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the last hurrah... September 1st, 2010
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On Monday I ordered material for our next project, delivery wouldn't be until Thursday. I did have another project to build however their check hasn't showed up. They then called and wanted to make some changes. Tuesday she stopped in to make sure I had gotten the message about the changes, didn't bring a check. Wednesday afternoon the check came, by this point I had other ideas. The coming weekend would be the Labor Day holiday and a couple of extra days would allow me to venture farther into rural Oregon, "cowboy land" as I call it.
It has been raining here since Sunday, although the forecast is for clearing and a nice weekend east of the mountains. By mid afternoon the sun is out on the beach however the road cameras in the mountains revealed the possibility of a very wet crossing. It will be a couple of hours before I get there maybe the rain will move on. Within the hour I wheeled my voyager onto the tarmac, prepared it for flight and lit the afterburners. Labor Day indeed!...
YES! It has stopped raining, only the road is wet. I check out a possible camp spot near Indian Ford but the sun is out and there is still time, onward I go. My dad always said he didn't slow down until after crossing the Ochocco divide, you know. he was right. The land changes on the other side, trees and urban sprawl end, "cowboy land", what a beautiful ride down the back side of the mountains. There is a place to camp at Mitchell and I would be there before dark. Almost three hundred miles out for the evening's cruise.
Up early and looking for breakfast, I hadn't had any lunch the day before and leaving in the afternoon trying to make distance didn't allow for the possibility of stopping for dinner, I was motivated. Service Creek was about thirty miles away and would put me along the John Day river, a favorite ride area. From here I would turn north almost to the Columbia River before changing direction and heading east to the edges of Idaho and then south to Nevada then back into Oregon on Sunday and returning home.
basking in the sun...
rural Oregon...
it would be interesting to know who lived here and where they went...
someone farms the land but the houses appear empty...
it is shaping up to be a right nice day...
somewhere I find a fresh water spring feeding an irrigation ditch
happiness is what one makes of their surroundings, it is hot and the water is cold, what more do I need?...
it's hunting season, he could be someone's dinner, I only have a camera...
I do like this old farm house...
some of my ride areas are remote... I picked up a sandwich from Subway on my way thru Burns,
this is far removed from anywhere. The evening light was good but I am about an hour late, sure was nice to have that sandwich.
grave site of Jean Charbonneau the son of Sacajawea and the youngest member of the Louis and Clark expedition...
I have noticed the sign pointing here for several years, just never took the time to ride off road and find it.
This is a piece of American history still preserved.
these two photos represent some of the remote places I like to visit...
the sun is coming up...
there are benefits to these remote places, I haven't seen anyone since leaving the pavement and have this hot spring to myself...
one side is cooler than the other, the hot side was about a hundred and the cool side about eighty five
evening camp the last night out, how nice is this?...
The weather was perfect although mornings Thursday and Friday were a little cool to start, low forty's, but it warmed up quite nicely. Friday was the warmest day at ninety nine degrees as I passed thru Rome. Saturday morning in Leslie Gulch was seventy seven as I rode out looking for breakfast. I wanted to spend one night at the Alvord Desert but meeting a Range Rover club at Fields Station change my mind. They would party, make a lot of noise and plug up the hot spring, there were other places for me to go. I picked a hot spring in Nevada, there were two other campers here but no party. I set up my tent then as the sun was going down the mosquitoes came out, it was horrible. Quickly I took a few shots and headed for the water, even there they wouldn't leave me alone. Back at the tent I spent the time needed to kill all that I could find inside. After it got dark they just kind of went away, don't know why?...
Sunday when I got up it was cool, forty two degrees. I soaked in the spring then packed up, no mosquitoes. My ride this morning would take me across highway 140, the highest and most exposed area of Oregon I can think of. There might be a tree somewhere but don't see one. Most of the route is over five thousand feet in elevation with two of the summits over six thousand feet, it never warmed up! I dropped off Doherty Slide, only a couple of degrees and then the wind started to blow. The forecast was for this, to cool down and the wind to blow, they were right. I decided to turn north and head for home.
There wasn't going to be breakfast this morning as the first hundred miles there isn't anything. The next fifty miles there is only one choice and there were twenty five people in front of me, time to move on. By the time I did find another restaurant open they were serving lunch, better than nothing. These remote places are an acquired taste and not what most people think Oregon is. People, restaurants and gas stations are far apart, sometimes they aren't open. I rarely let my tank fall below half and if I miss a meal so what, I'll survive. For me it doesn't get any better. I swam in the John Day river one evening, found cold water during the heat of the day, even though it was an irrigatin ditch, camped in the Gulch and two hot springs. How nice is that?...
This weekend was the last hurrah for summer in Oregon, we will still have nice fall days but the warmest weather is gone. The nights will start to freeze, daytime temperatures will make eighty but there will be that nip in the air as early afternoon approaches. Last week we had snow on some of the mountain peaks and the hunters told me they were having ice on the tents in the morning. I come out here because I like the heat of a hundred degree days and this year have gotten my share. I will change my gear carrying something warmer and ride areas to make the most of what is left before it starts to rain. Still I will continue to ride and adapt to the conditions as they progress, there are more ride days waiting.
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thanks for riding along, Bruce H.
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