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Sunday, October 30, 2016

The Rain Finally Paused Ride

I didn't call this post "the rain finally stopped ride" because I fear it has only just begun.  From October 1st through 5 am October 27th, the Willamette Valley in Oregon received 7.8 inches (19.8 cm) of rain.  We are on track to beat a record high in 1994 of 8.04 inches (20.4 cm) of rain for October. Read the details here ---> LINK.

We were almost giddy when the weather forecast for last Friday was dry and we both had the day off.

With the TW200 sporting a new battery and Troubadour's DRZ 400s race ready we jumped at the chance to get out on the bikes.

A few months ago when Troubadour was out tearing up the back roads with some friends from work they passed a field with some highland cattle, or 'Heilan Coos' as one might say in Scotland. They are gaining popularity here in Oregon but you don't usually see them by the side of a road and he didn't have the chance to stop that day.

A route was planned so that we could take advantage of a dry day. A pleasant 80 mile loop over some gravel forestry roads linking up with some asphalt to find the cows.

Friday was our day. We'd tried previously on September 25th but the dead TW200 battery stymied those plans.

We left the house around noon with the sun trying to shine through the high clouds.  We headed west beyond Philomath and then turned south onto Woods Creek Road. We took Woods Creek Rd to Tum Tum Road, then to Harris Road, which took us to the Harris Covered Bridge at Wren.

(Corvallis to Wren via Woods Creek, Tum Tum Rd, and Harris Rd)
The gravel was in pretty good shape with expected potholes and puddles. We stopped along the way for a few photos.

Tum Tum Road

(Somewhere along Tum Tum Rd)

(2013 Suzuki DRZ 400s and 2009 Yamaha TW200)

(The Woolly Bear Caterpillars were out as well - looks like a bad winter)

(Photo by Troubadour)

(Troubadour was taking pictures with his phone)

(Helmet selfie)

(My artsy contribution for the day - in a tire tread puddle by the bikes)
Somewhere further along Tum Tum Rd Troubadour spotted some smoke.  I mentioned through the Senas that there was also a small helicopter.  He spotted it and also noticed as it looped around that it was spraying something over the clear cut that was burning.  We were pretty sure it wasn't water so we held our breath, blipped the throttles, and took off around the bend and over the hill.  The last thing we wanted was the pilot laughing maniacally as he chased the motorcyclists with herbicide or insecticide.

Harris Rd.

(A TW200, a horse, and a pioneer apple tree on the right)

(Posing the bikes with some distant fall color)

(Troubadour's 2013 DRZ400s)

(The best show of fall color we'd see all day - hard to find in forests of evergreen Douglas Fir)

(Troubadour going to pick some apples)

(The TW 200 and Troubadour - successfully picking apples)

(A view of where we'd been)
Harris Covered Bridge - Wren, Oregon

(Harris Covered Bridge over the Marys River built in 1929)



(Photo by Troubadour) 
From Wren we rode North on Kings Valley Highway and then turned west on Alexander Rd.  This took us over some back roads and gravel roads to Fort Hoskins.

(Wren to Fort Hoskins via Kings Valley Highway and Alexander Rd)
 We made a stop along on the way when we saw this red barn.

(Beautiful barn along Alexander Road)
We noticed a for sale sign nearby and looked it up online when we got home. If you find yourself in need of an old farmhouse and 53 acres, which includes this gorgeous barn, you'll only need to pick $850,000 off your money tree.  Here is a link to the listing ---> LINK.  Check out the photos, they are quite something.

Fort Hoskins

At Fork Hoskins we stopped for a spot of tea and a snack.  "Fort Hoskins was actually one of three forts (which were unfortified posts) built by the US Army to monitor the Coastal Indian Reservation in Oregon in the mid-19th century" To read more click this ---> LINK. We made sure to pack along the Jetboil thinking we might need a warm up.  Since the sun came out we weren't chilly, but the hot tea was still welcome.

(Our view at Fort Hoskins - they are renovating an old fort residence)

(Photo by Troubadour - waiting for the water to boil)

(A tree with some fall color at Fort Hoskins)

(Me acting silly at Fort Hoskins - photo by Troubadour)
From Fort Hoskins  We took Luckiamute Road to find the Highland Cattle.  A few miles up the road and we found them. Unfortunately we couldn't get close enough to pet them on the nose. There was a double fence and one was electric on their side.

