Setting off tired, as had been the case of late, I took the shortcut of which I’d been informed, cutting through some little-traveled countryside. Don from Kentucky had told me that there was only one serious pass to be conquered going this way (and avoiding Dooley Mt.), but I counted at least four good climbs on the route, the last of which, Dixie Mt., resulted in a beautiful downhill ride into Prairie City.
The top of the mountain was piney and pretty, like the Oregon I had remembered from Boy Scout days. Recently we’ve had not only nice days but warm ones, and I rode shirtless for the first time in many statees during my post-lunch jaunt from Prairie City to John Day.
I called Mother from John Day, and bought a bicycling hat with a Coors logo for $6 at the decent bike shop there. The fellow also adjusted my seat so that I was it was no longer endangering my manhood.
A few miles farther on I found the Clyde Halliday campground, where the mother of a family invited me to share their camping spot for free. It would have only cost me 50 cents anyway, but 50 cents saved is 50 cents earned!
I went into Mt. Vernon proper to call Arthur’s mom and tell her that I’ll likely be to the coast by Sunday night. She said I sounded “lousy,” asked if I had a cold, and said Art might not be able to make it until Monday. We agreed that I would go to the post office in Reedsport on Sunday and, if Art wasn’t there, I would call his mom again.