1,000 Miles

Another trip under our belts this weekend. We took off right after work Thursday and stayed overnight in Salem. We decided to take a different path to our destination, heading over towards the coast instead of taking I-5. We had nothing but time.

 

Due to a country music festival (Read: Brad Paisley, Dirks Bentley and Eric Church) near Bandon this weekend, and my procrastination in getting a room reserved near our family, we stayed in Coos Bay, which is an hour from our family's place in Port Orford. I have a high school friend who moved to Coos Bay last year so I did  not mind staying there at all as we got to have breakfast with her Saturday morn. What a joy to catch up with her! I've noticed things always work out the way they are supposed to. Leaving Sunday morning from Coos Bay shaved an hour off an otherwise 10 hour driving day. It all matters.

 

At Cape Arago

The family reunion was wonderful and although it is a long 500 miles to get there, the road weariness drops away the very moment I see my cousins! We're lucky they have opted to host the gathering every year on their property. One of my cousins is married to a fisherman and you know what that means, right?  Fish fry!

 

This year they added oysters to the table. My husband never quit smiling and I'm pretty sure he had his yearly quota of the slimy stuff this weekend. I saw the guys eating them for breakfast. Whattup with that?  

 

While some of my favorite cousins (I'm not naming names!) were not there this year, I got to meet some new family. My cousin G's longtime lady is very sweet and she has the most awesome border collie ever! I spent most of Saturday throwing a ball for her. There were also some of the most super cute kids with the best manners I've seen in a long time.

 

I got to ride in the back of a Ford pickup truck with the kids as we headed to the beach for some fun time. Skipper, the other border collie, rode in the back with me and for a minute I was 13 again.  You can't buy that!

 

I hope wherever you are that you had a great weekend.

 

love, susan

 

 

Solstice Ride ~ 404 Miles Through Oregon's Back Roads

We logged 404 miles yesterday on what was probably the most scenic route we've ever taken on Oregon's Scenic Biways. Even with the slight disappointment of not  making it all the way to Anthony Lakes due to snow on the road, we came damn close and that was good enough for us.

 

It's all about the journey,

not the destination.

 

Leaving by 9:00am, we traveled back roads the entire day, never cruising much above 50 mph. All roads were new to each of us. Even though the events of the day will soon be overshadowed by new adventures, I hope my documentation will be good enough to remember the highlights.

 

First of all, our road captain seemed to be plagued by birds. I was riding directly behind him when a pheasant swooped across the road in front of him. I don't know how he didn't hit it but it wouldn't be the only near-miss. My mind wandered a bit thinking about what it would have been like had that bird come flying over the top of his windshield directly into my path.  PLOMP. It could have been ugly.

 

On the next leg of the trip, a red-tailed hawk came out of nowhere and descended upon Dougie with his talons stretched out as if it was was going to attack our captain's orange motorcycle. Just as it almost lighted on him, the bird retreated. Weirdest thing I have ever seen in my miles of riding.

 

Ukiah: We stopped for a good lunch and great banter with a seasoned waitress. What a great little place to rest. It is a tiny little blip on the map but there is a lot of traffic and it was good old-fashioned fun watching the locals. We sat there freezing due to the climb in elevation but I saw locals in shorts and even a shirtless guy. It's all relative.

 

 We discovered they have gas there! This is a big deal for a girl who has a tank that is smaller than the rest. I'm honored these guys let me ride with them as I am a horrible worrier about where my next gas fill-up is going to be. I know in my heart-of-hearts that our Marine friend (Semper Fi!), would never leave me behind but what a pain in the ass it would be to have to go find gas in the middle of nowhere. That's all I'm saying, dear Doug. 

 

After lunch, we headed towards Anthony Lakes. We never made it to the lakes as you can see there was still snow on the road. If there is such a thing as fate, I believed in it this day as we had to back track and travel on forest road #51 to get to La Grande. If not for the snow, we would have missed it and that would have been a shame. 

 

We saw buffalo and a couple getting married out in the middle of nowhere. The road is a bit rough in places but nothing that would prevent me from wanting to travel it again. The entire stretch (I'm guessing 40 miles?) we saw only one car. Loved that.

 

We were gone 11 hours. What an awesome way to spend June 21st ... the longest day of the year.

 

What did you do on solstice?

