DonGar

I stopped and picked up a dark visor for my helmet today. I really wish I’d done that *before* heading into the land of eternal sunshine.

Today was an easy ride with a lot of beautiful ocean scenery. I’ve just been following 101 south, but there have been plenty of state beaches, parks, harbors, and cliff lined coves with waves crashing into the rocks.

Tonight, I stopped at Oregan’s Harris State Beach, and am camping in the woods nearish to the aforementioned cliffs over a state beach. It’s nice, but I ended up putting my tent up without pegs, because I can’t drive them into the hardend ground of my assigned campsite.

The ride in past other people’s campsites was a little embarrising because the new bike is louder than it should be. The previous owner changed out the stock muffler for one that was a bit louder than a bike should be. I plan to fix that after I get home, but in the mean time, it makes me feel like a hypocrite since I’ve talked so badly about loud bikes.

Today I did a couple of touristy thingies. I went through the Microsoft campus looking for the main entrance, but there didn’t seem to be one. I did snap a picture of the evil empire while I was there. The main thing that surprised me is the shear size of the campus. I thought it would be reasonably comparable to Google, Yahoo, Apple, etc. However, it’s not. It’s HUGE. Driving from one side to the other, it seemed stretch for 10 blocks. There were hundreds of buildings. Amazingly big.

After that, I went to the Johnston Ridge Observation Post for Mt. St. Helens. That was a fascinating trip. The mountain seems beautiful, and much like many mountains I’ve seen recently that haven’t changed in thousands of years. The park had numerous displays that discussed the eruption at great length, including a film that I really enjoyed.

After that, I made for the north end of highway 101 and started south, and kept going until near sundown and started looking for a hotel. That stretch was pretty empty, and I had to keep going about an hour longer than expected. Still, it worked out well, and I’m in a Motel 6 with both an internet connection, and a laundry (I was on the last day for my clothes again).

From here, I could reach Glen Ivey’s place in about 12 hours, but I think that 2 short days seems like the better plan. So Glen, Friday afternoon!

Then I should be able to get home on Saturday! See Kim and get everything unpacked and ready to resume normal life.