We say farewell

Sunday 6/23/2013

It was a bit of a drive to the Deschutes River, but the fish would be bitin'.

Susan got in some fishing and caught at least six before we started heading for home. We say farewell for this time to Susan's fishing buddies, who would also be successful in catching (and realeasing) multiple fish.

Our gracious and generous hosts, Tim and Rene

Tim has been the fishing guide

Carl is just about ready to cast

 

Carl's wife Maura gets ready to go

 

Kim didn't know he was elbowing his wife Helsa out of the photo

I think I am learning that men are much easier to get a candid photo of. It's like Carl said earlier when putting on his hat, I am not worried if my hair is "up in a flip in the back". The guys are simply natural with being candid, not worrying about what is their "good" side, whether their hair is "just right" or if their clothes are not "just so".

After seeng the photos I took, Susan was disappointed that I didn't get one of her, but I have, in the past, posted many of her in her fishing gear and fishing, and will get more at the next fishing club outing to appease her.

That winds up this adventure, but don't go away too soon. We will be heading out again soon -- for something.

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Twin Bridges Ride

Saturday 6/22/2013

It helps when there are two of you if you get lost. It also helps to realize you are lost when you have made it to the top of a two mile hill, rather than at the bottom of a two mile hill ;'-)

Rene was so happy to find that she had not forgotten to bring her helmet

Rene opted to skip fishing today and join me for a ride. That made me happy. We chose one of the Oregon Scenic Bikeway rides that is a loop from Bend to Twin Bridges and back to Bend. We decided to cut out the Bend part and begin our ride from the Tumalo State Park which looked (by the map) to be right there directly on the route.

Rock formation at the State Park

We blithely turned right onto the road that bordered the Park and began our grind uphill. We were not seeing any roads that had names that were on the map, but thought we were probably not there yet. Finally we stopped for a closer scrutiny of the big map and discovered we were not on the correct road. At least now we would go DOWN the two mile hill we just climbed ;'-)

With great fortitude we soldiered on to find the correct road to continue our route. There were TONS of cyclists out on these roads. At first I thought it must be an organized ride, then when I saw no number bibs or support vehicles or stops, I thought maybe a club ride. But no -- there were individual riders, small groups, and couples all spread out and some on spur roads leading somewhere. They were all fast on their lightweight, bare (no extraneous gear or equipment like racks) bikes speeding along these quiet, bucolic roads.

One of those bucolic roads with two Sisters

We trudged along at my usual glacial speed and enjoyed stopping for photos with camera, and snacking from our stores, stashed in our extraneous gear.

Time for a snack

This is horse country

 

This horse wanted to adopt me

One of those old, beautiful buildings that once served a great need

The Sisters mountains were often in view and I could not resist stopping for more photos as each place offered a different perspective.

All three of the Sisters

A closer look at two of the Sisters

I thought Rene was amazing! She does not have the opportunity to ride much and still she rode well up the many rather steep climbs on this ride. We think we had at least five big climbs and many rolling hills to top on our route, so of course we needed a tea and crumpet stop when we got to Tumalo. Little did we know that one of the biggest hills is after this stop! But at least we were nearing the Park where we were parked.

Tea and crumpets

I chatted with a retired couple from Arizona. They rent a place in Bend for three months every year to escape the Arizona heat, and ride all the the lovely roads. They ride at least three days a week when in Arizona. As they did their "pedal up" on their tandem, I wished them safe journeys.

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Crooked River in Crook County

Friday 6/21/2013

One can fish on the Crooked River or bike on the Crooked Road. I (surprise) chose the road. The traffic was extremely light and the few drivers who passed me gave me lots of room. Out here you really do get the feeling of being "out west". Lots of sage brush along the way, farm animals grazing in the distant acres of fields, farm buildings occupied as well a abandoned placed about, barbed wire fences down at the lower 40.

a little house on a prairie

I know these are everywhere, but I just cannot resist

The clouds and the sun held a gentle battle through the early part of the day, with the clouds eventually winning. Wheeling along the rolling, crooked road afforded me views of the river and close up sights of a few animals. As I stopped to take a photo and put down my foot on the loose gravel off the roadside, the deer down by the river looked up at me and then scampered further downriver.

