pedadidact

2010 February 14
Olympia, WA; Lilliwaup > Dosewallips State Park
Temperatures: 30F - 50F
Distance biked: 18.3 miles
Length of ride: 3 hours.

The morning came too quickly, as far as rest was concerned. I woke at 6:00 AM to post blog entries, check park info, and pack my bags. Breakfast consisted of leftover pasta and pizza, fare of Olympians no doubt. Stevie hugged me goodbye and made sure to say nothing that would become "fateful last words". She has one of those concerned, genuinely affectionate motherly demeanors that the world probably needs more of.


Andy and I.

Our drive up to Lilliwaup, the new starting point, was approximately an hour through gorgeous country up the 101. Webs of cloud hung tangled in the trees on hillsides. Andy and I talked about careers and of my friendship with his son, Josh. When asked if I ever wish I could go back to the times we had in Bible College, five years ago, I said "No. Sometimes I wish I could gather together everyone who was there, but I don't want to go back. I had great times but we all had some pretty big issues. We were immature, wasted lots of time. Our personalities have developed since then and I would rather see everyone in the current way."


Lilliwaup, WA



Lilliwaup is a blink-and-you-miss-it town, but they have a Postal Office, and it was there that Andy dropped me off. I almost couldn't believe the moment as I hitched the trailer and realized, one, that three years I had looked forward to this day, and two, I was actually doing this. 'I must be nuts.' We took some photos, hugged, and then off I pedaled.





Northward up the 101 I went. No rain was to be felt. In fact, patches of blue sky were sewn into the silvery quilt above. Something is to be said of the silence, or rather, of the lack of human sounds. Besides the whir of my cranks and the occasional car, nothing was to be heard save the hum of nature. Sometimes the musicians showed themselves. A bald eagle, a white egret. Red tailed hawks above, and belching frogs giving oratorios from dripping moss walls. The smell of the land was apparent, too, like sawdust and cedar ash mopped up with fresh rain. The was aroma was delicious.



I ate lunch on a pile of talus near the base of a hill. Jalapeno Cheez-Its, BBQ pretzels, raisins and peanuts; sunflower seeds and cranberries, chocolate chips. It sounds like a lot but I rationed myself a handful of each. Disaster was narrowly avoided when I recognized I was about to urinate in shrub which, upon second notice, was poison oak.


Lunch spot.


I was reminded of my friend, Brittnay Webster.

Near 1:00 PM light rain began to fall. It wasn't even enough to require a coat, and then it ceased anyway half an hour later. My first day was proving to be ideal. In the afternoon I ascended a fairly large hill, taking it up in my lowest gear. There aren't any hills like that in Oceanside, where I've ridden for the past two years. So I was pleased to be feeling good.




Roadside memorial.

The most beautiful spot along the ride was a small rushing cascade called Robbinswold. This was, however, private property and could only be viewed from a distance. While acknowledging the merits of capitalism and privacy in this fallen state of things, I look forward to the permanent removal of No Trespassing: Private Property signs from the new heavens and earth. It will all be turned over to Christ and so to us equally.


Robbinswold

Dosewallips State Park sat at the base of a long decline. Ambling through were a herd of elk that I was warned to beware. For whatever reason no prices were posted at the vacant Rangers Station. I called my friend, Alison, in Wisconsin, for the online information. Erin picked up instead and we chatted a while about the trip and her job before Alison told me the price.


Dosewallips elk herd


Site 114 at Dosewallips State Park

I stayed at site 114, erecting my tent on a pad of neon moss. Light was fading so I made dinner quickly, consisting of bear Creek vegetable beef dehydrated soup mixes with instant potatoes, Romano cheese flavor. The mosh was actually quite tasty and I scraped the pot clean. After listening to Andrew Scourby read 1 Thessalonians, I took a turn around the now darkened campground with the pipe Joshua gave me, kind of relishing the simplicity of the occasion. On the other hand, I learned from a text message - "Happy Singles Awareness Day" - that today was Valentines Day. This set in some mixed feelings. I closed the night writing a letter and fell asleep not later than 8:00 PM.