31: Good Morning, Corvallis!

. . ."Here's a look at today's weather from station K-R-E-A . . .

Gonna be another wet one, folks! But you don't need me to tell you that.  Just look out the window - you see that stuff falling from the sky?  It's rain, folks! Probably going to rain all day, off and on.  Great day to catch up on some reading, or maybe work on that sewing project you've been meaning to get to. Whatever your pleasure, light the fire, make a pot of tea, and cozy up inside where it's nice and dry . . ."

Or not.

Roger and I really don't have the option to stay indoors.  I mean, it's OREGON. It's SPRING.  It's RAINING. What did we expect?  We didn't have a long day planned.  Just a short 45 or 50 miles to our friends near Portland. So we headed out about 10:00 am, and though there were a few sprinkles as we headed north, it wasn't too bad.  Actually a great temperature for riding - just about 60 degrees so we were not chilly nor hot.

A modest lunch at the Dairy Queen, then a few more miles up the road to visit a winery.  That was nice!

4th or was it 5th shower of the day?

We did not want to arrive before our friends did at the rendezvous spot, so we were killing some time with a coffee when the first sincere shower arrived.  No matter.  We had an awning (though leaky) to sit under and it was pleasant enough watching it rain from under the eaves.

When the rain stopped, it was time to head out.

Although we had a brief respite in the sun (and I actually felt the warmth on my body for a time!) the clouds were looking fierce again. As soon as we turned to the west, I thought, "uh, oh. We are not going to get lucky this time!"

Clouds waiting for us

Sure enough, from about mile 34 to mile 37, we were slammed.  The storm was not that long in duration, but that's enough time to get thoroughly drenched.

Selfie after storm

So now we are finishing the last few miles out to Stuart and Katherine's, and we are sloshing in our shoes. Soggy. That's really the only way to put it. Everything here is green and lush - really beautiful - and the clouds are beautiful, too.  But I am about to have my fill of them!

Our lodging tonight is out at the home of Katherine's father. For many years, he had a compound with lots of endangered species living out in the hills to the west of Portland. The animals are all gone now - moved to another sanctuary or a zoo - but the beautiful pastures, woodlands and an incredible house remain.

This was the giraffe's home, once upon a time

Katherine has warmed up the sauna for us (BLISS!) and after a shower and a chance to warm up our bones, we had a great time catching up with Stuart and Katherine over a delicious dinner.

So fun to see our friends from Redlands in a new setting.  It's one of the reasons why we started out on this adventure. So thanks to both Stuart and Katherine for a great time.

And after all that rain, we did have a beautiful sunset!

The day's report: Corvallis to Willamina, 47.6 miles/1515 to date