Motocaching Northeast Oregon - 1

As Kathy mentioned in the previous blog, Clint and I departed Friday morning on a motocaching trip on the great back roads of northeast Oregon.  I’ve traveled by motorcycle to every county in the west and in my opinion there is no better concentration of fantastic motorcycle roads than those in this region.  We took a 750 mile figure 8 route going as far west as Spray.

We rode Highway 12 to Waitsburg stopping just once west of Dayton to pick up a cache at the house of a geocaching acquaintance of mine.  It was an old computer attached to a telephone pole and when you opened the computer case there was an ammo box inside. We proceeded past Waitsburg a little ways and turned south on the Lower Waitsburg road which took us to Walla Walla.  I had never been on this road.  There were a lot of caches on this road called a “Power Trail” but we only stopped for one and didn’t find it.

Hilgard Junction Park

We continued south into Oregon and turned back east at Weston on Highway 204 picking up a couple of caches before Elgin.  We turned south on Highway 82 at Elgin and stopped for a quick cache just outside of town.  This particular stretch of road to La Grande will be traversed in the opposite direction on the way back.  At La Grande we took a short stretch of Interstate 84 over to the Hilgard Junction State Park.  We got a cache at this beautiful little part and ate our lunch there.

Starkey View Cache on Hwy 244

After lunch we took beautiful Highway 244 southwest to Ukiah picking up three caches along the way.  We stopped in Ukiah to get gas.  At the junction just out of Ukiah we turned north on US 395 picking up one cache (The Whittaker Flats Speedway) before the intersection with Highway 74.  The first half of this stretch was beautiful twisty riding in the forest.  The second part was flat, open and straight, hence the name of the cache we got.

We turned west on Hwy 74 which took us to Hepner.  It was also a fun riding road.  We picked up one cache before turning south on Hwy 207 at Hepner.  This was another really twisty fun road where we just stopped once for a cache.  It was at an Off Highway Vehicle park and required a half mile hike.  It was a good leg stretcher.  Hwy 207 intersects the John Day Highway and we turned west for the short ride to Spray.

River Bend Motel

Spray is a nice little town of 150 population.  We stayed at the River Bend Motel which was old and western style but very nice.  According to internet information there were two places to eat in Spray.  However, one closed at 5:00 and the other was 13 miles farther down the road although its address is Spray.  We made the ride and had delicious mushroom burgers.  After returning we toured the town which has a couple of nice parks if you can believe that.  However, one was owned by the State and was a camping place on the river.  I like staying in these little towns and this one did not disappoint. (to be continued) M/W

JUST A BRIEF STAYCATION

Mike and son Clint left yesterday (Friday, June 28) on an overnight motorcycle trip. They will be back today, and it can’t happen soon enough to suit Bess, who mopes when her special guy isn’t here. I’m just not enough for her.

Originally, Mike had planned a trip to Challis and the Salmon River country. However, he discovered plenty of road construction along that route and opted instead for a trip to Oregon through Walla Walla.

So yes – since I’m staycating with Bess, I have provided gifts for myself, mostly related to my hobby interest in dolls. I enrolled in a course (doll clothes design) and ordered the “textbook.” And I also ordered a few pattern downloads. Instant gratification! I have way more patterns than I’ll ever use – maybe – but it doesn’t cost much to support the designers whose websites bring me much joy.

I’m still practicing with swimsuit knits, and yesterday I successfully completed another. Not all my efforts are successful. Some have gone into the wastebasket. I’m trying to be philosophical about that as I (hopefully) learn to do a better job. KW

OF ROCKING CHAIRS AND COWS

"Here he comes. RUN!"

Twenty years ago, as we were remodeling the farmhouse the first time, Hallie and I were running town errands one day when I noticed a rocking chair at a yard sale that reminded me of the old chairs on the back (kitchen) porch at the farm. I wanted it. We stopped. I bought it for $15. We put it in the back of the van and eventually carried it to the farm.

The kitchen porch is still the back porch to me even though today I must call it the kitchen porch to avoid confusion with the sun porch, which Mike refers to as the back porch. Anyway, in the old days, the family sat on the kitchen porch rather than the front porch for several reasons. Being on the north side of the house, it’s shaded and cooler on a warm summer day. And in the evenings, they enjoyed watching the northern sky. Well, things change. We don’t sit there much.

Anyway, Mike was not too impressed with my purchase of the old rocking chair. For years, we shuffled it back and forth between the front porch and the sun porch, and this spring as we moved back into the house, Mike discovered it was broken. He left it in the south yard, thinking to get rid of it. Actually, I thought it was picturesque out there. And then Mike happened to sit in it and found it comfortable. So, he repaired it.

Monday afternoon, I was upstairs sewing when Bess sounded the alarm on the south side of the house. Looking out the window, I saw Mike sitting in the rocking chair with his back to the south field. Behind him, a dozen cows had quietly crept up on him. I just imagined that the eight from the morning went home and gathered a few more. "You just have to see this guy!" they probably said. "He fancies himself a cowboy." They seemed to want to be friends, swishing their tails and all. I laughed at the sight, but Mike had no sense of humor about it. He flew to the 4-wheeler and once again drove the cows toward their pasture. Then he called Farmer Kyle who said he indeed did not want the cows eating his crop and would discuss with their owner.

The other side of the pond in June's field.

As we walked that afternoon, we noticed a cow and calf on the backside of Plank’s Place. Without binoculars or camera, we couldn’t determine its identity. It seemed too thick for a deer, not quite right for a cow (bovine). Mama was intent on her munching, while the baby played nearby, rolling in the growing wheat. Tuesday morning, Mike came close enough to see that they were elk. KW

[Chuck points out that I posted a photo of the chair on June 23. Sure enough! But apparently that's the only one, and when I tried to post it here, Blogger didn't want to. Well, I'll get more pictures of that photogenic chair.]