You know how sometimes you wake up after a night of partaking and you aren’t real sure if you’re still drunk? Well when I woke up this morning and saw this guy walking through the campgrounds, I wondered… So I did what any responsible adult would do and I went back to sleep.
About an hour later I actually started my day and the first thing I did was start the water for my oatmeal and green tea (this ritual is really becoming something special to me). I ate and then I leisurely broke down camp. I mean I had slept in till almost 8, so the couple and the professor were already gone, and gear lady had not shown any signs of life yet. Also I knew that all I had on my agenda for the day was the 8.5 hour drive to Seattle, so I really was in no hurry. I broke down my hammock, shook out my rainfly, packed up my kitchen, shook out the rainfly, put out my fire, and finally packed up the rainfly. I situated everything in the jeep and then went to fill my water bottles for the long drive.
As I was filling the water bottles the gear lady arose from the dead, or at least that’s the way she acted. She was hung over and miserable. I stopped in and chatted a bit. As I was saying my goodbyes. I found out that the professor had come back around after we disbanded last night and that he and my now hung over compatriot apparently owe doughnuts. I can’t say I am surprised by this, but I feel that alcohol was definitely a contributing factor. Oh the life of wanderers.
Well, I was off on my journey. A few miles down the road I hit the Grand Canyon of pot-holes. It felt like a land mine, shaking the entire car as I heard both rear tires rubbing the tire wells. I may be a bit hung over, but that sound was the sound of the Jeff’s rear suspension demanding attention… And I was still 500 miles from Seattle.
I have never been so diligent about avoiding bumps, dips, and uneven surfaces in my life. I had one mission, get the jeep to Seattle. I didn’t know what my plan was other than to find a shop once I was there, so I crowdsourced it via Facebook. 
The response of support that I received was truly uplifting. My post was shared 17 times (14 of which by people I don’t know in real life). I received messages with suggestions from strangers who are just discovering my adventure. I got phone calls from people I haven’t spoken to in years with contact info for people in the area. The support you guys demonstrated truely has touched me. I can now say that even if I don’t manage to get my 100 points before I have to return home, this trip is a success. Literally hundreds of people are vested in it and are helping me share it with the world. So seriously guys, Thank You!
I was a few hours late, but I did make it to Seattle. I spent my evening with some friends from college, drinking wine and catching up.
Tomorrow we’ll set out to see if we can get Jeff back into working order. Hopefully I can find a shop to drop him off at and then have some adventures in Seattle while he gets worked on.
Daily Scavenger Hunt score: 2
– 1 for accruing another 1000 Miles
– 1 for visiting a friend
Total score to date: 12
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