The Tour ~ Pendleton to Portland

Although we truly enjoyed the cowboy town of Pendleton, Oregon, I was looking forward to heading out to Portland.  Just over 200 miles away we had friends and family to visit there.

Along the way we drove by a tree farm.  Miles and miles and MILES of this tree farm.  I have to admit I was amazed.  I took dozens of pictures.  I only included a few in this post…but really it was incredible to see.

Although I had been through the Columbia River Gorge as a teenager, I did not remember the dramatic landscape. Cutting 4000 feet into the Cascade Mountain Range, The Gorge runs about 80 miles along the boundary between the Oregon and Washington States.

 
The area generates significant electricity from both wind and water.  I am intrigued by the shapes of various powerline towers, hence the photos.  We made several stops along the way, reading various historical landmarks. 

Salmon fishing humans have lived in the Gorge for 10,000 years.  It has been the well traveled route for American Indians,  Lewis and Clark, steamboats, railroads, freight haulers, and
The Teamster’s Five-O Tour.

One destination just outside of Portland was Multnomah Falls. 


Jeff, of A Word In Edgewise, had first suggested we stop there.  Coincidently DOT (Dad of Teamster) also thought we would enjoy Multnomah.  They had visited the falls on a previous trip and remembered it fondly.

Multnomah Falls was beautiful indeed. It is the second tallest year round waterfall in the nation, dropping 620 feet. We hiked up to the midpoint bridge to get the full effect.  By our clothing, it was obvious we were riding a motorcycle.  The gear can be a conversation starter with other riders.  It also causes some rather disconcerting stares.  The Teamster is kinda badass with his shaved head and shades.  However, I look rather dorky…not scary or mean. But still we get the looks.

Once in the Portland area we repeated our established routine, to find a bar or diner to have a little snack and fire up the laptop to surf for
accommodations. 
 
We settled in the Oregon City area at a little place right on the river.

(again…photos by both me and The Teamster)

The Tour ~ Boise to Pendleton

After watching the Memorial Day event in downtown Boise, we took a quick walk around the state capitol grounds. 

French Canadian trapping and small scale silver mining both played a role in bringing settlers to the tree lined valley.

During the Civil War.  the United States established Fort Boise to help protect from massacres along the Oregon Trail.

We were taking our time until the local stores opened. We needed to get a replacement screw for my face shield.  Surprisingly, High Desert Harley Davidson was less than helpful….although they did tell us three times that they are the largest Harley dealership in the north west.  That’s nice. 

One of the mechanics did steer us to Cycle Gear of Meridian Idaho.  The young woman there was VERY helpful.  Not only did she dig through her inventory to find the right screw…she gave me two so that they would match.  (I was just not keen on one being black and one being silver…it would have messed with my mind for miles.)  AND….she didn’t charge us. (I need to send them a note praising her customer service….)

Geared up, we headed towards Pendleton, Oregon. This September will the be 100th Pendleton Round-Up where the town’s populations booms from 25,000 to over 100, 000. It looks like a great time.

The Pendleton Underground Tour of their historical redlight district would have been fun.  However it was completely sold out. Apparently bus loads of tourists come for the one or two weekends a year they do the tours in full vintage costume. 

We had a wonderful dinner at Hamley’s Steak house. I could have spent a fortune at their western goods store…but there was no room on the motorcycle. smile.

Photographs for this post were contributed by both The Teamster and myself…

(note: this was the only leg of The Tour with an alternate sponsor…due to regional unavailability of the primary sponsor. )

Looking at the sky on Friday ~ Idaho Storm (9)

We had just left Fairfield, Idaho, rushing the fifty or so miles to Mountain Home…skirting thunder storms, braving harsh wind.  I’m on the back of the bike, without any face shield, protecting the camera lens from the rain…and my only thought is “I gotta get a picture of this for Tisha’s Looking at the sky on Friday.”  True Story.

In Idaho…they are just a little more free…

Waking up in Boise, on my second day of The Tour, we walked into down town to find a quaint place for breakfast, taking our time and enjoying the day.

In a tree lined park surrounded by high rise office buildings we came upon a group of military.  From every branch, men and women of all ages in various uniforms from combat to dress. They stood at ease around the the edge of the grass talking casually to one another.  At one corner, lining both sides of a staircase, representatives from each branch stood at attention.

