My neighbor walks his cat and when they get to this tree the cat always goes up in it. He climbs around for awhile and then my friend bends over near the base of the tree and the cat jumps down onto his back. It's very cute. The cat is right, this is an awesome climbing tree.

Wow, I'm so glad you are all right, Rachael. That sounds horrible. Horrible also that you didn't get in your 42 miles!

Yikes! Is right, thanks for the tips.

Keep riding and keep posting, Scott! Best way to stay healthy and sane.

Isn’t that amazing though? no, I don’t know what it is. Some kind of willow maybe? Maybe Bruce or Andrea would know.

I'll add my vote for you to keep posting your local adventures. Doing this daily read is something I look forward to. I'm sure it's tough dealing with this in your currently 'homeless' situation with all this going on.
When this all started, we were 2 months into a 3 month getaway (not a cycling getaway unfortunately), but made the decision to make a run for home before travel conditions got worse. I'm glad we did. I feel much more comfortable in familiar surroundings, especially if there's ever a need to get into a medical facility.
Good luck, stay healthy, and thanks for keeping us entertained!
Bob

Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Susan. I’ve been thinking along the same lines myself. We want a community with basic services; a hospital and airport nearby; and with luck, a few restaurants that will do takeout. And I think you’re right about risk. It feels like it’s just a matter of time before most of us become infected, but the further out into the future we can push it the better.

Yes, places with a kitchen are mandatory. I’m sure we’ll opt for whatever takeout is available from time to time, but we certainly expect to eat in most of the time. Quite a change for us!

Please! Keep riding and posting.

As for your small town plans, will you stay in places where you can prepare your own food?

There are still a couple restaurants in Silverton that offer take-out, but most are shut.

I suppose there's Domino's and fast food, but bleh!

Scott and Rachel,
These are challenging times indeed, especially for wandering souls like you. In the spirit of looking out for all our friends and touring buddies, I venture to suggest that your choice of a “temporary home town” consider the availability/proximity to good medical care, preferably a hospital. While we all practice social distancing to slow the spread of the virus, I believe that at some point we all will become infected. Hopefully we will experience a mild case and quickly recover. Even better, infection may be delayed until a time when therapeutics or vaccines are available. In planning for all contingencies, however, I think it prudent to consider access to good medical care a top priority in your travel plans. Despite this gloomy response, I hope that you enjoy the sparse traffic and unique landscape of “the east side”. Stay healthy and feel free to call or text if you want to discuss more or commiserate about the failure of US pandemic preparedness and/or ineptitude of current administration. Fiveonefive509sevenninesix2. Best, Susan

That red .. wow!

Do you know what that is?

Like so many others, we are having to take decisions based on the acceptance that this nightmare situation is actually real. Reading of your deliberations helps with ours. But also you are right, the diversion of being able to read your blog helps fend off any stir craziness that might develop on our side. So, keep posting!

Yes. Blueberries prefer acid soil, thus the sawdust mounded at the base of the plants.

Keep posting! Every day, more and more journals on both sites give up and go home.

Thanks. The actual date is March 23.