I just spent 2 weeks living in an intentional community in the forest ~20 miles outside Eugene, OR. This is my first time in Oregon. My-oh-my, is it beautiful! Just a bit cold & wet for my tastes (welcome to the Pacific Northwest!). I give massive cred to the crusties living on the streets here. How do they ever dry their clothes?
![Mikey's fully-loaded bicycle is leaned against a well. Itc arrys 4 panniers, 1 backpack, and a huge cardboard box](/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/xfieh7ene9f_000-300x225.jpg.pagespeed.ic.rLstBGK5oU.jpg)
![A ceder-sided building sits in the middle of a dense forest. The side of the building is painted with a picture from the Giving Tree--a tree drops an apple to a boy.](/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/xfieh7ene9f_001-300x225.jpg.pagespeed.ic.bSSwcachR3.jpg)
I spent a wonderful week with a new friend in Sacramento. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Sacramento. The weather was great, the dumpsters were full of gifts (two unopened 4-packs of Pilsner Urquell?!?), and the streets were easy to navigate by bicycle. Coworking offices were pretty ridiculous ($192/day are you mad?!?), but fortunately I was able to work from home.
I was just finishing dinner, planning to see a friend play a folk punk show in Sac when my friend in Eugene asked what time I'd arrive tomorrow. Looks like my calendar was off-by-one day; my train leaves in a few hours. Whoops! I made a call to a friend, packed my stuff, rode-off to amtrak, and quickly boxed my bicycle. When I awoke on the train the next morning, I was crossing a gorgeous lake via causeway with snow-capped mountains in the distance. Everything was green, and--as we climbed in elevation through the cascades--there was snow on the ground.