motivation for taking the tour was that Howth is supposed to have lots of good fish and chips places.

Malahide Castle was just a 30 minute drive from downtown but it was located on extensive, beautiful grounds. Parts of the Castle date to the 12th century and the remaining grounds cover 260 acres. It now belongs to the state and it was great to see the massive lawns being enjoyed by so many people on such a beautiful, sunny day.

Family polishing their pet ostrich?

Ceiling decor

On a chest

Loved this banister detail

We did enjoy the story behind why pineapples are considered the symbol of hospitality. It all has to do with impressing your guests in the 17th and 18th century when pineapples were extremely rare and therefore expensive. It was a sign of your wealth to display a pineapple at a dinner party, but you certainly wouldn’t consume it. It was just for show and there was a good chance that pineapple had been rented out previously to someone of lesser means so they could impress their friends. We never did find out how many times a pineapple might be rented out before it was actually sold, but they were likely rotten by the time they were eaten, and there certainly wasn’t enough to share around a whole dinner party.

Old chapel

Guarding the old chapel

After another 30 minute ride we pulled into the coastal town of Howth. As we drove in, we went by the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey which looked intriguing but the bus continued down the hill and down to the pier at the other end of town. We learned we only had 30 minutes, not enough time to get to the abbey and back, so we wandered down the pier and looked at fishing boats and fish and chip shops that we did not have enough time to patronize. (Disappointing, as one of the reasons for the trip was having heard about the great fish and chips in Howth.) We did admire the views out over the water at the islands in the distance. The forecast of rain was completely wrong and the sunlit views of the water on the drive back to Dublin were beautiful.

Howth marina — guess they are Man U fans

Howth lighthouse

We did finally manage to satisfy the craving for fish and chips back in Dublin.

Driving back to Dublin

Tomb Raiders

Mill on the River Boyne

We had to set an alarm this morning for today’s activities, and good thing we did because we were both up during the night for long sleepless stretches and only fell asleep an hour or two before the alarm went off. Lisa and Julie were also sleep-deprived to start the day, so we were quite the lively crew. (Tami was so sleepy by evening that these two sentences were “all she wrote”.)

Yesterday evening we were able to book a last minute tour for today to the Newgrange passage tomb at Bru Na Bóinne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This Neolithic site was built about 5000 years ago, 500 years before the pyramids of Egypt. The very large burial mound features a narrow passageway lined with massive stone slabs, some of which were inscribed with spirals and geometric art. The passageway leads to a small chamber within, which is also decorated with fine inscriptions. The tomb is engineered so that the sun sends a beam of light onto the back wall of the chamber at the height of the winter solstice. We were allowed to enter into the tomb in small groups and observe a representation of this effect using an electric lamp. It was so impressive to be within this chamber that was constructed 5000 years ago and see the engineering sophistication of the structure. We were not allowed to take pictures within the tomb, but the mound is surrounded by large stone berms, a few of which are also decorated. We were all in awe after our visit within the tomb. It’s just a shame we could not take any pictures to share.

Bru Na Boinne

Entrance to the mound

Carved stone

Bru Na Boinne is just above the sight of the Battle of Boyne (English spelling), one of the most significant battles in Irish history. it was here that in 1690 deposed Catholic King James II fought to regain the English crown from protestant King William III (William of Orange). James lost. As one guide put it, an Englishman and a Dutchman came to Ireland to fight over England.

Interestingly, on our last trip to Scotland we visited probably the most significant battlefield in Scotland, Culloden. In 1746 the grandsonson of James II, Bonnie Prince Charlie led the Scottish Jacobites against the English again over the British throne. Charlie lost. It was interesting that these two places we had visited on different trips were linked this way.

We also visited the Hill of Tara, another archaeological site with several ancient monuments. The territorial views from the hill are extensive and we were fortunate that the spitting showers of the morning had passed and we were treated to wonderful views. This site has had great ceremonial significance over the ages and is reputed to also be where St. Patrick got his start, probably choosing it because of its significance.