I first spy the Crooked River

 

Wild and scenic

As the river takes a big curve -- so does the road above

Soon after curving around this big bend, I spotted Tim's car and pulled over to radio Susan. It was lunch time and she climbed up the bank to join me to dine on a flat rock. She returned to fishing and I continued UP the hill to reach the dam.

The spillway at the dam

Crooked River viewed from atop the dam

Returning to the fisherpeople Susan said I would be going downhill in a tailwind, so have fun! I rode on in a strong HEADwind the entire way, and there was much climbing out of the canyon - more than coming in I thought, but that could be the headwind working on me. Add this to the chip seal surface of the road, and it was slow going for me! So slow it seems, that the turkey vultures were after me! About six of them appeared to be munching on something off to the side (and behind a split rail fence), saw me approaching and started flying, coming frighteningly close to me on the road. Fortunately they determined I was not after their carrion and went back to their feast.

Imposing canyon wall

As I rounded a field of freshly mowed hay I stopped to watch a deer in the near distance (oxymoron?) as it bounded across the field, leaped over tall things, ran across the road and disappeared in the hillside. My last wildlife for the day, unless you count the road-killed rabbit ;'-(

I felt a couple of huge raindrops at about nine miles from my destination. OH NO! That's a long way from home at this speed. I "tried" to speed up and must have increased by a tenth of a mile. May as well not worry about it and just get wet. Turned out it was only a tease and no more drops fell on me (here). I had a couple more places of raindrops but they didn't last either.

At last, after this slow slog, I spotted the van. Not long after, the fisherpeople arrived and we took off for home.

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Central Oregon 2013

Wednesday & Thursday 6/19 & 6/20

Bicycle Oregon logo

We are off to attend this second annual fly fishing outing in Redmond Oregon, hosted by Susan's club member Rene and Tim at their home. Susan will be enjoying fishing on some of the local rivers with a few other members as I search for cycling options.

The day after Susan's last day of school, we were loaded up (Susan did all the loading up work) with bikes, fishing gear, and camping stuff. Susan has done a fantastic job of making a cot-like bed of plywood for the van so we don't need to do "real" camping ;'-)

Our bikes on our new bike rack on our new van

We spent a big part of Wednesday shopping at ALL the outdoor clothing and equipment stores at the outlet in Woodburn, OR! This is one of Susan's favorite activities when school is over for the year -- and she was in heaven with the number of those stores that are here. (But I think I am the one who bought the most.)

We drove on to Camp Sherman which is just before reaching Sisters, OR, and picked the perfect campground and spot for the night.

Next morning we drove down along the river and had the majestic Ponderosa Pine lining our way.

Delightful morning drive along the road by the Deschutes River

Poderosa Pine is abundant

There are some mighty big Ponderosa Pine trees and the bark is striking

After breakfast at a little spot in Sisters we walked around town for a bit before heading to Redmond (OR) and to Tim and Rene's house.

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Returning of the bikes

Wednesday, 6/12/2013

The day has come -- we must end this adventure and return the bikes to Ray's Bike Shop. The manager remembered us from last year and gave us the same good rental rate for the week that included the bike carrying rack for the car and a gear carrying rack for one of the rental bikes.

To begin with I was going to ride into town alone for updating the blog, and would meet the other two at the bike shop. As I was preparing my gear for the day, Gerry thought the ride into town sounded good to her too, so she started gearing up as well. Vickie (before her coffee) said she was perfectly happy to skip a ride today as she was feeling a little tired. UNTIL she was assisting with getting bikes off the rack and out of the car. Then she too thought a ride sounded good for the day. Soon we were all geared up and arrangements were made with Len to come to Ray's for pick up.

Gerry awaits Vickie for the start of the ride down the driveway

Our final ride down Len's driveway for this trip

You never know what you will run across on a simple ride. Along the road we came upon some handcrafted "art" work.

There was the owl from Mars...

...the Martian himself...

...and the human invader of Mars

Having Vickie along for this final trip allowed us to explore a little further than Gerry and I would have done on our own. A little visit to the Nature Center brought us memories of last year's visit, plus Vickie could get a look at her cousin's beadwork on sale there. In town we stopped for lunch at an actual restaurant (no abandoned house, cemetery or picnic bench this time), then meandered to the Library on scenic side streets.

