June 17th: Sand Station to Portland
There will be no paddling today. The wind howled all night and was still blowing as hard as it was yesterday. So the plan for the day is to bike portage to the next town, Umatilla, to find a place to store my gear and work on getting a ride to Portland. To my surprise this was made very easy as a young lady who was at the campground stopped by as I was getting ready and asked if I was the guy paddling across the country. I said I was and after a short conversation and learning what my plans for the day were, offered to give me a ride into Umatilla and then as far as the Dalles area where she'd be turning south to Bend, OR. Again, help was there when needed.
We loaded my gear and strapped my canoe to the top of her car and headed for Umatilla. As we drove through Umatilla there was a feeling that came over me that this was not the place to store the canoe. I just felt there was something better down the road. So we drove on and in about 10 miles there was this nice new self storage place alongside the highway. Sarah drove in and because it was Sunday there was no one around but a sign saying call this number for service, which I did. Long story short, the lady on the other end said she had units available but wasn't sure if I could get my canoe in, but welcomed me to try and if it worked to send her twenty dollars when I got home. Very nice, except the units were too small so I called back and asked if she had any other options. She said I was more than welcome to bring my gear to her home which was just down the highway, and store it there if I did not mind it being outside next to her garage. I said that would work.
Again, as I've stated before, long ago I quit worrying about how things are going to work out when I'm in these situations. They just do and again I'm very grateful for the help I've received.
Sarah dropped me off in the Dalles and headed on her way. She was very interested in my trip as she too enjoys the outdoors.
The Dalles area turns out to be a huge summer vacation area for wind surfers. There are people all over the place with at least 3 huge truck stop type service stations on both sides of the road along with a motel and a number of fast food places. I figured it would be easier than I thought to catch a ride to Portland with this many people and I was right for the first person, a truck driver having lunch next to me offered me a ride once he knew what I was doing. So a day that could have been much longer was over by three in the afternoon and I was watching the end of USA Open Golf Tournament in my room.
Tomorrow I will fly out at 6:00 in the morning for home and then will return to Portland on the 28th. It will be good to be home and be with family again.
Not much further to go. I will post my plans for the remainder of my trip before I return.
We loaded my gear and strapped my canoe to the top of her car and headed for Umatilla. As we drove through Umatilla there was a feeling that came over me that this was not the place to store the canoe. I just felt there was something better down the road. So we drove on and in about 10 miles there was this nice new self storage place alongside the highway. Sarah drove in and because it was Sunday there was no one around but a sign saying call this number for service, which I did. Long story short, the lady on the other end said she had units available but wasn't sure if I could get my canoe in, but welcomed me to try and if it worked to send her twenty dollars when I got home. Very nice, except the units were too small so I called back and asked if she had any other options. She said I was more than welcome to bring my gear to her home which was just down the highway, and store it there if I did not mind it being outside next to her garage. I said that would work.
Again, as I've stated before, long ago I quit worrying about how things are going to work out when I'm in these situations. They just do and again I'm very grateful for the help I've received.
Sarah dropped me off in the Dalles and headed on her way. She was very interested in my trip as she too enjoys the outdoors.
The Dalles area turns out to be a huge summer vacation area for wind surfers. There are people all over the place with at least 3 huge truck stop type service stations on both sides of the road along with a motel and a number of fast food places. I figured it would be easier than I thought to catch a ride to Portland with this many people and I was right for the first person, a truck driver having lunch next to me offered me a ride once he knew what I was doing. So a day that could have been much longer was over by three in the afternoon and I was watching the end of USA Open Golf Tournament in my room.
Tomorrow I will fly out at 6:00 in the morning for home and then will return to Portland on the 28th. It will be good to be home and be with family again.
Not much further to go. I will post my plans for the remainder of my trip before I return.
posted by Coach at 9:50 AM
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