Over and out

August 21, 2023

OK. I’m sure now. I’ve had a week to think about it, and this is definitely our last post - on this journal, anyway. There’s not a great deal to report, so I’ll rush through this and move on to where my head mostly is now anyway - preparing for Spain, and fleshing out the plan for next year.

First, here’s where the past week went:

Monday

We’re still back in Astoria avoiding the heat. I already posted my ride out Young’s River, but finally here are the photos Rachael brought back from her walk along the bay and up on the hill to the Astoria Column.

The Sea Lion Dock, just east of the city center.

Astoria has some wonderful housing stock. We should come back in November while I’m recovering and do a photo shoot.

Up. It’s a pretty healthy climb through the woods to Coxcomb Hill, the high ground where the column stands.

The view across the mouth of the Columbia from below the Astoria Column. The Adirondack chairs remind me of the red ones you see at scenic spots up in Canada.

Same spot, the same bridge. It’s an amazing viewpoint. I wish I’d gone up myself.

The view inland toward Youngs Bay, which we’d get a better look at if that obnoxious canoe weren’t blocking the view. On the far left is Youngs River - if you zoomed in enough, I’m probably down there biking long it.

The Astoria Column, built in 1926 as a monument to the natural riches of the Pacific Northwest and the people who settled there. I’ve only been up there once that I recall, when I drove out to Astoria for a chess tournament with some friends about forty years ago.

Because I’m such a showoff, I took a photo of the column with the zoom camera from down on the waterfront after dinner, to see how it compared.

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Tuesday

What a stupid day! We planned to bike out to Fort Stevens State Park before driving back to Portland. We checked out of our room and unpacked the bikes from the car, but then realized it was too chilly and foggy to bike yet because Rachael forgot to bring an outer layer - who needs that in a historic heat wave, she must have been thinking.

We could have found a cafe and waited for things to warm up, but we didn’t want to get back to Portland too late because we wanted to go to an outdoor concert on Main Street. So we decided to drive partway home and ride a loop from Alston I had mapped out earlier. When we got there though it was sunny, quite hot already, and we didn’t really want to bike there after all so we just drove home, to our apartment without A/C on a 102 degree day.

Really dumb. And it was too hot, so we didn’t go to the concert anyway.

Wednesday

We drove down to Salem for lunch at the Wild Pear Cafe with our good friend Lynn who drove up from Eugene to meet us halfway. First though, Rachael got out for an early bike ride and I biked over to Clinton Street for coffee with Bruce. Afterwards I biked to Elizabeth’s to pick up the car; and when we returned from Salem I returned the car and biked home, racking up a very creditable 9 miles for the day.

Oh. One more vignette to remember. I seem to be having a hard time remembering things. Rachael and I were held up leaving on our bikes when I realized I’d forgotten my camera. I returned to the room while Rachael watched the bikes on the sidewalk, protecting them from the street people who are always around here. Back in the room, I couldn’t find the camera - because in fact I actually had it with me all along but didn’t feel it in my pocket. Looking around for it though, I saw the bike lock which I really had forgotten.

Dumb luck. If I hadn’t mistakenly thought I’d forgotten the camera I’d have arrived at the coffee shop with no way to lock up the bike.

Oh, and one more vignette. On the way to Clinton Street I was held up by a slow-moving freight train. Fortunately there’s a bike/pedestrian overpass nearby, the Bob Stacey Crossing. There’s no ramp, so the choices are either lugging the bike up and down two flights of steep stairs, or take the elevator. Tough choice.

The elevator up is depressing. This structure is only a couple of years old but the glass is cracked, it’s defaced by spray-painted graffiti, and it’s trashy. But at least the elevator works, which is better than the one on the other side which is out of order. So once I’m up I sit for the train to pass and then take the elevator back down the way I came.

Rachael and I biked together as far as Tilikum Crossing before she continued south to Oregon City. We’re out early - she’s only the 22nd bike across the bridge this morning!

Looking down at the train from Bob Stacey Crossing.

Thursday

Did we do anything at all? Probably; but I forget.

Oh, wait. I remember now. Rachael biked down to Oregon City and back, and I made a lazy fifteen mile loop along the waterfront.

Friday

Rachael mostly stayed around the apartment because she wants to stay close to the facilities - her digestion is hosed from a week’s worth of antibiotics. Obnoxious, but well worth it because her knee is totally fine again.

