Hello Everyone,

I didn’t quite make it to Klamath Falls today, but I must be pretty close to civilization because I hear a high school football game going on not to far from here. Of course, it’s Friday night in small town American, what else would they be doing. I can hear the band, cheerleaders, announcer, and the people cheering. For me it’s great and I love it, brings back good memories of my high school years, and most recently of my own kids. I am really enjoying the sound and it’s adding to my trekking experience, camped out in the country and listening to a high school football game.

I am camped in an open field off of Highway 39 which is bordered by the Lost River Diversion Channel and some other above ground aqueduct. I was lucky to find this spot as the whole stretch today was all open flat land, farms and ranches. I had been concerned all day long because I never saw a spot where I could have camped and I knew Klamath was too far to make today. I had visions of walking until eight tonight and getting a motel in town and that would have been tough. I almost did stop here because the ground looked uneven and the weeds rather tall, but they flattened out easily by just walking on them and they added to my stealth.

I only trekked about 17.50 miles today because the road conditions made it slow going. I am about 8.5 miles from Klamath Falls. I left late again because it’s just to hard leaving early when I stay up late in a motel. Ok, I stayed up watching a little Thursday Night Football and then got around to doing the other things. I didn’t hear the train, or at least it didn’t wake me, but I noticed this morning how close it runs to the motel.

Oh yes, today I made it to Oregon! I came to the sign and was hoping someone else would stop and take a picture of me, but the sign is so small that no one probably sees it. I did notice, once I crossed the border, that the woman here don’t shave their armpits and legs. Ok, I just made that up. Someone told me that once.

Once I crossed into Oregon, about seven miles from my motel, I reached the small town of Merrill. Typical small farming town, though it didn’t look as declining as Tulelake. It even had wide new sidewalks and restaurants, and I was starved (I usually am all day long). The first one I saw was a little Mexican one, Taco A La Mexicana. There was a Hispanic man standing on the sidewalk and I asked him where there was a good place to eat? He said that three blocks down was a hamburger place. I asked if the food here was good, and he said yes, if you like Mexican. I asked if all the Mexicans eat there and he said yes. Of course, that is where I want to eat, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was packed with what looked like all working ranchers or farmhands. I loved the atmosphere! Great chicken tacos, authentic Mexican rice and beans, and all the fesh chips and salsa for a whopping $6. Oh yes, and the owners were such friendly people. Wish I could go there again!

I walked a little further through town and saw several very nice motels and several other restaurants. Had I walked another seven miles, I would have ended up here in a much more vibrant town, but I wouldn’t have had the experience of my train motel to remember.

The weather was ideal for walking today and so drastically different than almost every other day of my treks. It was in the mid fifties until about one and then got into the high sixties. I actually passed several markets without buying drinks and I didn’t even finish one of my drinking bottles. I got a little cold and put on my florescent bright green vest that I haven’t worn since my first trek. I thought that would also help with my visibility too since I am still surprised that this stretch of road has been the most challenging for me with drivers. It was even worse once I crossed into Oregon because the road became narrower and the shoulder was only about 2-3′ wide and sometimes almost disappeared. The road was elevated and the gravel shoulder was so steep I could not pull the Wheelie on it. Many times I would just stop and move over as much as I could. The traffic was surprisingly heavy once in Oregon and that made for slow going from the border to about nine miles later when the road finally had a wider shoulder.

I plan to make it to Klamath Falls tomorrow and meet my brother, Tom, who lives in Ashland. Because the plantar fasciitis has been causing me so much trouble, I plan to go back to Ashland with him for a day or two of rest and reevaluate the condition of my foot and decide whether I should go on. I have been enjoying my trekking experience and challenge more than I can express, and my mind says yes, go on, but I am not sure if that is the right thing to do? If I decide to go on, I will start back in Klamath Falls and continue from there. I will update my blog tomorrow and keep you posted on my decision.

I want to thank all of you for the emails you have been sending. Please continue to send me positive thoughts and prayers. Please excuse the typos, grammar, spelling, etc.

Ted