Day 3 (6/25) Dallas, OR --> Vida, OR (112 miles)

Started things off shooting through some very flat Oregon country....in a sense it was very familiar of the Shenandoah Valley area seein there were mountains on both sides of me and just flat, flat, flat farmland all around. Luckily there were no cattle crops anywhere so the oxygen wasn't too unbearable to breath in...that and along with a lack of dog food/chicken processing plants made things more bearable than the valley.

My main goal of the day was to get down to Eugene, OR to relax and find the track that Prefontaine used to run on. Well, I got the first thing accomplished and almost found the track the Pre used to dominate. I was prob less than a mile away from it but just coulnd't make the right turns or even cross the main road for that matter....one way roads were def the root of this problem. So, seein it was gettin late (around 3pm) and I still wanted to get some good miles in I bid a farewell to my hopes of touching the track....and riding my bicycle around it. I pedaled away with some slight disapointment in myself.

The rest of the day proved to go very well with the miles rolling by and the route following the McKenzie River. This was great for me as I got to see people fishing everywhere. It was such a refreshing change of pace from the busier roads along the coast. There was a lot less traffic....prob b/c all the drivers were in the river fishing. I would have gladly joined them, but seeing I still hadn't bought any flies yet I thought such actions of casting my fly rod would result in nothing greater than nothing itself.

Near the end of the day I was still on that long stretch of road and realizing I had no real place to camp...or at least there were no official campsites. So, I checked over maps again and saw a sign for an Inn somewhere down the road. Bingo. Ends up the inn was lacking in everything except four walls. I was offered a room that didn't have running water, smelt like mold and cigarettes, and appeared to be occupied by blankets and other sheets. I politely thanked them for the offer and asked if there was anywhere else near this area. The owners both said there wasn't much for another 15 miles or so down the road and since there was an hour or so of day light left they offered to just let me pitch my tent in their backyard. I hoped on that bandwagon, hung out with their pet dog (Tyler), and then fell asleep.

(pictures above are random from the trip...I'm in library right now and the computer wont' let me view the pics before they're uploaded...so, most def out of place as far as chronological order goes....first one is from Day 1 at Canoon Beach in front of Haystack Rock...second picture is from Day 4 on a strech of river along McKenzie River...more random pictures to follow!!!!)