 

love, susan

 

BONUS:

For any riders in the area, this is my best rough guesstimate of our route:

I82 --> I84

I84 --> 207 south Lexington

207 --> 74 Heppner

207 --> few miles south, left on 53

53 --> Ukiah and SE on 52

52 --> 73 East to Anthony Lakes (almost)

73 --> 54 --> 51

51 --> North of Starkey to Hwy 244

244 --> I84 15 miles north of La Grande

 

The last great back-road we traveled was the old Oregon trail, which parallels Cabbage Hill and is open range. We've always wanted to travel that road and it was well worth the wait.

White River Falls Trip ~ 353 miles

My longest trip in one day. And I loved every minute of it!

 

We departed at 9:00am with a loose plan, traveling a road we've never been on before through wine country. The lack of traffic and hilly, windy roads made it interesting.

 

My riding confidence is getting better with each trip.

 

We traveled down Hwy 14 and crossed over the Columbia River at Biggs Junction to fill up. My scooter got 60 miles to the gallon on the first stretch. I loved that.  Traveling through a couple of itty bitty towns to get to the falls was one of my favorite parts of the day. Seeing motorcycles lined up in front of a local small café always does my heart good. I know those small businesses rely on summer traffic to stay alive. We packed our lunch. Boo hiss on us. I knew it was going to be a super long day so spending an hour in a café was not what I wanted to do.

 

There are lots of things to write about from the trip but the one thing that stands out is our experience when we arrived at the state park. The camp host was a Marine and our riding partner, Doug ("Dougie Fresh" as nicked-named by my cousin Lil P) yelled "Semper Fi" the moment he quieted his noisy, orange Harley. I marvel at how people from various groups recognize one another. I overheard Doug talking about the guy's Marine Corp flag and sure enough, I spotted it.

 

Anyhow, the Marine rode over to our picnic table on his John Deere cart and joined our conversation. Pretty soon an old, graying golden retriever was at my feet begging for attention. Sweet dog! I wondered who he belonged to. Turns out some family came visiting the park one day and told the very kind camp host that the dog was lined up to be put down and he rescued him.  With that, I offered our new Marine friend a fresh baked cookie. 

 

The rest of the trip was like most riding days ... full of sunshine, wind and sun in our faces and an occasional deer and hawk. I was certainly ready to get off that torturous seat by the time we rolled into the driveway 11 hours later than we started.

 

One more great day in the bag.  I'll be ready to go again soon.

 

love, susan

First Trip of MC Season ~ 100 Miles

We took out first motorcycle trip of the season this weekend. It was a shorty to Hermiston and from there along the river towards Walla Walla and back home. Exactly 100 miles.

 

We left in such a hurry that I didn't get a chance to fill the thermos with coffee so we stopped at Safeway to share a super tall, hot cup of go juice to keep us alert. And, of course, the famous Safeway cheese-jalapeno bagel. My husband is addicted to Safeway's version of this fat pill. The bakery lady was just putting out fresh donuts so we added a maple bar on top of it.  Well, don't you know the salty, hot, cheesy bagel made the maple bar stand up and take notice, washed down with a nice blend from Safeway's partner Starbucks. Not a fan of Bucks coffee but will drink it when forced. 

 

On our way out of the store, we ran into a gal we know who runs in our circles. Haven't seen her in about a year but she greeted us with the biggest hugs and a little chit chat on such a lovely Mother's Day. She talked about graduating from college and a possible move to be closer to her grandkids.  What a super nice coincidence to run into her. It made my day!

 

On the way home, we took a slight detour to my favorite spot, McNary Bird Refuge. We spotted 10 turtles sitting on a log and this sweet little swallow sitting just outside of the viewing house. It sat here for the longest time on this branch, swaying in the wind. The birds are definitely coming in now and the sound of their music is sweet. I shared with Gene that if I should die first that I'd wish for my ashes to be left on this refuge. Kinda morbid but I felt the need to say it out loud.

 

I missed a called from my son but we finally connected. Besides my husband, he is the sweetest man I know.

 

It is notable that I "unplugged" this weekend. I started Friday night right after work. I texted my closest friends to let them know I was setting down my electronic device for a weekend to give my BEST, best friend some undivided attention. Note to self: must do that more often.

 

Well, it's back to the salt mine today. I don't mind going to work when I've had such a great weekend. I need the rest! I'll be working hard but thinking about the next adventure. Where to go next .....

 

What did you do last weekend?

 

love, susan