Heilan Coos

(A mama cow)

(and her two yearlings - she didn't want to leave them)

(One baby was curious enough to stand up)

(The rest of the cows in the pasture)

(This one was curious but wouldn't come any closer)

(The beige one on the left was the bull)

(Troubadour parked off the road by the gate)

(Enough 'fertilizer' around for the mushrooms to grow)

(I parked up on the side of the road)

After the cows, we continued on Luckiamute Road and made a loop north and east until re-joining Kings Valley Highway.  From there it was a short stint south until we could turn east on Maxfield Creek Road. We were aiming for Berry Creek Road/Tampico Road because it was another short stretch of gravel.  Turns out it is now paved. Doh!  Wonder when they did that.

(Fort Hoskins to Corvallis via Gage Rd, Burbank Rd, Kings Valley Hwy,
Maxfield Creek Rd, Airlie Rd, Berry Creek Rd, Soap Creek Rd, and Sulphur Springs Rd)
We made one quick stop along Airlie Road to take a few pictures of another barn in the sunshine.  The lighting wasn't great but we managed a few pictures.

(A barn somewhere along Airlie Rd)

(Looking Northeast across the Valley towards the Cascade Mountains)
Troubadour took a little longer to take his pics than I did so when he finished he found me leaning on my tail bag waiting patiently.

(Photo by Troubadour)

(Trobairitz & her TW 200 - photo by Troubadour)
This was the last stop of the day.  We managed to get home by about 4:30 and the sun was still shining.  We only rode 80 miles (129 km), but we had a great afternoon out on the little bikes.

It rained some yesterday morning and it is raining again as I write this Sunday morning. It has been for a few hours.  We may break that October rainfall record yet.

UPDATE - as of Friday Corvallis has actually seen 11.25 inches (28.57 cm) of rain. I was actually going off of Eugene's rainfall totals to the south of us.  Here is an article from our local paper yesterday.  LINK.  And yes, it is still raining now.

- Au Revoir

"Autumn repays the earth the leaves which summer has lent it." - George Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799)
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36 comments:

  1. Whenever I see your TW, I'd like to get me one, too. I just love that little machine.

    We haven't had enough rain, it looks like we've had lots in June and Juli, and since then, draught-like weather conditions.

    I like the barn, and the house that comes with it, nicely staged. Let's both shake our money trees, and maybe we could afford the pond that is going with the grounds...

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    1. The TW200 is a great little bike. I trust happily plonks along doing whatever I ask, whether it is 20-30 mph over rutted gravel roads or 55-60 on the highway.

      Hmmmm maybe we could get the pond...... our money tree is a little wet with all this rain though, lol

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  2. I have the same reaction to the TW. Well it looks like you may get a new record. It seems like rain is forecast for the next couple of days.

    Interesting looking cows. You didn't explain to them that they shouldn't feel threatened by vegans? ;-)

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    1. I didn't realize it when I wrote this but apparently we've had even more rain in Corvallis than Eugene that the article was about. Here is a link to the GT's article from yesterday, we've had over 11.25 inches (28.5 cm) of rain as of Friday and it was raining Saturday morning, yesterday and is still raining this morning. sigh.

      http://www.gazettetimes.com/albany/news/local/the-wettest-october-ever/article_1e9ec201-e5fa-554f-9713-0911c6aeec28.html

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  3. Very nice write-up of what looked to be a fun day.

    Oh, the memories from some of those places... I have a friend who lives off of KVH and he used to love to show me hidden gems like Ft. Hoskins, etc.

    And the Heilan Coos were a nice bonus!

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    1. It was a fun afternoon. Makes me a little jealous of your weather down in SoCal though and how much you can ride during the winter.

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  4. I've always though that Highland cattle look at you as if they've never seen humans before and are either very stupid or have bad eyesight.

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    1. Only the two even seemed to notice us, they others were oblivious. Not sure if they seemed stupid or bored, but I still wanted to give the close one a nose rub.

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  5. I like the look of those Coos.....very serene. Looks like you two had a fun day of riding.

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    1. I think the cows were bored, but we had fun riding. (bikes not cows)

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  6. Newly paved roads always make me sad. Don't get me wrong--I love fresh asphalt, but only on routes that I've always known as paved. I just get kinda queasy when dirt or gravel is "improved" with blacktop. To me it screams sprawl and the possible loss of remoteness.

    (Hmm, I'd always thought I dealt well with change. Now I'm not so sure.)

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    1. We were definitely disappointed the road was paved. There is nothing but a few farms out there so it might have made them happy as it will keep the dust down.

