Hank – We loaded up the bikes and headed down to the street at 8:30 this morning. Mike and Janet saw us off and wished us well. We had about 50 miles planned for today. I called the Rainer City Police Department and asked if camping was allowed in the city park. It’s not but there’s a city-owned RV campground nearby and we could camp there. Cool!

We rode through some of Portland’s great bicycle infrastructure and finally got onto US Hwy 30. We had a bike lane almost the entire time we were on that road. We stopped every 10-12 miles to take a break. We had headwind most of the way and it got stronger as the day progressed, but half the time it was interrupted by trees and large trucks so overall it wasn’t that bad.

We arrived in Rainier around 4:30 pm, picked up a couple items at the grocery store, and then found the campground.

To call it a campground would be a kindness. It’s a gravel lot with no power, water, or bathrooms. And it costs $15 a day. There is a bathroom about 300 yards away and we can get water there. But it’s not the worst place we’ve stayed at.

Our neighbors, however, have a chance at making it so. One has an overcrowded RV with children, including an infant and a toddler. The other is a garbage bag-filled RV with a pit bull and maybe two other dogs. So far we’ve had intermittent toddler meltdowns, family arguments, and dogs barking at anyone walking around.

The sewage treatment plant and city dump are next to our campsite and the wind is currently downwind so that’s a plus.

We are living the dream.

To cap it off for me, I’ve come down with a cold. This is the first time I’ve been sick since we left home in May of last year. I ended up buying a box of tissues in Rainier because my draining sinuses were overwhelming me.

Kathy – It felt great to get back on the bikes after a week of rental car driving across country from Charleston, West Virginia to Portland, Oregon. We rode 52 miles with approximately 1,800 feet of climbing. We had totally amazing roads and fantastic shoulder areas in Oregon! The headwinds were sustained at 14 mph and the gust were at 25 mph. I must say the absolutely gorgeous countryside views and sunny cool temps in the low 70’s with no humidity made it a totally fabulous ride.

I did have one mishap about a mile into our ride today. As I was riding I felt something land on my right arm. I thought it was a bug so I immediately tried to knock it off. To my surprise, I suddenly felt the moist and warmness of the fresh bird poop that landed on me (and now it’s on my left hand too from thinking I need to knock a bug off). This is a first. Must say, I’m thankful it landed on my arm and bike shorts as opposed to my face or head. Not a major disaster. I immediately stopped, cleaned up with baby wipes, and then we were back rolling again.

And then we arrive at our dumpy campsite. No bathrooms or showers. We are literally in a small parking lot area. We have a sewage treatment plant and the city dump right next to the campsite. We are thankful the winds are blowing in the right direction so we don’t have to smell the odors too much. 😳

It’s just us and two other RV’s at the campsite (one on each side of us). One of them can’t fit into their RV so they are hanging right outside our tent talking loudly and smoking. They opened the door to their RV and it is so full of stuff they were hanging on to the wall areas trying not to lose their balance as they were climbing over lots of toys and stuff. They also have a bunch of stuff outside the RV. Kids crying and arguments continue as the night progresses.

The other side of our tent site, in that RV, they have big dog (looks like a pit bull) and it barks all the time. Their windows and curtains are open and all you can see is large green garbage bags filling up the place almost to the ceiling area. Hoping we get a little rest tonight.

We realize we are living the dream and everyone wants to be like us! 😄 And so our adventures continue! 🤪😜🤪

A couple of notes…

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