I was a bit too lazy in site selection for my tent last night and the wind battered my tent to varying degrees all night. Thankfully I slept good despite this. But one of my tent stakes was actually bent a half inch or so from the power of the wind during the night. I bent it back with a rock. Thankfully I was going the right way, east with the wind at my back. Plus I was due a nice downhill. I stopped at the Rowena Crest overlook, and was surprised to find another cyclist there so early. Thomas was visiting from Spokane, specifically to ride the section of road I had before me. He was very nice and told me to visit the Bike Hub in Spokane where he works when I come through. We said goodbye and I left to enjoy the gradual descent with a tailwind while he had to go the other way into the wind. The highway design was limited to 5% grade max, so it had to curve dramatically all over itself to create more length and even out the grade. It was a work of art in pavement, over a century old. I rode into The Dalles and followed a nice riverside path that wound its way behind some industrial areas that included two brand new Google data centers. I found a nice park where I filled bottles and finally tightened up my loose shifter and adjusted my brakes. Stopped for a couple of Lewis and Clark expedition sights. Stopped at the Safeway and continued on the back way through town to my bridge across the Columbia. Traffic was pretty sparse as it was a back road. But it was another narrow steel bridge so I just rode slowly on the sidewalk rather than dance with the overloaded trucks. The wind was high but tolerable and being off the road allowed me to admire the hydroelectric dam and bridge. In Washington I had a few miles of gradual hill climbing on the highway with a decent shoulder to contend with before I turned off onto Dalles mountain road. It climbed up steeply and was loose washboard gravel. But I was glad for the solitude. And I had left the Interstate behind finally. The tagline of Washington on their sign is The Evergreen State, but I climbed amid a sea of gold. Sparse, dormant grass of some kind, with dark volcanic rock around. After an eternity I reached the top and the road became paved, and after a few miles of rollers I rolled into Goldendale. Appropriately named. I refueled at a small grocery store, and filled up on water at a park. Rolled out of town with about 7 liters in case the next tiny town had nothing. Same song and dance of the Great Basin. No surface water. I descended into a beautiful canyon that was easy on the eyes but I had to climb out of it, plus a lot more. Thankfully it was pretty gradual after getting to the top of the canyon rim. Many miles of climbing through private property everywhere, and I came to a small patch of preserve. Very little wind and the sunset will be great.