Day 7

I slip off quietly into the street, undetected by my gracious host who, I cirmise, remains sleeping upstairs. Children waiting at the curb for their school bus stare in innocent bewilderment at the sight of a vagabond and his giant pack making their way through an apparently uneventful suburban neighbourhood.

'Ah' I think, 'another marvellous morning to be alive.'

Winding down highway thirty at a comfortable pace, I take in the vistas as light plays with myriad hues adorning the ever changing leaves of autumn. At one place I stop intermittently to pick up some golf balls which have strayed off target and come to rest along the wayside. In Linton my stomach gets the better of me and I am persuaded to enjoy a brief respite at a Seven Eleven. The proprietors are from India and seem quite happy to converse in Hindi. One even treats me to a free cup of coffee. As I walk away, I hear a familiar voice; Bharat calls to me--kintni miita hai uske avaaj.

Forward again and I'm crossing the Willamette, sustained by the steel of the impressive St John's bridge. Alighting on the northern side, my attention strays to an interesting old police station. I ask an officer there if he can recommend a place for me to pitch my tent; he readily offers directions to a place that sounds suitable. However, a 45 minute search renders me unsuccessful. Luckily, a small boy takes notice of the seemingly quiescent moment in my quest and asks the most relevant question one can be asked when lost:

'Where are you going?'

'I'm not entirely sure,' I confess. 'But I'd like to find a place to put up my tent.'

He goes directly to his mom across the lot and presents my objective. Minutes later I'm offered a perfect place to pitch my tent for the evening. The plot is, ostensibly, a sort of a communal garden (though I was thoroughly perplexed by a great number of old, spring coiled mattresses left propped against a tree, and a forked stick erected beside a small bust, the amalgam overlooking a smoldering fire pit as though it were a diety presiding over a sacrifice). It has a lovely view and an extremely active racoon population.