RunAcrossTheUSA.com

[Matt]

As I mentioned last night, we are going through the Cascades, which is the last mountain range of our journey. These mountains are covered with trees--it seems like we have seen millions of trees in the last two days. These beautiful pine trees blanket the hills so completely that you forget there are hills below them. The scenery is breathtaking.

Most of our walking today has been downhill. We started the day at approximately 3,500 feet and ended the day around 1,000 feet.

We only made one big stop today and that was to get groceries and to eat at a restaurant.

Brandon and I met a 53-year old woman today who is biking from New Jersey to Oregon. We spent some time comparing our travels across the U.S.

We continue to find things along the roadside. Even though our license plate collection is complete, we haven't been able to resist picking up more license plates to take home. Today I found four store-bought music CDs--each found separately along the highway.

After logging 44 miles today, it is time to stop for the day. Tonight we are camping out by a rest area approximately 15 miles west of Detroit, Oregon. Tomorrow we will be in Salem and will spend the night with the Robertsons' daughter and her husband. We are looking forward to meeting them.

As I sign off, I want to announce that we plan to finish our trip across the USA this Saturday. Brandon and I should get to the park between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. We would love to see some of our loyal fans at the Road's End Park as we dip our stroller and feet in the Pacific Ocean. Come and join us!