I biked to Oregon City and back (33 miles), and then got my hair cut because it’s almost time to leave for Spain.

Much better than the last one! I’ll have to remember this barber shop this winter.

Saturday

Rachael’s back to normal, and took in a 45 mile ride out along the Columbia River. Hooray!

We woke up early, so I decided to bike down to JoLa Cafe to redeem my last free coffee coupon from the Branhams and have another $1.50 day-old almond croissant. Afterwards I biked out to Powell Butte and back, adding another 38 miles to my impressive total for the week.

The big news for the day though is the smoke, which started rolling in by mid-morning. Visibility was fairly good when I was first out, but by the time I got up to Powell Butte with its wonderful views Mount Hood was barely visible through the haze. At least it wasn’t as hot as it’s been though, and it was good to see that the bikers are returning to Springwater again.

The days are getting shorter. It’s nearly 6:30 now when I approach Tilikum Crossing.

Lavender and goldfinch. Sorry it’s not clearer, but the light is still weak and everything is in motion - both the bird and the lavender. She’s working her way out to the end of the stem, and as she advances the stem bends further and further down from her weight.

Looking across the river from Willamette Park.

A nice pose with the wing. It almost looks like it’s being used as a support.

In the Foster Floodplain Natural Area. I detoured out here hoping for birds but all I found was these house finches.

Climbing up to the summit of Powell Butte. The paved access is a 15% climb, definitely not what the doctor ordered, so I decided to push up a footpath to the top.

Up on top. The sky looks clear toward the west, but that’s not where the smoke is coming from.

It’s hazier to the northeast. Some blame the Canadians, but Lyle and Kirsten think that’s a bad rap. The fires in Washington and eastern Oregon are also prime suspects, and nearer by.

It’s hazier still to the east. Hood is barely visible.

The view straight north, I think. Saint Helens nd Adams must be out there somewhere, but invisible. This surely is Canada’s fault.

Sunday

Sauvie Sunday falls on a Sunday this week! We’re both in, and put in a long ride - Rachael nets 49 miles, and wonders later why she’s achy. I keep a better pace than usual and never lag too far behind, putting in 47. I’m doing as well as I do because I only stop for two photos - partly because we’ve seen the island so often lately, but primarily because the air quality is terrible! We can’t see much of anything at all, and visibility must be down to a couple of miles. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t a great idea to bike so hard in these conditions. I’m lucky it didn’t trigger an episode.

The other disappointment of the day is the one that got away - a Steller’s jay that flew across the highway and landed in a tree on the other side but disappeared into the woods before I could get a shot off. I was surprised to see one down here at this time of year. I’ve added him to the list of birds seen but not credited because there’s no photograph, and at the end of the year I’ll just list them out.

Hydrangeas, Sauvie Island. Anything further out is too smoky to be worth a shot of.

Monday

It’s still smoky this morning, but by midday the winds shift and it starts blowing back east where it belongs. We wait around until then, and then Rachael walks up to Pittock Mansion and I bike out to Kelly Point. Still no new birds, but it’s just as well there were none because this time I really did forget my camera. I feel good about putting in over 150 miles for the week. Nothing’s been too strenuous, but it feels like I’m keeping in enough condition so that Spain won’t come as a shock.

In Cafe Umbria again, admiring the latest in hair art while I work on the 2024 plan.

So that’s it until the next thing comes along, which is Spain in about two weeks. You’ll be hearing about that soon enough so in the meanwhile we may as well take a snapshot of what we’re planning for 2024, the other topic that’s been on my mind lately. Who knows how well this vision will hold up but we might as well have it to look back on and compare against.

Thanks again for joining us, and come back for our ride down Spain! There’d be a journal I could point you toward if one existed yet, but I’m sure you’ll know where to find us when the time comes. Please come back after the break.

February to November, 2024: Barcelona to Britain, and back.

Today's ride: 174 miles (280 km)
Total: 1,464 miles (2,356 km)

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Keith AdamsThanks for sharing your summer. I enjoyed it.
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1 year ago

Bill ShaneyfeltNice grand finale!
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1 year ago

Bob DistelbergThanks for yet another great journal. I’ll be looking forward to Spain (virtually).
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Bob DistelbergThanks for joining us again, Bob. We’re really looking forward to Spain too. We’re both anxious to get back on the road.
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamAlways enjoyable to see what you two are up to. Thanks for the stories.
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1 year ago