 
A crowd was gathering.  We asked a young Marine what was going on, and learned it was some sort of early Memorial Day observance.  He said there would be a choir from the local school singing Amazing Grace, speakers and such.  We walked down the grassy knoll, looking around.  There was a podium and a few rows of chairs arranged around two flag poles. 

A young man was playing the violin:  “My Country Tis of Thee,”  “Battle Hymn of The Republic,” “American the Beautiful” lilting through the park.

At the base of the flagpoles was the Fallen Soldier Battle Cross.  A rifle, bayonet into the ground, with a helmet hung on the gun stock, and boots placed in front. 

Going back to the Civil War, it is used today in Iraq and Afghanistan as a sign of respect for the fallen among the still living members of the troop. Frequently the dog tags of the fallen soldier are hung from the rifle. I do not know the name of the soldier on these dog tags.

People were gathered in small groups.  Some families. A few small children. Gentle hugs of greeting. Groups of men shaking hands and slapping backs as men will do.  Some in the formal business suit attire, many in motorcycle gear. 

For a moment I felt as if we were crashing the event. But I noticed office workers from the surrounding buildings coming out…and other passersby stopping. We both knew without discussion that we wanted to stay.

Half a dozen people were taking pictures, so I reached for the Teamster’s camera.  There was laughter and smiling.

The speaker opened by thanking the city of Boise and the company Quest for their sponsorship.

He spoke of the meaning of Memorial Day, and the importance of remembering not only those who have given their lives in military service, but also those in law enforcement and fire fighting who have been killed in the line of duty.

There were introductions of additional speakers and the honoring of a local man who was a veteran of World War II, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. 


There was an American Flag presented, saluted, and folded thirteen times before being laid at the Battle Cross of the Fallen Soldier.

The men and women from the staircase stood behind the podium. 

The Stars and Stripes was presented and raised to half mast with the Idaho state flag. We pledged allegiance to our flag and sang our national anthem. We heard the stories of local men and women who have given the last full measure of their devotion in duty as soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, national guard, coast guard, police officers, and fire fighters.

I wondered if this kind of ceremony would ever be allowed in my town.  I sorta doubt it.  The University of California at Santa Cruz is famous for violently protesting military recruiters at all career events.  Certainly no public school child would ever be allowed to sing “Amazing Grace” in public.  They seem to be able to celebrate with more freedom in Boise than in Santa Cruz.  That makes me a bit resentful.

Three wreaths were presented in red, white and blue.

The blue wreath by an officer of the Boise police department, and the red by the local fire chief.  The white wreath sent me from teary to tears.  A Vietnam Vet whose own son died in Iraq.


 
The speaker announced that the anthem from each branch of service would be played, and invited anyone in the audience who had served to wave when their anthem was played.  One by one the songs filled the downtown area.

The Caissons Go Rolling Along
Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder
Anchors Aweigh
From the Halls of Montezuma, To the Shores of Tripoli
Always Ready

Each song was greeted by spontaneous applause…and while I saw a few people wave…what I noticed was the men who snapped to attention.  In jeans, or gear, or business suit…as their anthem played they stood straight and silent drawing no attention to themselves, a few with tears in their eyes.





As the commanding officer of the Idaho National Guard gave the keynote address I was distracted by a bucket of long stem red roses next to where we were standing.  When the songs and speeches were finished they invited anyone in the crowd who had lost a love one in the line of duty to bring a rose to the Battle Cross of the Fallen Soldier.

Out of respect, I took no pictures as these family and friends picked up a rose and took them forward.  Young women with babies.  An older woman crying on the arm of her son.  The sunglassed guy in the armani suit. Fathers and Mothers holding tight to one another. Quite a few kneeled at the cross for a moment as they left their rose.

There were salutations and the bugle played taps.  We walked away quiet and in awe of the experience. Although we were strangers, our patriotic hearts were touched by the emotional tribute we had stumbled upon that morning in Boise, Idaho.

I missed you guys! (back at catching up….)

As many of you know, The Teamster has been on  his "Five-O Tour”…a three week motorcycle ride followed by a golf trip with his brothers to celebrate his fiftieth birthday.  A full month of five-o frolic and festivities.

He launched phase one of The Tour on May 2nd taking off from his home in the central valley of California, heading to the south west United States.

Phase one of The Teamster’s Five-O Tour was a solo ride including stops in Tehachapi, Laughlin, The Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Salt Lake City.  (for those of you across the pond… that includes the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.)

I had been invited to join him for phase two… which is where I have been for the past eleven days. (I have so missed you guys!) I had hoped to be able to post “from the road” but we didn’t quite get the hang of a single laptop. Not that we don’t share well….it was the time constraints of time on the road and all the fun destinations.

The Teamster wanted his tour to be as unplanned as possible… to be able go where ever the bike might take him.  The one real requirement was that he be in the city I was flying in to…on the actual day I was flying in.  Given my schedule and his route, he determined Twin Falls, Idaho was a good place for us to meet up.

As I started surfing the internet for the lowest airfare available…I was having a difficult time finding flights.  I went to the Twin Falls airport website to check which airlines fly into it.

One.
One airline.
A small regional carrier called SkyWest…an affiliate of Delta Airlines.

I learned a few other little tidbits about the Joslin Field, Magic Valley Airport of Twin Falls.

There are over 28 domestic flights out of Twin Falls each week…serving more than 840 passengers.  (Imagine…over 840 passengers each and every week !!! ) The longest flight from Twin Falls is 174 miles. The smallest commercial aircraft flying out of Twin Falls is an EM2 with 30 seats. A nice little plane…. all things considered. (remind me to tell you the story about the crew on my flight.) It was after 10pm when I landed….so no pictures.

Our first leg was all Idaho, from Twin Falls to Boise via Ketchum and Mountain Home. For the most part we wanted to stay off the major highways and keep to the roads less traveled.

Ketchum was a destination recommended by The Teamster’s son, who is active duty AirForce, stationed in Mountain Home.  Ketchum peaked my interest as the place where Hemingway spent many years…and ultimately his tragic last two years. The landscapes are beautiful, and the town is an upscale art community full of galleries and boutiques.

A few raindrops fell as we came into town.  We decided to have lunch to let the weather pass.

The Kneadery was a great choice.  Not only did they serve breakfast and lunch…they had plates of free brownies and cookies to snack on.

We stopped at the chamber’s visitor center to get directions to Hemingway’s grave.  There are no signs or indications of where he is buried. 

Just go to the back road of the cemetery and look for the grouping of three trees.

 
Ernest Hemingway is buried amongst his wife Mary, and other family members.  His gravestone is covered in pennies.

 
I looked up why people leave pennies on grave stones…there are several theories on how it began. In our time, it seems to be a way to note that people have visited the grave…and have not forgotten.  Hemingway had a great talent…and battled many demons in his life.

We headed out towards Mountain Home. About 50 miles in, the weather turned threatening.

 

We could see a storm approaching and the wind was getting a bit too strong. We stopped in a tiny town called Fairfield.  It was a good thing. For sixty miles past Fairfield there is nothing.  No towns, no services. not even a barn to take shelter under. Down the road, just before the horizon…the rain was pouring.

We hung out in a cafe frequented by local cattle ranchers and cement plant workers.   Ordering a piece of their delicious red raspberry pie we fired up the laptop to find out what the weather was doing. 

Those of you who read The Teamster know while we were waiting…the wind was so strong it blew my helmet off the bike and broke the face shield screw. That was while the bike was parked next to the building.  You can imagine how strong the wind was on the open road.

The Teamster checked their little motel to make sure they had a room available…just in case. The beauty of The Tour is that we can alter our plans at a moment’s notice.  I started tracking the storm using various county Doppler maps. Periodically one of us would go outside and stand out in the middle of the road to check the horizon.

I love the internet! We knew how many miles to the next town.  With Google we could see the terrain and the type of roads.  Via Doppler we watched the storm moving in the opposite direction of our path.  As soon as we saw it start to break we headed out.

It was beautiful to see the blue sky break though with all the silver linings. The wind was a little strong…but it was a blessing moving the storm away faster!

By the time we got to Mountain Home, the wind was just a breeze and we had blue sky all around.  Originally we had hoped to visit with The Teamster’s son.  However he was out of town at a top secret location practicing maneuvers in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan.

 
We hit Boise just about dinner time.  We drove through downtown looking for a interesting restaurant, possible accommodations, and the best place to park.  It was a true example of unsuccessful back seat driving…smile. We spotted “Cool Hand Luke’s Steakhouse and Saloon” with designated motorcycle parking right across the street! 



See the little tower lookin’ place on the left side of the building?  That is where we were seated…watching the city at dusk.

 

 
We split a wonderful meal.  Cool Hand Luke’s has delicious food and very friendly people. It was the perfect place to relax and end our day.