To the Columbia River… WA/OR
A couple days by this river and on to some BLM land in Oregon’s High Deserts, south of Hell’s Canyon (???), near the town of Oxbow, which actually is right on the Idaho/Oregon border. I have stopped just wandering toward the next destination, sometimes not knowing where to stop is bringing up some unpleasant surprises, like hours of “finding” that right spot! With all the information available on the Internet and Map software, there is no reason no to.
Pretty busy area here, buses… RV’s… all sightseeing the falls, the hydro electric plants, the windsurfers, the Lewis and Clark trail which is everywhere… We joined them! Playing Tourist for a couple days, enjoyable and at the same time learning some facts about this area.
You can read all about the first part of our stay on the website…
Enjoy… and be well…
Ara & Spirit
More of the Columbia River… WA/OR
Once again we have been transported to the Desert. Oregon’s High Deserts, on the Snake River bordering Idaho, near the town of Oxbow. Once again this morning I am listening to the silence while sipping on my home roasted Coffee… watching the sun slowly making its mark. I could not help being emotional as the landscape slowly changed yesterday. Yes, the bright greens are gone, the cool temperatures of the Olympic Peninsula have warmed up, but I now realize that the Desert is my element. This is where I feel at home.
Today’s Blog is the continuation of our loop by the Columbia River, a couple days ago, about 300 miles back. Beautiful water falls, wind surfers braving 30 to 40 mph winds as we also did!
Enjoy the pictures… and be well.
Ara & Spirit
Hell’s Canyon… OR/ID
Sometimes all falls in place even better than imagined. Along the Snake River, by a little town called Oxbum, the BLM campsites are the best I have ever experienced. It is 6am, nice and cool, even during the day the heat has not been too bad, this would be actually the time to ride. The nice breeze has taken the smoke away, the nearest camper is about one mile away, that might change on the weekend, and again, long overdue, I can listen to the silence…
So many different destinations from here. We did ride to Hell’s Canyon Dam, the little town of Halfway, will probably get up the Mountains a bit later on today toward Joseph and check out the Lookout, which road has just reopened yesterday.
This the Oregon High Desert with an incredible variety of terrains which holds its own against any other Desert.
Our first days here, on the website…
Be well… Ara & Spirit
Halfway, to Joseph and some thoughts… OR
Camping here by the Snake river in such isolation and serenity seems to have brought up so many thoughts regarding life itself and the path that I am on. I write about it, they are personal thoughts, friends have asked me how can I expose them all so publicly, I do, there is nothing to hide… If anything they might help others dig deep into themselves and in turn communicate them with their own friends and loved one, maybe appreciate their own path a bit more and take the time to “smell the roses”! It brings up such a calm feeling when one can really stay in touch with themselves without the burden of the daily grind… something to try. It will only bring up the reality of it all… maybe help taking some decisions that might not have been otherwise!
The riding also continues here, such little traffic, such beautiful roads where the sights and the smells take over any other present senses.
Halfway is a great little town… all with some pictures here…
Be well…
Ara & Spirit
Diamond in the rough… OR
I always try to come up with a title that would be fitting… this one is! Seems like I just can’t sit back in this area… between going to Halfway to eat at Mimi’s… riding along the Snake River… Hells Canyon… an old friend in Joseph… the Farmer’s market… an organic Peach Orchard… it just does not stop! Tomorrow was planned to be a totally, I call it, “veggie” day… you know, do nothing day… but it is HOT again, unbearable during the day and it is time to move a few miles to some cooler temps… Just a few miles!
In the meantime my front Ohlin shock has decided to sip oil again… might have to take a quick run to?… Portland?… Bend?… Clarkston?… to have it fixed… If anyone knows of an Ohlin service shop near by… please let me know…
Enjoy the colors on the website…
Be well…
Ara & Spirit
More Halfway… OR
With still much unexplored roads in this area we have just moved to some cooler grounds. No surprise as I understand now why they call it “Hells Canyon”… a bit unbearable… when you are riding and hot air hits your face… it’s time to go on. We have settled near Halfway, maybe we are just getting too comfortable near this small town. Population… 350. Still working on the logistics about getting 3 new tires and a front shock fixed from a small oil leak… The logistics about living on the road!
Another recipe… a failed dinner (not mine!)… all on the website.
Be well…
Ara & Spirit
Life in the slow lane… OR
Waiting for tires… they seem to vanish a bit faster by their end and so, staying local… Back to the Peach Orchard and getting healthier by the minute on this diet of fresh and delicious produce available around here. I almost feel like I am going to a cleansing of both the soul and the body! The temps are not letting down, they are calling for some clouds soon which will cool things off, in the meantime Spirit has a real hard time with the heat… and then he also has a real hard time with the cold! Life is rough for short hair dogs. Will need to find a good source for some warm coats for the winter coming up soon. Finally posting a few pictures from our visit to the Interpretive Oregon Trail Center where I learned a lot about the hardships of the Pioneers… “rough” does not begin to describe their own Journey.
All on today’s website…
Be well…
Ara & Spirit
A bunch of old buildings… OR
More than $20 million dollars have come out of this town while busy with more than 1000 miners! We stopped downtown… on the dirt road where now silence was the only dividend of that fortune found years ago. Some buildings still stand with no one around… much to think about!
A summer recipe considering all the fresh produce I cannot get enough around here… and that about does it for today!
Some of the pictures have been processed with a new HDR software I have been trying… time consuming. The jury is still out… what do you think?
Be well…
Ara & Spirit
The road to Fish Lake… Or
Finally tomorrow am my front shock should be off the bike in the hands of GP Suspension… I am actually posting this from Oregon City… where we are spending the night at Tom’s and Sue’s house, “Road Rash” on Adv Rider!… a great time, including Spirit with his new girl friend Sandy… he gets around doesn’t he?
But today’s Blog is about our little excursion up to Fish Lake… at a bit above 6000 feet, one of the most serene, peaceful and beautiful area I have experienced yet.
We will be back to camp by tomorrow night… in the meantime you can check out the pictures on the website…
Be well….
Ara & Spirit
To Portland and back… OR
Adventure Rider Forum has a great thread called “the tent space” where whoever can offer shelter, a room, a bed, tools… whatever they can for the passer by riding through if needed, does. I rarely use it… have in the past when broken down with great experiences ending up with great new friends. This was the case again a couple days ago when I needed to have my front Ohlin shock rebuilt by GP Suspension in Oregon City… great guys by the way… (seems that everything is “great” today!!!). We stayed with Tom and Sue (Road Rash and Tequila Girl… there has to be a story or two here!) making our outing so much more pleasant and easy. Thank you guys… and Sandy… and Glenn (Geode) for having started this great thought on the Forum.
A quick 800 miles round trip through rain and cold and a head wind for a while… it was all part of riding! At the end… a great sunset, Mother Nature had the palette out and was not sparing any colors…
The whole story on the website…
Be well…
Ara & Spirit
The Kleinschmidt Grade… OR
You try typing that one a few times!… Great loop through Oxbow, Cuprum and Council, Cambridge and back here. Empty roads for the most parts, dirt and gravel but made for Buick… besides that height… vertigo problem on the grade, it was another fine day. A big piece of banana cream pie that almost put me to sleep halfway back and some history of the area… all on the website.
Be well… Ara & Spirit
A great loop… OR
If you have any kind of vehicle that would slightly do some mild off road riding, driving… this loop is a great one, not to be missed. It will take you from some of the least visited part of the Snake River to more deserted roads going up Lookout Mountain and finally back to the start. A little bit of gravel, sand, rocks, ruts… you name it! A few thousands of feet elevation change… all this in one day… who would have known this! In Oregon.
I narrated the pictures today the best I could… enjoy the website…
Be well
Ara & Spirit
Everything is a compromise… OR
Evolution?… Getting older? Straying from true form? From tent and riding every single mile of a Journey to trailering and living in an RV…
I have had issues with those facts truly, I think I have come to terms with it, I have to if we want to continue living on the road for many more years, that is the big difference versus traveling.
I thought I would show you a bit how we now live… I am not complaining… hot water, shower, cooking with more ease… even a freezer! A few pictures here…
Be well…
Ara & Spirit
What really matters… OR
I admit, a lot of time for introspect while living on the road… specially when discarding what does not matter. One become’s sensitive to its surroundings and own desires on how to live. It is a raw life more than ever, the tasks do not vanish, but a certain concept of freedom increases.
We also had a visit from a friend I had not seen in 3 years or more, a little ride up a Lookout point which had been closed due to the fires… I am learning how to create web pages to incorporate a magazine within my Blog which I will name “my first hundred years’… it is all here…
Be well…
Ara & Spirit
My first rodeo… Halfway, OR
From the Deserts and Canyons to this small town of Halfway, experiencing my first Rodeo and Fair was a great experience. Population 350, grown to maybe a thousand for the weekend, it was all about family, kids and friendships. A total “feel good” three days. No Nintendo here, no electronics… but horses and livestock with fathers, mothers and their kids portraying this lifestyle unfound in the big city.
So many picture opportunities here… I had a blast with the camera, people and the animals… great people!
Be well…
Ara & Spirit