Another mound, on the Hill of Tara

Carved stone inside the entrance to the mound

Mike and Julie checking out a, um… monument. Tami says Mike is casting a spell.

Our tour leader had an amazing knowledge of all the history of the sites and area, from Neolithic to modern. She also had a keen wit and dry delivery that kept us smiling. It was a great way to spend a day away from the busy city.

Irish blackberries!

Lisa, Mike and Tami

And who is the black sheep in this group?

Back to Dublin

Some things do not change

Tami has never been to Dublin before, but Mike traveled there with Kevin 40 years ago, pretty much exactly. He believes it was the fall of 1978. Dublin has changed a bit.

Wednesday evening we once again donned our trusty packs and caught the bus downtown for the light rail ride to SeaTac. We arrived extra early after excellent connections only to find our flight delayed, but they thought they could shorten the delay. Nope. We left late, but on a nine hour flight it doesn’t really matter and soon enough we were in our zooming metal tube heading east to Ireland. But first we had to stop in London and change planes, which meant we also had to go through passport control and security again as well. The plane to Dublin was also late, and then we got to go through passport control again! Yay! At last, though, we were in Dublin and the official start of the adventure.

We took a double decker bus from the airport and sat in the front row, giving us a thrilling view of all the cars, bicycles, and pedestrians that it seemed we were seconds from running over. No mishaps occurred, though, and soon we were meeting up with Julie and Lisa at our home for the next few days, Ha’Penny House. It’s a funky apartment building with meandering hallways and the apartment has “character” as well. It overlooks the Liffey River and is across from the Temple Bar district. This is a very popular nightlife area with lots of pubs and restaurants, and it also borders on much of area we want to explore.

On the Liffey

We were all approaching complete exhaustion, but we did make our way to O’Connells Restaurant and had a fine dinner of cold smoked salmon accompanied by Guinness and Bulmer’s (a major taste memory from Mike’s first trip here). A fine way to end the day.

The next morning, after the sleep of the dead (having gotten maybe an hour of sleep between Wednesday morning and Thursday evening), we headed out the door to begin our Dublin explorations on foot today. Julie and Lisa wisely opted to take the bus that would take them around the city to get the lay of the land. We felt we needed to stretch our legs after our hours spent on airplanes the 2 days before.

We did, however, need to make one important stop to start the day. We’ve discovered that Dublin has a multitude of doughnut shops. The doughnuts themselves are all based on the same raised doughnut, but the huge variety comes in the frosting and toppings on the doughnut. Tami selected the Dub, which was like a Bismarck at home, and Mike had the chocolate and orange doughnut. We were both quite happy with our choices and were fortified for the day’s adventures.

The next stop was the General Post Office, which was the main stronghold of the Irish volunteers in the 1916 Rising. It was also where Mike was able to place a call to Tami when he had stranded himself in Ireland on his trip with Kevin in 1978. Prior to cell phones, email, and the internet, it was much more difficult to communicate long distance and make arrangements for emergency travel. Mike’s trek ended happily and the Post Office is still functioning with all its original woodwork and brass service windows.

Mike remembers the Post Office well

We wandered back across the river and found Trinity College where it happened to be “Freshers” week. There were booths set up for various clubs and organizations available for freshmen to join. Nobody seemed to be interested in beckoning us over as we mingled with all the freshmen, but that’s okay, we already belong to enough of our own clubs.

We also visited St. Stephen’s Green, another significant site during the Easter Rising. Today it is a beautiful, peaceful park. It is also near the National Museum of Ireland, our next stop. Tami had the museum on the top of her list since they have several Bog People and also a new exhibit on the Vikings in Ireland. The gold treasures from the Bronze Age were fascinating and prompted the question, where did all that gold come from? Apparently they don’t really know, but the artifacts showing the influence of Norse design on some Celtic art pieces were gorgeous. They did have a film program running about the various artifacts, but the dark room and comfy chairs led to dozing off and we decided we needed to keep moving.

