Chilly, but not raining.

The day began and ended well, but the stuff in between was arduous. Everyone in the small town of Camas was really friendly, even if they thought I had gone crazy-ape-bonkers. The hardware store guys were super helpful, and didn't charge me for the 13 cents worth of electrical wire I used to rig up my cheapo rear view mirror that broke the first day. I took off on highway 14, and soon discovered that it went uphill for about 8000 miles before mercifully heading back down. I took much of it at a pace barely faster than a walk. I stopped a lot, because of the burning. The scenery was spectacular- this highway follows the Columbia River along the Lewis and Clark trail. There is a decent shoulder for much of the way, but some parts are kinda gravelly. I was so relieved when I finally got to go downhill, But my relief didn't last long. My beloved bike began to shudder and rattle. You guessed it: my first flat tire on day three of my trip. Fortunately it was the front tire, which is much easier to remove, so I got the thing fixed up quickly enough. Thanks REI bike maintenance 101! Many more hills and pauses later, I came upon a store and inquired about camping nearby. The wonderfully helpful woman at the store told me about a place just about 1.5 miles further, and dialed the ranger on the store's phone for me, so I could ask a few questions. I was told I could camp at one of the two spots down by the water, where the trains would be a bit louder, or ride up a giant hill and camp at one of the 25 spots there. The answer seemed obvious to me... So here I am, the only camper at a lovely spot by the water, next to the super clean bathrooms. Nice! The friendly ranger stopped by and chatted, and I got all sorts of useful info and free maps, and he pointed out some birds that were hanging around, either osprey or peregrine falcons. Also nice! The locals didn't think I would get cell reception here, but I have three bars. Thanks, AT&T! I'm getting used to the trains, and if I'm as sore as I think I will be tomorrow, I may just stick around for a day of rest, park exploration, and bike maintenance. (a word with which I lost a spelling bee in fourth grade, and still can't spell!)