I wanna stay here forever

Too bad they spelled it backward.

I'm staying at the swankiest hotel I've ever stayed in thanks to my MDA drive and the magical powers of cousin-in-law Kristi, who asked for a backyard for me to sleep in and came up with the ritz. I can't even really explain it, so at the next family reunion ply her with drink and maybe she'll talk.

Here's a little proof -- my bedroom:

You could put a football team in there.

And the "sitting room" -- yes, I do have a sitting room, where I entertain dignitaries:

And here's the entry:

Pretty plush. I wish I was cleaner and had better clothes.

My ride today was 54 miles, a nice ride, with commerce just when I needed it. I recommend to all travelers the truck stop in Touchet, which has all the bad food groups that will keep you fueled. I must've spent an hour there, and I think this is a pattern: If I can take an hour break with food in the middle of the day -- somewhere where I can SIT DOWN LIKE A HUMAN BEING -- I can make a good day of it. That's why I bonked the day before last and had to take a day off -- that, and no sleep the night before.

The countryside has changed. From the spectacular rocky outcroppings and forested hilltops of eastern Oregon, the landscape modulated gradually to bald, dirty-yellow bulges, the almost complete absence of trees, and an invasion of wind turbines and bushes, most particularly this noxious fellow:

Does anybody know what it is? I don't either. It doesn't provide shade, nor decoration, nor anything that I value. It grows well, I think, on a minimum of water.

A couple days ago I topped a hill, and saw, finally, NO HILLS AT ALL. The mighty Columbia was still there in the flat landscape, taking the form of a placid puzzle of connected inlets that seemed in no hurry to go anywhere. A little googling told me I was now in Oregon's "high desert." At 4,000 feet, it is certainly higher than Death Valley. This is not the same High Desert that California claims, but I believe they are similar, though a little googling is a dangerous thing.

I want to defend this countryside against charges that it is boring -- and it is a little boring, just like many a Wisconsin ride or Michigan ride is boring. But anything you spend your sweat on, well, you have to say it was worth it.

The Columbia now turns north, and we will see her no more.

Assorted pix:

Michael, co-owner of Allegro Cyclery in Walla Walla:
"The Lolo Pass is not very steep, just very long."

Finally, here's a link to the MDA drive, which is still open! Jon's MDA drive