We saw a picture of this recently, we believe in the National Geographic

Intricate design work

Moving meant walking, so we explored more of Dublin’s streets on foot. Inevitably that also meant our feet started complaining, so we connected with Julie and Lisa and went for a dinner in a “genuine, old traditional” pub that was unfortunately disappointing. Perhaps it was too old and traditional?

Dublin Castle

Saw this guy at the castle

New and old architecture

We returned to the apartment and attempted to run a load in the combined washer/dryer that seems to be ubiquitous in the British Isles these days. We’ve battled these beasts in the past and the beast won tonight, but we will do battle again!

Bringing It Home

Sunrise – thrilled to see CLOUDS

Once again we got away early. The first 12 miles we were on I-84. Traffic was mild and the shoulder was wide. We played hide and seek with the wind – much of the time it was blocked by the ridges coming down to the water, but every once in a while we would be exposed. Even then, not nearly as bad as two days ago.
Then we ran into a bike detour. Because of road construction blocking the shoulder, we were diverted onto a four mile back road with a nasty climb. Back to granny! Scott did have a close encounter with a deer on the steep downhill, though. It leaped across the road just in front of him. That could have been nasty if the deer had hesitated a second longer!

Starting up the climb on the detour route

Next we had a few more miles of back roads, flatter this time, leading into the small community of Cascade Locks. Taking a break, we discussed our plan to cross over here to the WA side to ride on 14. We decided that 84 had really been easy so far, much flatter than 14, and the wide shoulder kept us so far from the traffic that we hardly noticed it. Therefore we would stay on 84 all the way to Portland.
We hoped to pull off at Multnomah Falls to catch some breakfast, but when we got there we discovered that the exit was on the LEFT side of the freeway! We were not about to try and cross two lanes of high speed traffic, so we just rode on.
Nothing much was memorable about this part of the ride, except it was easy. We had lost the wind back at Cascade Locks, so it was full speed ahead.
Finally we hit civilization in the form of Troutdale, the farthest out suburb of Portland. Scott had spotted the Edgefield McMenamins on the map, so we headed there for lunch and fortification. I had wanted to visit that location for years. I believe they have both a winery and distillery there along with the brewery. Of course I had to buy a bottle of their whiskey to take home.
With fifteen miles to go, we finally pried ourselves out of our booth and got back on the road. However, our beer did not want to stay with us and we found ourselves keeping an eye out for bathroom options. At one point a construction site porta-potty met our needs.
Google maps did an admirable job of guiding us through town to the house of Corey’s daughter. The route brought back memories of coming into Portland on more than one STP ride. She and her husband are celebrating their 10th anniversary, which was the reason Corey had come up with this trip and these dates in the first place. They had a very nice home and an incredible backyard transformed into farm. There were all kinds of fruit trees, berries, and other edibles growing out there.

Relaxing in the backyard – AHHH…

Unfortunately I had to head out for the train station before dinner was served. And she had prepared a wonderful smelling curry, one of my favorites!
I am on the train now, hoping we get in on time (11 pm), as I am very much looking forward to seeing Tami and Keenan again, not to mention sleeping in my own bed.

The Difference a Day Makes

This morning we moved to a much nicer motel just down the road. That makes us all much happier.

The view from the town park

It has been a relaxing day of recuperation. I walked around town, met up with Scott and Corey for lunch at the Full Sail brewery (salmon fish and chips with a bourbon barrel cherry rye beer!) and did a bit more shopping.

Full Sail Brewery

Lunch with a view

We also sought advice on the best route from here to Portland. The fit young men in several different bike shops described their favorite routes up and around Mt. Hood. While we believe them that those routes are far quieter and more scenic, these old men are not about to haul our fully loaded bikes up any more climbing than absolutely necessary.

A shop for Mike. More fuel for more cycling.

