Day 74: Mt. Hood, OR

I woke up at 8:30am and noticed that my mouth feels less sore. I'm feeling incremental improvements in my overall energy and mood. It's nice to feel some progress.

First Half of the Day at the Coffee Shop

I put away all the little things sitting on the counter, took out the curtains, unplugged the electrical cable from the back of the van and headed down to the coffee shop to spend some time on the computer. I got to the coffee shop at 9:30 and got what they call a "Sasquatch." That's a breakfast sandwich covered in gravy. When I got the sandwich, they'd actually forgotten the gravy, but I didn't say anything. I'd really just ordered it for the novelty.

I have one more night here. I think I'll do a short hike here this afternoon, and otherwise continue laying low and taking care of little business items.

I'm noticing that my experience in the van on this particular trip can be divided into two distinct categories. There is the exciting adventure time, and there is the more mundane downtime. I like both very much. Sometimes I think I'm not having enough of the mundane downtime, but it is what it is, and I trust that it is as it should be for now.

I worked at the coffee shop until 2:30pm. Now I'm going to eat something and then go for a hike. I ate a bunch of yogurt. I got this kind from the Thriftway here in Welches, Oregon that costs twice as much as the one from Trader Joe's. It was good though.

Afternoon Hike

I drove out to the Old Salmon River Trailhead, and my phone kept ringing. I took three long phone calls there, and then headed out on the trail at 4:30pm.

It was a beautiful hike along the Old Salmon River. The massive trees were stunning and the river was just lovely. Inspiring nature all along the way. I listened to my 30 minute prayer recording twice on the walk.

Quiet Evening Back at Camp

Afterwards, I headed back to my campsite. It's always nice going back to a campsite on a Sunday evening because the weekenders have completely cleared out and the place feels like a ghost town. Peaceful again.

I made some more tacos. These things are delicious. I had six of them tonight along with an NA beer.

And then I finished off the 32 oz. tub of Greek yogurt I bought this afternoon! My body is craving something in that yogurt. I've never eaten so much yogurt. Hopefully it's the probiotics it contains that my body is responding to. Tomorrow will be my last day of this antibiotic cycle, and I'm so looking forward to that being behind me.

I climbed in bed after dinner and took a two hour (!) nap. My body is clearly needing it. I was in a deep, deep sleep. Woke up at 9pm and I've been watching YouTube videos and just relaxing. My internet signal from Verizon is working great now. I think the data problems have just been from the weekend crowds soaking up the bandwidth from the cell towers. It's fast and strong now that they're gone.

Tomorrow morning I drive into Portland for a few errands, and then I roll on to the Oregon coast for a little while. Looking forward to it! I have about four hours of driving tomorrow, which is more than I prefer, but it will be fine.