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  7. Gravel, mud, puddles and fresh steaks - looks like a fantastic day out!

    Incidentally, there are Highland cattle (and some crossbreeds) on my sister's farm.

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    1. Yes it had all the makings of a great ride.

      So, the next time you are at your sisters you'll be taking pics of the highland cattle, yeah? Pretty please?

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  8. looks like the rain had dampened it to a nice surface to ride along through there
    and once more a great look into the areas you have to ride in and a look at the wildlife although cows might not count as wild
    great they keep the covered bridges maintained and are still useable

    love that little tw 200
    any updates on your decision for a upgrade of suzuki????

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    1. Gage Rd had a thin layer of slick mud on it that made for some wandering with the bike under me, but the others were all great, just puddles to play in.

      besides the cows we did see a bunch of wild turkeys we spooked in the road and also a deer. If we'd had a GoPro we'd have caught them on 'film'.

      We have over 50 covered bridges in Oregon, the most of any state west of the Mississippi river. They take pride in them and keep restore them. Most are on the historic register and are even found on our maps.

      So far the Suzuki hasn't sold and Honda hasn't released their 2017's (no 16's left in the state) so no new bike until spring is my guess. No biggie with this rain. If our weather was gorgeous it would bother me, but I have the TW for this kind of weather.

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  9. Great to finally get out on such a glorious day with your hubby. As usual great photos. I love those big old barns that you guys have in the US. Just think how many motorcycles you could fit in there!!

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    1. Thank you, it was nice to get out, especially with the dead battery disappointment last time.

      Dozens, I think you could fit dozens of bikes in those barns. Much more fun than keeping hay in them.

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  10. Looks like it was a very fun day. Great pictures of the scenery and the muddy roads.

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    1. Thank you. We did have fun, so nice to be back on the bikes after all this rain.

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  11. You two always have such great adventures! That's really pretty countryside, and those Heilan Coos are adorable - so furry! Fun!

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    1. Thank you, it was a nice little putter through the back roads.

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  12. Perfect bike for the ride ... looks like you had fun.

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    1. It was the right bike to take, although I've been on the gravel stretch by the covered bridge on the Gladius as well the three miles of gravel that was paved over. Much more fun on the TW on gravel.

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  13. Just love your photos Brandy, you have a real artistic talent for nature shots! I used to love off-roading but don't think my body would react too well to a decent drop these days! Mind you, that view is coloured by my last dirt bike which was a 2 stroke with a narrow power band!

    Thanks for the lovely post :-)

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    1. Thanks Geoff.

      I think if you kept it to a dull roar on gravel roads you'd be fine. Think small dual sport, not dirt biking. Two strokes are nice if you are the one in the lead, lol.

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  14. As usual really good photos and an interesting read, quite a beautiful area that you live in (if a little muddy at the time!) Those small bikes are a lot of fun, I've had several over the years - my favourite was a Suzuki DR500S but I also had a 175 Yamaha which was great for tooling around on the gravel. (Might just get myself another one.)

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    1. Thank you Andrew. It is a little muddy right now, but so far November has been dry, fingers crossed. We are lucky to live so close to the coastal mountains and foothills. A shame there is so much lear cutting though.

      Treat yourself in retirement and go tootling along those back gravel roads. Our traffic is getting worse on the main roads so it is nice to find the path less travelled.

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  15. I love that TW also! The pics were great, and the cows just adorable. Oh, and here in the southeast, we are in extreme drought now. Could you please send along a little rain? ;-)

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    1. Thanks Lynne. We've been in drought for the last few years with over half the counties in Oregon declaring states of emergency. After this rain, I'd better not hear about water restrictions next year. If I could send you some rain, I would. :-)

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  16. It's that time of year when rain and mud dominate. I feel my Oregon envy slipping away for a few months.

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    1. Now we know why the state animal is the beaver.....months like October. yes, I think you can put away your envy for a good few months. Until at least May is my guess. Although it hasn't rained yet today. Was raking yesterday when we got up but stopped after an hour or so.

      The lawn really needs to be mowed again and it is too wet to do so. Maybe we need a few goats.

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  17. Great photos - love the helmet selfie!

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    1. Thank you. Looks a little futuristic I am thinking.

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  18. The cows/bull are so cute! I can't remember what you called them and I'm not scrolling back up now. :)
    The coast range has some many wonderful places to explore and always has the remote feel to it.

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    1. The cows are cute and that's no bull!!

      So many more places to explore, just need some time and fairly nice weather.

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