The choice for us is between busy 84 on the Oregon side of the river with good shoulders, or the quieter 14 on the WA side with less adequate shoulders. We believe we have worked out a compromise. We will start on 84 for about 20 miles to the Cascade Locks, and then cross over to 14 there. That will cut out a couple miles and avoid having to hitch a ride over the bridge at Hood River which is steel grated and does not allow bicycles or pedestrians. Then after about another 15 miles on 14, there is a nice backroad we can take the rest of the way into Washougal. It looks like the farther we go the more the winds die down. However, if the wind turns out to still be a problem, there are several lodging options along the way.

Mt Adams

It has been an interesting experience blogging on a bike trip. The problem is tunnel vision. All we see, all we think about most of the time is the road. Our pictures are either off to the side of the road, or looking ahead down the road. Our minds are preoccupied with planning the next part of the route. Only when we get to our goal for the day do we feel free to look around and explore a bit, but only after doing chores to get ready for riding the next day. That leaves the narrative I have to relate a bit thin. (T: and it has been a little strange to put the blog up without actually experiencing what Mike is writing about!)

A man, a river, and a mountain

Heck of a Day

The day started out innocently enough (how about that for foreshadowing?). We left our motel about 6:15 and headed across the bridge to the WA side of the Columbia. The first miles were on a peaceful backroad. We saw a herd of deer as well as a coyote. Crop dusters were making turns overhead. After a while we joined highway 14, but there was a good shoulder and traffic was light.

Foreshadows?

Farm country crop circles?

About the time we stopped to top off our water in Patterson, 30 miles from our destination at Roosevelt, we noticed the breeze picking up a bit. Soon it was a wind. The rest of the way to Roosevelt we were battling headwinds. We found ourselves taking it in five mile bites. Push for five miles, take a break, push another five miles. Thinking in terms of five miles rather than the full remaining distance made it seem much more manageable.

Time for a break

Oasis of greenery

While we had originally planned on getting to Roosevelt by 11, it ended up taking until 1:30. This of course meant we got farther into the heat of the day and were running out of water. We were SO glad when we finally spotted the the small cafe in Roosevelt. We immediately grabbed cups and poured large glasses of ice water at the soda fountain, then sat down and ordered lunch.

Mike’s not the only one who likes maps!

The plan had been to camp there and then continue on to Lyle the next day. However, when we checked the weather and saw that the winds were going to be even stronger the next two days, we realized we needed to make alternate plans. To top it off, we also learned that a section of the road ahead was closed due to brush fire.
We decided the best thing would be to see if we could find someone with a pickup to ferry us through to Hood River, which could still be reached by crossing over to I-84 on the Oregon side. We talked to the cafe owner and he hooked us up with a local customer who had an old van and a trailer. Perfect!

Traveling in luxury- no headwind!

Plenty of room

Two other cyclists, Emily and Mitchell, that we had first met back at the Lochsa Lodge came in a little after us, and decided to join us for the car ride to Hood River.

Emily and Mitchell

I should mention that pretty much every cyclist that comes through stops at the Roosevelt cafe, because it is the only food and drink stop within about 30+ miles in any direction. They even have a cyclist guestbook that we read through and added entries to.
Scott bought a six pack to share and we had a pleasant drive to Hood River, admiring all the parts of the river we were bypassing. In Hood River we headed to the pFriem brewery and had a glass while researching places to stay. It being the height of the sailboarding season here, lodging was not easy to come by.
We finally found a place that could sleep all three of us, and cheaply. They warned us, however, that there was no air conditioning. There were fans, and the temperature was expected to cool off come evening, so we took it. The place did end up being pretty much the definition of flea bag motel (FBM), a term seen regularly in touring cyclist blogs. Dinner was at the Safeway next door, after which we collapsed onto bed.

Well, there’s a fan

And there is a bed

Lucky

We got on the road just before 6 this morning. Our first “lucky” was noticing that we had some light clouds. The clouds ended up helping suppress the temperatures while we rode, even though it is supposed to clear off and get to 106 this afternoon. That is ok, because we are inside with air conditioning for the rest of the day. Take that, weather gods!
The whole route was fairly flat, but a couple miles before we hit the Columbia we started encountering some heavy headwinds. That slowed us right down, and we were not looking forward to crawling the last 30 miles. Fortunately the winds died down a few miles after we joined the Columbia. Lucky again!

