Oregon Pt. 1 - Alfalfa, Horses and Birds of Prey

About all Linda said was “I need to be an Aunt for a few days!” so we got on the phone and invited ourselves down to Eugene Oregon for a visit to her sister and family.   They are in a new house, one we hadn't seen, making our visit easier to validate. On Tuesday morning we forced Kobi into the truck and started our adventure.

When we planned the trip we contacted our good friend Shawna to see if we could stop off and visit her for a few days.  She lives in Alfalfa just outside of Bend on a ranch.  She OK-ed the visit which broke up our travels.

The other thing we did was to drive down to a RV campground on the Columbia River near Biggs, OR. We arrived at the Peach Beach RV Campground about 2 PM and got the rig set up.

As I inspected everything I noticed that the Jeep had three screws in the passenger rear tire.  I immediately panicked and started to change it out for the spare.  Once I got my head under control I Googled tire places around Biggs and found that ten miles away there was a Les Schwab in Goldendale.  I put my tools away and hit the road.

The wind had been blowing hard all day and boy it had its way with Stinky Jeep.  I fought the wheel for the ten miles up to the flats and into Goldendale and found Les’s place. The young man got me in to the repair area right away.  found the screws and made the repairs informing me that two out of the three were leaking air. This made me feel better about my freak out.  I drove back to Peach Beach and Linda made dinner. Kobi and I went for a walk and then we all went to bed.

Morning was a bit lazy because we had all day to get to Alfalfa. We loaded up and were on the road by 10 AM.  The drive was uneventful and we found the ranch very easily. 

Shawna was still at work, so we set up the camper and soaked up the sun in our lounge chairs.

Once Shawna arrived we started catching up while we doctored two of their houses.  RH (Red Horse) has some kind of infection in his hock. He needed to have cold water sprayed on the area and he also had to take some medicine.  The other horse, John Wayne, had a cough so he also got to choke down a bit of goo. I learned that when administering medicine via the horse’s mouth, you will probably get most of it on your cloths.

Evening brought a great sunset and we ate dinner then called it a night.

Shawna got up and did her horse chores and we got ready for our day.  Linda and I went into Bend and visited the High Mountain Dessert Museum and Shawna went to work.

The Museum was very interesting and we both really enjoyed all the exhibits. Our favorite was a live birds of prey program where they flew live birds around us while a ranger told us facts about the bird’s lives. The Raptors of the Desert Sky Program, included a Barn Owl, a Great Horned Owl, a Vulture, two hawks and a falcon.

We met Shawna back at the ranch and she had brought pizza home for us. We stuffed ourselves and talked until about 10PM.  We were moving on in the morning and Shawna had a big orientation program that she was in charge of so we called it a night.

I guess I Otter end this post.

The Olympic Du

Linda and Shawna went out for a little horseback ride, so I mowed the lawn. Actually I started to harvest the crop of grass that is around the ranch. It is about six times the amount of lawn we have at our little place in Post Falls. You start by weed whacking the waist high grass around the irrigation stream that runs through the ranch. Then I started mowing the east forty, followed by the north thirty and then the south fifteen. One full pass fills the catch bag and then you have to march fifty yards to the dump grounds. After about two hours, Shawna finally gave me a wheel barrow so I could cut my dump marches so I was dumping four grass bags before I had to march the fifty yards.

Once we got the harvest complete we had to irrigate, so we tossed big rocks in the irrigation stream, which blocked it enough to redirect some current into the ditch that runs along the front yard. I thought the ditch was there to trip intruders up; Kobi kept tripping in the thing when we first arrived, once he landed face first. Really thought dogs were more coordinated. When that ditch fills the water flows into the yard and the road. Shawna called it flood watering, I called it a place for Kobi to get covered with water, grass and mud.

Over All

101. Linda Bennett 0 F 2:39:08 1 1:27:20 63 2:45 1:09:02 155 Post Falls, ID

FEMALES: 50 TO 54 YEARS OF AGE

1. Heather Leach 2056 51 F 2:19:58 Seattle, WA

2. Linda Bennett 0 F 2:39:08 Post Falls, ID

2. Georgene Richardson 2076 51 F 3:15:12 Medford, OR

3. Kathy Ploger 2053 54 F 3:23:19 Lincoln City, OR

Something About Cowgirls

Adventure Weekend

The high desert region of Oregon is very interesting. We have been scampering back and forth between Shawna’s ranch, located on the Johnson Ranch Road outside of Bend Oregon, and Sun River, Oregon. That distance takes about an hour to cover; we’re getting real good at it. Sun River is the site of the Pacific Crest Adventure Weekend. Linda is competing in the Olympic Duathlon on Sunday. Don’t ask me what that is, I am just the driver.

Shawna’s ranch is a great place; we have power, water and our very own mouse. The little feller left us some signs yesterday and since then we have traveled north to Redmond Oregon, where we purchased a couple surprises for the little booger.

Kobi really likes the ranch, there is an irrigation ditch running right next to the camper that he goes into about every fifteen minutes. It has all the things a good Golden requires; water, mud, and a bit of gucky stink to give him that “dude ranch dog” smell. Every afternoon we have tossed the ball for him and he chases it until we eat dinner. Kobie is relentless.

I will give you a brief rundown on what we have done so far. We arrived about 2 PM on Wednesday and waited for Shawna to get home from work. To while away the time after we got our camper set, we tossed the ball for the dog. Shawna arrived and we cooked dinner and talked. Then we went to bed.

Thursday we got up and drove down to Sun River to figure out where Linda needed to be. Average drive time down and back, two hours. We figured out the lay of the land and drove some of the bike course. We returned and waited for Shawna to get off work, tossed the ball and then are dinner. After dinner we drove to Redmond to get the mouse presents.

Friday we got up and Linda and I drove down to Sun River. This time we picked up the race packet and drove home. During the times when we have been in Sun River Shawna has been dealing with her horse, Duck Man. Duck has an injured eye and it has become quite an expensive and frustrating ordeal for Shawna. We hope she can get things taken care of soon, so she can relax.

This afternoon’s plans are as follows, in no particular order. The girls are going horseback riding, we are planting some flowers Shawna needs planted, we will walk the dog, and hopefully I will be able to place a dead body of a little mouse to rest in the garden.