I awoke to pouring rain that offered no promise of letting up. I try hard not to drive in those conditions, but the forecast told me that I could be camped out at the Chehalis Walmart until the end of the world. So, I took off, slowly and cautiously because of not only the pounding rain but also the wind. The worst was when the big rigs would pass me; the draft was nearly enough to send me into the ditch. It was tiring work and I pulled into each rest area I passed for a ten minute breather.

Croft advised me to take the I-205 bypass around Portland, so I was spared at least some potential trouble today. The drive into Oregon was easy, weather notwithstanding, and the rain finally let up around Salem, capital of Oregon. I was about forty-five minutes from Eugene when five cars passed me, making motions that there was something wrong with the kayak. I pulled over soon as I could to tighten the straps and went back to the rig to find that I’d locked myself out. Fortunately, I learned something from the last time I did this and had a spare set in the toad!

I made it to my friends’ place around 2 and waited patiently with a book until it was possible for me to get settled in. I’ll be here until the 17th.