Saturday, June 15, 2013

June 12 - Jeff's post

June 12, 2013

Shoutout to Andrea Schmidt, Happy 22nd .  We called her and sang happy birthday.  Grandma Jean would have been proud.

Day started off very chilly. Had to put our woolies on. Warmed up as we rode.  Met Sue at Starbucks at Redmond.  She did some shopping at Ray’s Grocery.  Things seem more expensive here.  We then continued on along Route 126 and met Sue at a reservoir.  She went ahead and got a camp spot in a city called Mitchell at a city park.  No showers again.  Great roads.  Lots of flat, minimal traffic, and all in all a good riding day.  Did 92 miles.

We got done about 2:00.  Would have gotten done earlier, but we had to stop for Jack to pick a quarter off the ground.  Trying to finance the  trip I guess.  Anyway, he didn’t pick up quarter because it was tails up, bad luck.  We also had to stop twice to pick up Jeff’s mirror which kept coming off.  The second time it came off on the longest downhill we have been on coming down a  hill into Mitchell.  Jerry stopped and picked it up.  What a good soldier.  There will be something extra in his stocking at Christmas.

Mitchell is a town right out of the Twilight Zone.  Have not seen Rod yet.  Waiting for the first tumbleweed to go past.  Jerry thinks it is like the city in Wild Hogs.  Same lady owns the Hotel, the café, the country store, and the gas station.  And she pumps the gas. High school has 30 kids.  No opening for an AP calculus teacher.  Hotel is immaculate, right out of a movie.  Ironic though because a Bud Light truck stopped to deliver beer.  I guess they go everywhere.  You would have to see this town to believe it.  We went to the café and got a desert.  Blueberry coffee cake with ice cream on top.  City has no radio, no television, and no cell phone service.  Verizon needs to get on this.  Some people have Direct TV or Dish.  Lady at the café said they used to have Dish, but they couldn’t  get the Oregon State games so they had to switch.  Rivalry between OSU and OU is tense.  OSU is the Beavers and OU is the Ducks.

Saw unbelievable scenery.  Now we know where they film all those Westerns. Area is called the Painted Hills.  Again, you would have to see it to appreciate it.  The cliffs, rock formations, the mountain rivers and streams,  Ponderosa Pines, and the ground being different colors made it a sight to see.

We met a couple from Vancouver going from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine.  They are music instructors.  They are doing it unsupported.  We also saw a story in the paper about a recent high school gradiate riding along our same route to Asheville, NC to go to college.  He left from Benton which is near where we are currently.  His trip will be 3000 miles and he has to be there by August 20.  He is doing his unsupported also.

Answers to trivia questions.  Babe Ruth wore number 3 because he batted third in the lineup.  Two states where gas stations cannot be self serve.  Oregon and New Joisey.

Sue is doing a fantastic job as Project Manager of the adventure.  Meals and provisions and her organizing of everything has been tremendous. 

Keep the luck and prayers coming.  Can’t get too much of those.


Jeff, Jerry, Jack

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