Miles On The Road: Oregon

After Trinidad, CA Amanda and I parted ways with Ben and Blue. Ben continued up the coast while Amanda and I drove straight to Sunriver, OR to have an extra night with the family. My family had a couple of houses rented and there must have been 30 people in Sunriver. It was basically half of a family reunion. After spending a few days on the road, and seeing as much as possible, it was nice to just kick back and relax (and have a real bed!) We had a crew of 21 bikes tearing up the paths around town. Joggers didn't know what to do when we approached and some of them just threw up their hands and jumped off the path. We took a break when we got to the bridge over the Deschutes River. After Sheila told me that she had jumped off a couple years back I knew I had to do the same. Refreshing! We spent the rest of the day playing card games, eating, and drinking. There is always plenty of food, wine, and cards with the Fry/Gleason/Foster clan.

After our second night we headed to the Colombia River Gorge to do one of my favorite hikes, Horsetail Falls, before arriving in Portland. The weather was perfect and we finished the hike off with a wade up Oneonta Gorge. The water was a little higher than last time - up to my neck. It was a little colder than Amanda was expecting, too, but it was all worth it when we got to the waterfall at the end of the gorge. The lush, green walls of the gorge were dripping with mountain water. It is a magical place.

We met back up with Ben and Blue for a night in Portland before they headed East. The lost key debacle back in Shelter Cove depleted my budget for the drive back so unfortunately I couldn't join Ben on the journey. I already had a flight reserved so it just made sense, financially, to take the flight home and get back to work ASAP. That means I'll be home tomorrow! I was really looking forward to finally driving across the country but I guess that'll have to wait until I move out here.

We've had a great stay in Portland and Amanda now has a good feel for the city. She flies back tonight so we're heading to the coast for her last day. We're starting at Cannon Beach to do some exploring before returning to Portland for her flight home.