At last, the Columbia River!

There was not much by way of services the whole route. There was a small town with a gas station/convenience store about 14 miles out of Walla Walla, and then that was it until Umatilla. Our breaks were taken at wide spots in the road.

Taking a stretch break.

Roll on, Columbia, roll on

While cruising along the Columbia we started seeing signs of a grass and sagebrush fire along the sides of the road. This continued for maybe five miles, and in some places covered whole hillsides above us.

Burned hillside

At one point we came to some road construction where traffic had to alternate through a short section. While waiting for our turn we had a chance to ask the flagger when the fire had been. He said yesterday and the day before! He added that the highway had been closed while they were fighting the fire. We deemed ourselves VERY lucky that we had taken the day off in Walla Walla, because if we had ridden this way yesterday we would probably have been turned back.
We rolled into Umatilla, or actually McNary right before Umatilla, right about 11. We managed to find a bar with food just a block away, and for dinner we will likely check out the Mexican restaurant attached to the hotel.

Umatilla

Beer in Umatilla, even better

There is also a washer and dryer available, so for once we are not having to hand wash our riding clothes in the sink. Small victories.

There’s even a church next to the hotel, and what a charming church it is.

We did some map review trying to figure out the best routes for the next few days. We prefer the less trafficked roads on the Washington side, but more of the lodging options are on the Oregon side. We know we are going to have to camp near Roosevelt tomorrow night, but were thinking that the following night we would need to cross over to The Dalles to find a motel. That would add some miles to our ride. Fortunately, while zooming in on google maps I finally spotted a small old hotel in Lyle on the Washington side that I had never noticed before, so we called and booked it. That will allow us to stay on the WA side, and leave us with just about a 10 mile ride the day after to White Salmon/Hood River where we plan to check out the microbrews and take the rest of the day off before our final push to Portland. Finding the Lyle Hotel was definitely our last “lucky” of the day.

The Town So Nice They Named It Twice

So today was our first rest day, though I still managed to log about 14 miles. I wanted to get to the bike shop early, so we headed back to downtown around 9. The mechanic there was able to reseat my back tire so it rolls much better, and told us if we find ourselves having to change a tube on the road, lubricating the bead with some water would help it seat better.

Building in downtown Walla Walla

It was a very well equipped shop and I picked up a few things, such as three new tubes and a patch kit, but also something called a looney bin that is an adjustable bike bottle cage. (T: sounds appropriate for you) It will allow me to carry a larger or smaller bottle if I want to. Down the street I bought a large insulated hydro flask that will fit in the new cage and allow me to keep a supply of water cold all day. Hurray! Tami, you are going to want one of these too. (T: I could have used one tonight at soccer!)

For the Odd Fellows (not a looney bin)

Corey and I popped into the ice cream shop again, while Scott headed off to see the Whitman College campus. Then we headed back to the house as it was starting to heat up (expected high of 108). On the way back Corey noticed my back tire was getting soft, AGAIN. At least it was a slow leak. I put some more air in it and sprinted back downtown before it could go flat again.

Interesting sculpture downtown

Since I had not been able to solve the problem of the repeated flats, I wanted some expert eyes on it. The mechanic took the tire off and diagnosed the problem as the rim tape moving around. He replaced it with some sticky back rim tape. I have my fingers crossed that this will finally take care of the issue.

Being lunch time, I found a place with some great curry coconut carrot soup, and then we headed back home once again. We did make a detour to a grocery store that had been recommended, Andy’s Market. I got a few things, but we could not find the beer section. Finally we had to ask. Turns out the store is owned by the Seventh Day Adventists and they do not allow alcohol or shellfish. The shellfish restriction was something I had never heard of before. (T: hope you eventually found some beer, the elixir of biking life)

Good dog!

The rest of the day has been hiding from the heat and repacking. We hope to get away early tomorrow, as it is supposed to be over 100 again. Goal is Umatilla, just over 50 miles away.