Wandering Retirees

Ours was a long day, better than 400 miles from Grangeville, ID to Christmas Valley, OR. We needed to get an early start (for us) and dress warmly again – 41F and raining. The irony, of course, is it’s the first day of summer, but I digress.

Today we got to ride among the clouds again! Connie got some great shots of our birds eye views over rolling ranch land and the Payette and Malheur National Forests. We mostly followed US Routes laid out before the Interstate Highway System was begun under the Eisenhower Administration. As you might expect, the designers followed the natural lay of the land when choosing routes. River valleys and relatively low mountain passes were logical conduits for roads. So we had the pleasure of following the Salmon and Little Salmon Rivers for much of our journey south. We saw more crazy people on rafts today when the temp reached a balmy 55F.

The roads were good except for a little construction here and there. And the canyons were often pretty tight, with a lot of rock looming almost straight overhead. Later in the day, after reaching Oregon, the roads straightened as the landscape itself opened before us, allowing us to see huge tracts of land on all sides. (Not so much behind us, for obvious reasons!) Connie got a great shot of a straight stretch of road with power lines marching alongside. The road and the poles appear to meet at some vanishing point in the distance. Puts me in mind of 7th grade art class where we were taught “perspective.”

We pulled into our comfortable accommodations late in the afternoon and promptly shed our gear. We spent about 8 hours in the saddle and that was all for one day. Our motel is the Christmas Valley Desert Inn and it’s clean, comfortable and sits in a lovely setting. And it’s quiet, something we don’t get every day. Of course we walked to the local store for something to eat. It’s located in the corner Chevron station and has quite a lot to offer. The next closest store is in the next town, about 25 lies away. Our stroll took us by the town Visitors Center which Connie snapped. Patriotism is the dominant theme in this town: there are standing American Flags permanently posted on both sides of the highway for nearly a mile. That takes a lot of attention and caring to maintain over time. There’s also a sign advertising a Tent Revival Meeting set for this weekend. We don’t see this very often in the Northeast. And then there’s a postbox for letters to Santa at the store on the corner. (It is Christmas Valley.) This is a slice of life we know little about but feel privileged to see. We thank the good folks here for their hospitality and kindness.

Today we head toward Talent, OR where we’ll get to see Laura Lee Kent, the pastor who married Connie and me. It was a happy set of accidents that put us back in touch after all these years, and we’re so happy to see her again tonight. So may not be a post for a day – there’s lots of catching up to do. So more tomorrow. Have a good weekend!