August 15 - Day 63 - Ride to the mountains and the rally begins

Sunday turned out to be as nice a day as we have had. The morning was a bit cool, perfect for a ride through the Oregon countryside. I left Harrisburg at 8:00 on 99E and connected with Hwy 228 East to Sweet Home. On the way I passed through Crawfordsville and saw the first of two covered bridges that I would see on the ride. The Crawfordsville bridge, which is no longer operational, was built in 1932 and crosses the Calapooya River.

In Sweet Home I connected to Hwy 20 and headed up into the Cascades. The road was twisty and lots of fun to ride. Passing over Tombstone Pass (4,240 ft.) hwy 20 begins to drop down into Eastern Oregon. Rather than go all the way to Bend, I turned onto Hwy 126 leading back to Springfield and Eugene. The junction of 20 and 126 is characterized by a huge lava field. It is amazing that plants can grow in this stuff, but they do!

As you head West on 126, you pick up the headwaters of the McKenzie River, which the road follows all the way to Eugene. Along the way is Sahalie Falls, a beautiful waterfall in the midst of virgin forest.

The Mckenzie River is famous for its fishing and is a favorite for the river rafters and campers with state parks and campgrounds everywhere. The road is very good and one can travel at a good rate of speed. Along the way, one passes another covered bridge, the Goodpasture bridge, built in 1938 across the McKenzie River and still operational. Once in Eugene, I picked up I5 and headed North to Harrisburg, arriving at 12:30.

Since today was the last day for the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City, Suz and I decided to give it a try for lunch. Good choice. We had a Swedish pasty that was very good followed by and ice cream cone. This is the 50th anniversary for the festival, which is mainly arts, crafts and lots of food.

We returned to the campground, which was filling up fast with rally attendees coming over from the FMCA Rally in Redmond, and registered for the event. The next four days will include seminars, socializing and meals, beginning tonight. Until the next post, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog