A Day Looking For Two Sisters

[Chunky]

Yes, it started innocently enough, looking for foliage with Fall colors to photograph. I started from my home in Beaverton on highway 26, picked up 217 to Interstate 5. I headed South to Albany, OR before turning East on Highway 20. That lead me to Bend and a Northern trek on Highway 97. Through Redmond and Madras I road, looking for any color at all. Of course now all I saw were burnt out trees from this year's batch of wild fires. I decided to start turning West so I rode to Highway 26 and Sisters, OR. By then I had a sore touche and was nearly frozen. The temp had dropped from the low 50s to 32 with rain in Santiam Pass. Who knew!!!! I enjoyed a great prime rib sandwich and fries at Bronco Billy's Ranch Grill right on the main drag. Tourists were everywhere as I rode through a real traffic jam. I stayed on highway 26 until the turn off on highway 35 to ride, one more time, around Mt. Hood to get to Hood River. By then my gas tank was starting to run pretty low. By the time I hit humanity again I pulled in the first gas station I came across showing just 5 miles left in my tank. I had ridden 325 miles already and was still 60 miles from home. I finished my return home on Interstate 84 along the Columbia River Gorge. I saw little color in the leaves which only means I get to do this again in a few weeks. What fun!

 

[Bheckel169]

Kobo,

Now that's my idea of a ride. No particular destination, just the prospects along the way. Best part is that the prospects (the leaves) didn't meet your expectation, so you get to do it all over again. Doesn't get any better then that.

Bruce

[gottabmw]

Hey Kobo,

 

Sounds like a great day! Did you find the sisters? How about the third one? She's mighty fine too.

 

Anyway, I hope you get back down that way again soon. I'm sure by now the vine maple are turning. Take Hwy 242 from about McKenzie Bridge, over the most awesome pass in the western U.S., to Sisters, or the other direction. There's nothing like the contrast of the colorful fall colors of the vine maple with the starkness of the gray and black lava fields.

 

I'd like to know how much has changed on Dead Horse Grade, up the western side of the mountains. I haven't been up there since last year. They supposedly fixed some of those claustrophobic 10 mph turns. Anyone else been up there to check out the work they did?

 

Steve

[Bruce H]

I can't answer for Dead Horse Grade but the colors were a little slow for me as well. I went from Detroit to Britenbush, up to Timothy Lake and East to Maupin, Shaniko,Antelope then down to Clarino.

 

 

No rain in sight. Went swimming in the John Day River on Saturday, that warm!...

 

Spent the night at Tygh Valley Bluegrass... Nice!

 

[Chunky]

Bruce - I find the high dessert hauntingly beautiful but indeed, there are few trees. The Lava Fields in part or Oregon are also photo worthy but they'll be there long after the fall folliage is gone. I be lookin fer leaves.