Noelle here:

Its 5:34am and Steve just left the van for his last day hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon. I couldn’t be happier for him! The next time I see him will be this evening at the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks. Well I guess technically it’ll be about five miles before that. I looked at the elevation map last night and decided I would hike in to the base of the last hill he’s coming down, an almost 5000 foot descent! Yeah, I don’t need to climb that thing! 😂

Steve has flown through Oregon, so fast. Parts of it are a blur to me of dusty, pot-holed roads and one-lane streaks of asphalt which left me with a pounding heart and sweaty palms. I definitely journeyed to more backcountry roads in this section!

As we were heading to Olallie Lake the other day, we were in a one way section when a semi-truck came barreling down about 35 mph and no slowing whatsoever. I barely had time to swerve to the “shoulder” and pause. For about five seconds there was silence in the van. Then all four of us let out expletives and cries of rejoicing. “Did you see his face? He didn’t even glance our way!!!” “Holy F#*k!” may have come out of more than one of our mouths!

Anyway, back to today. 😏 what a wild ride we’re on. Oregon showed us so many lakes

and mountains

and lava

and deer!

We shared good beer, great conversations and a lot of laughter with new friends and some older ones.

We got to see my sister, Trish and our brother in law, Ben at Mt Hood. What a highlight! I was on pins and needles all day waiting to see them. We laughed and laughed!

Today, Steve is walking his last 34 miles of Oregon. He set the alarm for 4:00 so he could leave at 5. He hit snooze three times after seeing how dark it still was outside. Part of me wanted to just snuggle up beside him and sleep for a few more hours. Part of me wanted to kick him out the door so he’d get started!

We’re heading to my sister’s house tonight and then tomorrow I get to see my Dad. He’s moved up to Washington into assisted living since we’ve been out here. I can’t wait to see him. And our kids and our grandkids! I’m literally bubbling with excitement.

Part of my excitement, though, is that on my last day in Oregon, I get to stay on paved roads. 🎉🎊🍾 I can’t wait to see everyone. I really cannot wait to take a shower! I haven’t had one since last month! That sounds dramatic, but really it was July 30th, so not even two full weeks. 🤣🤣🤣

But for today, I’m concentrating on sending good thoughts to Steve as he completes another huge step in this adventure! ❤️