Halfway in Heaven

July 7-8 (Days 52-53)

Distance: 0 miles

Total: 2952 miles

Weather: sunny and hot, near 100 degrees?

I'm stuck in Halfway, Oregon. I can't seem to be able to leave this wonderland. Inga's ranch is quaint and filled with charming old touches at every turn-- antique vehicles, appliances, decorations, and the like.

Inga Thompson is an incredibly interesting, funny, and charming woman, and becomes more so as I am around her longer. She also has a pack of four dogs that follow her around, none of which are hers, and she told me "yeah, I have a lot of dogs, but none of them are good dogs." She keeps extending an offer to hang around and I can't resist! 

Inga always has something going on, and at the moment it's the construction of a pool in her backyard, a cobbling of the efforts of her friends and use of her equipment. 

Inga's cycling career is fascinating. She has a whole series of very impressive and intimidating accomplishments, and her own Wikipedia page. She actually left the sport before she really wanted to, due to factors unrelated to racing itself. She's very outspoken about doping, which was always common and tolerated, and recently released an interview on the topic: https://velonews.competitor.com/2014/06/news/perspectives-doping-pro-cycling-inga-thompson_333513

Anyway, yesterday her son Tyler's girlfriend, Auslin, had the idea of making a temporary pool out of bales of hay and a tarp, so we got to work throwing around hay as Inga got to work on her actual pool. Hay is actually really heavy and scratchy, and I felt silly trying to drag it around in my dress and sandals, but... You work with what you have! It was fun. 

The pool was filling up very slowly so I decided I ought to stick around another day to get a chance to play in it. Today, disaster struck. After filling all night, the water was a little more than halfway up (two bales high) when the pressure pushed the bales out and within seconds the pool was empty. There goes that! We pushed the bales back and let it start filling up again, reinforcing it with steel stakes this time.

Inga and her assorted help were out there today digging up the actual pool.

Inga told me "don't lead the conventional life. The white picket fence is overrated." 

And thus ends my fantastic time in Halfway... For now.

My warmshowers host in Fargo told me this was his favorite quote, and it feels just right today: “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”

Lao Tzu