Our first visit (after a two day trip up through Northern California and southern Oregon) was with Elizabeth and Kern in Sunriver. We spent a delightful time with them which included a trip up to the fire lookout station on Lava Butte, a stop at the High Desert Museum, and a kayak trip down the Deschutes River the next morning. After a great brunch, we continued north toward the rally.

Not being ones for straight lines, we took a bit of a detour and rode a loop outside of Sisters into the lava fields. Along highway 242 is the Dee Wright Observatory. Built by the CCC, it provides a spectacular view of old lava flows and many of the volcanoes that ring the area.

Further around the McKenzie Pass - Santiam Pass Scenic Byway are a couple of waterfalls on the McKenzie River. It's rather amazing that just a few minutes away from a desolate lunar landscape is lush evergreen forest! I guess monsoon rainfall doesn't do much for lava.

Arriving in Spokane for the BMWMOA Rally, we hooked up with four ladies from our local riding club. The venue for the rally was the county fairgrounds, not far from downtown. Many attendees (hundreds if not a thousand or more) chose the free accommodations that they brought with them which they set up on a carefully chosen spot on the grounds.

The event that the MOA puts on is probably one of the best single marque club rallies anywhere! The schedule is packed with seminars, rides, vendors (more than 270 this year), judged events, ... well, the list just keeps going! Over 3,600 BMWs (out of 4,200 bikes) were ridden from all over the country to attend. Of the seminars that we could cram into our busy schedule was one on techniques for riding off of the pavement, an informative session on being published in the BMW Owners News (the club's 'newsletter' - actually one of the premier motorcycle magazines published), a discussion by female finishers of the 'Iron Butt Rally' (an eleven day 11,000 mile - minimum - motorcycle event), and a discussion by a renowned motorcycle safety guru. One talk that we stumbled across (that wasn't on the calendar) was given by a straight talking Idaho state trooper (also a BMW rider) that was funny as well as being informative about what law enforcement actually looks for out on the street, how they go about it, and your best approach if you do get nailed.

Among all of BMWs that were arrayed in one of the buildings for the various categories of judged classes, was this unique example of one man's ingenuity. It's actually a turbo-charged Mazda rotary engine powered sidecar attached to a custom frame, and made to look like a variant R1100RT!

All tolled, it was another great rally orchestrated by volunteer club members from around the country!

After the rally, we had an appointment in The Dalles in Oregon. The area is also where Ann's forefathers (and Mothers) settled for a time, and many are buried on both sides of the Columbia. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to try our hand at headstone rubbing. It turns out that our technique needs improvement - maybe another class will help.

While we were in England, we received an e-mail from a second cousin of Jym's (they share great grandfathers) that we knew nothing about. Although he lives in Florida, our schedules allowed us to meet in Oregon. We spent a delightful five hours with Gary, his wife and one of their two daughters, getting to know a bit about them and filling in missing bits of family history.

After leaving The Dalles, we headed east again. Near La Grande, Oregon, we came across a sign pointing the way to a section of the Oregon Trail. Since Ann's ancestors on her father's side may have gotten to White Salmon by wagon from Illinois, we had to check it out. Not much left. To think that folks walked half way across the country to live in the west!

Heading north again, we crossed the Snake River from Clarkston in Washington (on the right) to Lewiston in Idaho. Think the Corps of Discovery passed this way a couple hundred years ago?

Continuing north through Coeur d'Alene (only 25 miles east of the rally in Spokane five days ago), we rounded the top of Lake Pend Oreille. Following the Clark Fork east, we pulled into a little park at Bull River to stretch and rehydrate. Ann took the opportunity to use the 'Iron Butt Motel' accommodations for an hour to recharge.

The day after we arrived at Deb & Jere's on Flathead Lake in Montana, we took a ride to Glacier National Park while they worked. The last time we rode the west side of the 'Going to the Sun' road, it was in heavy rain and hail. Although it was hazy, it was dry and warm, prompting us to stop often to enjoy the spectacular views.

The next day, in order to earn time off to play, we helped Deb & Jere with a remodel in their new retail space. Getting more done with four of us working, we had time in the afternoon to take the boat out on the lake and criticize the aesthetically challenged homes along the lakeside - great fun. The lake is gorgeous, and the time spent on it appreciating it's serenity heartens one's soul.

At the edge of the yard, on the bank of the lake, a chair has been placed so that you can contemplate your place in the scheme of things - besides being a fun thing to have in your yard!

And when one gets a bit warm in the summer (it would seem that anything above 76 degrees is a heat wave for Montanans), you can jump off their dock to cool off. Deb has certainly earned her corner of paradise, and enjoys it as much as we enjoyed our visit with her and Jere.