Chippewa Nature Center

"Modern Explorers" must refer to chemists (Dow and all)

 

Overlook Park overlooks what was to be the Nuclear Power Plant that cost 5 BILLION to build and ended up being torn down (now a gas plant I think)

Then it was on to the coffee shop for coffee/tea and blogging before wandering across the way to Ray's. We turned in everything that belonged to them and I got to ride back home on Vickie's Bike Friday. Back across the tridge (see last year's trip blog) and onto the Chippewa Trail before riding the roads to Len's. I passed a deer alongside the trail but it was too well hidden in the high weeds for me to get a photo. Then I came upon a lone gosling that wanted to adopt me as its mother. I was saddened almost to tears when I had to leave it there with no mama anywhere to be seen. Perhaps mama was watching and would go to it when I left, perhaps the baby was sickly so the mama left it, perhaps the family that passed me going the other way toward it would have an idea of what to do. Whatever happens, there was nothing I could do for the gosling but mourn for it being alone.

The end our trip for this time, and an early morning on Thursday for the drive to Detroit airport and our departure for home. For those of you who have followed along, thanks for being here as I love sharing things with you. Stay tuned for the next adventure, coming soon. And, by the way, when you get a notice that I have posted on the blog, do not reply to that notice as it is to the server and not to me, so I will not get any responses. If you write anything to me (and I love it when you do), you can email me directly at my email address, or leave a comment on the blog.

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A Rainy Day at Chippewa Pines

Monday, 6/10/2013

We needed a rainy day to catch up with things (blogging), grocery shop, check in with the bike shop, and relax!

Espresso Milano is Vickie's favorite coffee joint in Midland and she spends time her doing computer stuff and drinking fine java. We spent hours here this morning so that I could finally catch up on the last three days of our adventuring, and Vickie could do her computering as well. Gerry was most patient with us!

You who followed last year's trip will remember Len's cats:

Here's Snoopy who often does not leave Len for long

 

True to her name, Princess poses regally

 

Untrue to his name, Tiger keeps a screen between himself and any strange humanoids

Now, back to reading --- and more relaxing.

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SNAPPING TURTLE RESCUE

Sunday 6/10/2013

Shortly after beginning our ride for today there was a turtle slowly crossing in front of me, and had made it to the very middle of the road. I was concerned that it would not make it all the way across without being crushed to its death by a speeding vehicle. First I tried to scoot it along with the front wheel of my bike, but it would not budge. As I saw cars approaching I stood next to the turtle (in the middle of the road) so they would not run over it. Then I thought I might have to pick it up to move it. I put down my bike and leaned over the turtle to help it along and it SNAPPED at me!! And what a large (and dangerous looking) mouth it had, and my how far around it could reach with that long thick neck. Now I didn't know what to do. I was scared of being munched on, so there I stood as Vickie and Gerry approached wondering why in the world I had been standing in the middle of the road in the middle of traffic.

Fortunately (for the turtle), Vickie had just the other night watched a nature adventure show on t.v. and learned that you pick up a snapping turtle by its tail. Once Vickie tossed it into the ditch the snapper scampered at breakneck speed into the water, under the mud and away from human danger. It moved so fast (unlike the road crossing trek) that we could not get a photo of it on its way to safety.

Phew, narrow escape for me and the turtle

Turtle saved (Vernetta would be proud), we moved on to Mt. Pleasant where we would visit Vickie's college alma mater. Along the way my buddies would stop to accommodate my addiction (or is it an obsession) of taking photos of interesting things in the farm yards. Photos I want to share in my blog.

"Funny Farm" with all the comic characters

As I seem to ride through college and university campuses on many of my trips, I have gathered several banner photographs. CMU has no banners hanging, but there is this nice sign.

My "banner" photo of CMU

We ate our packed lunch at the picnic table on campus, rode around to see Vickie's old dorm and a few of her campus haunts, then found our way to "Biggby Coffee" for our tea and crumpet stop. This was our halfway point and we would relax for a bit before tackling the headwinds to home. The tailwinds on the way here made us feel so strong and fast! Now would be payback time. We managed to find a couple more photo ops along the way.

I'd say the well is dry here - in someone's yard

Looks like a small stagecoach, may be a simple wagon to haul stuff around

 

I'd say the well is dry here - in someone's yard

Initially this farm seemed abandoned, but we found signs that someone must come here to use it periodically

Great old back door

This provided good heat in some cold winters.

 

This was a long mileage day and we were each and all happy to see Len's driveway finally come into view. Happily it was pizza night so -- no cooking for anyone.

 

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