longview to blue dog farm in rainier

left late in the day 8/4 from longview, riding through the heavily congested area felt a bit oppressive. when i saw another touring cyclist as i appeoached the bridge, i expressed this to her. she as where i was headed. she was heading accross the bridge too but was a little concerned about the narrow shoulder. i told her i'd ride behind her we headed over. it was nice to meet a kindred spirit just then, as i feel often happens when i need a lift of spirit.

i'd decided to bicycle from longview down through the willamette valley, even though there was a place i could stay in astoria, while heading this way i had no idea where i would spend the night. i wanted to ride where i've never ridden and open my agenda up to chance.

the guy at the chainsaw carving place in rainier advised me that there is a road winds up the hill, but thought i was a little crazy to ride it. old rainier road turned out to be quite pleasant for me due to the shade of the trees, very little traffic, and abundant thimble berries. all this makes a long climb less tiring, even kind of fun! i would reccommend this road over turner rd. even thought that way may be shorter in distance.

up at the top of the hill i made my way to apiary rd. where i would proceed to vernonia. seemed kind of risky to continue onto this stretch because there are no towns for thirty miles or so and i was unsure of the availabililty of water. i have a second litre bottle, but would rather not ride with two full bottles if i don't have to. so, with a couple hours left in the day, i was keeping my eye out for a place to stay the night.

a sign in a driveway on the left caught my attention. as i slowed and took a gander my senses were filled with the presence of animals, chickens and ducks roaming the yard and more, larger animals farther back. the earth was bare from being picked over and scratched. these folks live intimately with the farm animals.
the sign said, "welcome to my farm" and was over a little egg stand with sign and small fridge containing eggs. as i pulled into the driveway and approached the gate the big, shaggy dog began to bark and an old woman came down from the house.
i told her my situation, requesting a place to stay the night. she wouldn't have me in the house, i think mainly due to her concern for the safety of her and her two daughters('just me and the girls here" she explained), but maybe it was too cluttered for me to be comfortable too? and the yard belonged to the animals. so she was suggesting the park nearby or under the powerlines, where there is an easement. i was ready to do that and said i would come back in the morning if it was okay to buy some eggs if they could be cooked up in her kitchen. but her daughters had come out by this time and the idea came up from one of them that maybe i could sleep in the tree house... but my feet might hang over the edge... i brightened up at this and so they agreed to show me back there to see if it would suit me. my gentle persistence had paid off!

that evening i helped by clearing the path to the tree house, feeding the green material to the livestock(mostly goats and sheep). i was brought a plate of food, of which i ate some homemade, soft goat cheese on rounds of summer squash. in addition to this bit of food i ate my own soaked hazel nuts, salmon jerky, baby carrot greens(from the thinning i'd done that morning in longview), and cheese. the girls had a lot of chores to do, but spent some time with me talking. i meditated and got a decent rest in the tree house. feet didn't hang off the edge and there were no mosquitos!





earlier i had been feeling like i should have taken off earlier so i could have gotten farther along, but if i had passed by here earlier in the day i might not have stopped. this was clearly meant to be, as everything is.