The next morning I bid farewell to Yakima, such a fun town. After reading in the papers about Nazi deputy fuhrer Rudolf Hess (allegedly) hanging himself in Spandau Prison, I set out for the highway heading west out of Yakima. And once again the waiting dragged on, but now I was in no hurry. I saw there was a marked difference between the drab stone hills of Eastern Washington and the lush green forests of Western Washington. That first night, I sacked out by a ranger/forest service station headquarters and looked up--I was amazed by the thousands of stars that blanketed the night sky, much more than usual. I found
out that the earth was passing through the asteroid belt. The next morning, I was up on my way, getting a ride past Mt. Rainier
and finally back on I-5 which again would take me south. Chehalis, Centralia, Vancouver, then Portland, Eugene, Roseburg,
making a little chump change by collecting aluminum cans for 5 cents a piece. That evening, while in Ashland, I was joined by another fellow ride seeker, a redheaded, bearded young man with a STRANGE cheerful glaze in his eyes. He peddled religious tracts about some Eastern guru character named Thakar. I figured that that overzealous gleam meant he was steeped in some cult. But he was a nice guy, he gave me a couple food stamps with the stipulation that I NOT use them on meat products. (I'll buy those nuke-able burritos when he's not looking.) And then came the pickle--it was hard enough getting a ride on your own, but when you had a "buddy"--watch out!! A lady pulled up and agreed to take me down the road a little ways, but when my glazed doughnut-eyed "buddy" came traipsing to join along, she said, no way, this was a little too complicated, and drove off. Great. (Hold on a second, the Time Lord says he is summoned by Ralph on the Big Porcelain Phone.)