Final Night Reflections in Oregon-July 14, 2014

Here I sit, my last night in Oregon for a long time, in the 107 degree heat of Vale. After running on the surface of the sun today for 35 miles, it is difficult to comprehend the rainy, cool conditions of Lincoln City being only just over two weeks ago. I feel I've lived several months' worth of experiences, exploring new places, meeting new people and slow cooking on the left shoulder. By slowing down to eight miles per hour, life has mysteriously sped up.

Over these two weeks Sam and I have got to appreciate the state we call home in a way almost nobody else will. We've seen every mile, listened to every mile, smelt every mile, and certainly felt every mile in leg muscles we didn't know existed.

The geographic diversity of this state is immense. As fast as landscapes change by car, they change by foot. No two days offered the same scenery. The sandy beaches quickly turned to coastal forests which quickly turned to Willamette Valley agriculture and then into forests of firs into the Cascades. Firs turned to pine and sage brush through mountains and valleys until the desolate desert of Malheur County, where we temporarily reside.

Highway 26, our home for the past week has offered a revelation of sort. The same stretch of highway that causes so much stress to tens of thousands everyday through the Vista Ridge tunnel in Portland, offers therapy through the Ochoco and Blue Mountains and the canyons of the John Day.

Suddenly it all seems possible. We have crossed a state- no small one at that. Next up, Idaho-where we will hug the Snake River and the heat shows no sign of letting up. We plan to be in Wyoming by the end of the month where all significant mountains will have been climbed and the Divide signals it'll all be downhill from there. But one day at a time-hell, one mile at a time.

The places we've seen, the hospitality from complete strangers, and the support for this trip have all made me very proud to be an Oregonian. If the rest of this country can be half as good, the trip will have been a tremendous success.