This very seriously was… one of the best days
of my life. Every time I thought that it
couldn't get any better or more beautiful, we came around another corner, and
there was another lake, river, mountain, waterfall, or girl that was more
spectacular than the one we just saw.
This area is truly God's country.
I've always loved the mountains, and feel very much at home here. Plus, it's a tourist area, so there are a lot
of smiles on the faces of the other people who are also enjoying the experience
of this natural wonderland. Here's the
recap of the day:
6am - Yea… six solid hours of
unconsciousness. I don't think I even
dreamt. Jacques had said that he was
gonna sleep in, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw his bright eyes and
excited expression of anticipation about our upcoming day ride.
8:45am - Hot tubbed and coffeed… we got on our
bikes and hit the road.
9:00am – After topping off our tanks, we left
Sunriver. Jacques and me… two giddy
young boys, setting out for a day of fun and frolic. Poor Sunriver… it would never be the
same. Not really, this place is full of
giddy young men (and women).
9:45am - Sisters… the town of, for breakfast in
the shadow of The Sisters… the mountain of… a set of 3 peaks named Gloria,
Ruth, and Ann. Kidding. Their names are much more exciting. North, Middle, and South.
11:15am - Sahallie Falls. Wow.
11:25am - Kahoosa Falls. WOW.
The pic that Jacques took of me didn't do the scene justice. With the waterfall in the background and an
almost complete half circle rainbow around my head… we were indeed in the eye
of the rainbow. And we stayed there the
whole day… figuratively. I could fill
two or three pages with words trying to describe my thoughts and feelings that
were (and still are) inside me, about this area, and my blessings to be able to
enjoy it with someone like Jacques. I
love Jacques.
12:30pm - Fuel for our bikes. Jacques had refused to name his bike. He says, "It's not a he or a she… it's
androgynous… sexless, and abstinent."
Poor thing… Honey feels sorry of 'it'.
But she loves 'it' anyway,
because she knows how much I love Jacques, and she is a very loyal and loving
girl.
So, although his scooter doesn't have a name,
he does call it, 'The Praying Mantis,' and
I've come up with a description for Honey.
She's, 'The Silver Lioness.' The Mantis
and the Lioness, out on a daylong
hunt for fun, frivolity, friendship, and the feeble attempts at humorous ways
to word things.
12:45pm - Another incredible vista. Jacques didn't want to take a picture of me
splashing water all over myself, so I took one of him, sitting on his bike
doing what he seems to do about 95% of the time… professing and profounding
about one thing or another. I never knew
there was anyone else in the world who could talk more without stopping to
breathe… besides me.
2:30pm - We had to turn around. The scenic bypass was impassable. Too much snow. It was about 80 degrees, so I rolled around
in it for a while, and left a snow angel (snow devil?) for the next visitor to
admire. Oh, I didn't get the girls'
names, but as we were goofing around a car was going up the hill, so I stepped
in front of it and forced it to stop. I
asked the girls if they wanted to get out and be in a picture with us and the
driver hesitated… and with the most obvious expression of fear that I've eve
seen on anyone's face, said, "Hhmm… no". I did see a little smirk on her face though,
as she squealed off, continuing up the hill.
3:00pm - Cougar Reservoir. Again… words… it would take too many, or
perhaps it's just that there aren't any in existence. Maybe someone who can actually write stories
will visit this place, and be able to describe it. Until then… I hope you keep reading my feeble
attempt at writing a story...
5:15pm - After two or three more stops not
entered in my journal, we stopped in Oakridge for some food. Jacques wanted McDonald's, but I just
couldn't do that, so I asked the gas attendant if he could recommend someplace
in town. He couldn't, but Tippy… a young
pink haired girl jumped out of her truck and strode over to me and told me I needed
to go to 'The Trailhead.' She said,
"It's operated by hippies… you'll like it." How in the heck did she know I was a
hippy? The food was wonderful and the
kids working there were super cool.
Forest the cook and Hillary the waitress, invited me into the little
kitchen to chat with them.
7:30pm - Just south of La Pine… almost home and
Jacques decides he has to pull off the road, so… after he motioned to me that
we were gonna pull off to the right… he turned LEFT… and proceeded to ride down
the wrong side of the road.
There was oncoming traffic so I pulled over to
the right, onto a small shoulder as the two cars behind us almost ran into each
other trying to figure out what the fuck we were doing. It was the only bad thing that happened the
whole day… after riding 341 miles with only about 10 miles to go.
Besides that one goof up, Jacques and I match
up pretty good in our riding personalities, techniques, and abilities. It was as if we'd been riding together for
years.
We spent probably 50 miles of our ride… side by
side on the two lane highways… going 60~80 mph… our handlebars only 2 feet
apart, or less. In fact, about three or
four times, we'd actually be holding hands.
Jacques' Mantis has a cruise control so he can take his hand off the
throttle. It was so cute… two guys
riding down the road on their motorcycles holding hands. Awww.
8:00pm - Our last stop of the day was to buy
supplies for dinner at the Sunriver Grocery Store, the same place we made our
first stop, earlier that morning.
8:30pm - Home… 11 hours 45 minutes and 351
miles. It was in all seriousness, one of
the best days of my life.
