We spent some time in Kennewick organizing, cleaning up etc. We found a postal store by the mall and mailed the emu egg, and a box of weight home, including the big Delorme Oregon map. These maps are great. Still I was glad to get rid of one of the four states that I carried. We checked out a bike shop to look for stuff. I bought a spare tire for my trailer. Before leaving town we stopped and ate a huge breakfast at a diner on the NE edge of town. Our metabolisms and appetites were adapting to the workload.

I had lots of misgivings about Patti's reaction to the sun. I thought it might be better for her to catch a bus home than stay out in the desert with me. She had other ideas and continued on. Even when faced with the heavy traffic and limited shoulder as we started route 12 she braved on.

The day was hot and dry, but not as dry as McAbee. The wheat fields and small hills were a major change from the coast. The climate difference between the coast and the rain shadow of the Cascades is stunning. We stopped to rest at Lewis and Clarke St Park. I layed down my bike and inadvertantly lost my two watter jugs. File miles later I realized they were gone. Rather than go without water I unweighted my bike and rocketed back to get them while Patti hung out in town. I felt so fast, riding a twenty pound bike rather than a one hundred pound one. My speed topped out at 27mph.

We stayed in a tiny motel in a tiny town. The owners, a young couple, were really nice. They gave us a five dollar discount, "because you guys are crazy." The place was put together on shoestring budget, but homey. With hand painted cabinets and clean rooms.