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Oregon Wide Open: A drive through the heart of the state

© Colleen Kaleda

A BRIEF NOTE TO READERS:

Two months have passed since you have heard from me on this site. While I may have been on hiatus from Suite101, I've certainly not been on hiatus from life and travel. In fact, I've been traveling more than ever. As Suite101 has reshuffled its format of late, I too have reshuffled my life.

Since my adventures in Panama, I have criscrossed the United States from East Coast to West Coast and back again. (And back AGAIN.) I have moved, settling this time back in my native Pacific Northwest. It seems I cannot decide which coast on which I should stay put. Perhaps independent foreign travel has made a nomad out of me, much to the chagrin -- and sometimes envy -- of my family and friends.

So that is where I’ve been. I’ll keep it a secret where I’m going next (that is, until I write about it on these pages). Simply put, I’m glad to be back writing at Suite101. Thank you all for your kind praise via email. Some of you have asked where else I am published; check out my feature story “Treading Lightly” and photos in the Winter 2000 issue of PASSIONFRUIT magazine. The magazine with my story will go on newsstands December 1 and can be found at most large bookstores. I enjoy hearing from you, and am glad you have stuck with me at Alternative Travel. Since I have been “gone,” Alternative Travel’s page hits continue to soar. Your patience and continued interest deserve my sincerest thanks. You have it.

Alas, onto the travel.

OREGON WIDE OPEN

It’s early morning. This is not my best time of day. But I’ve got a mountain bike to retrieve. It’s a long story involving a friend and a moving van, of which I will spare you the details. But because of this bike, I am meeting Chris, my friend, at the halfway point between our new homes. That place is John Day, Oregon. I’m not really sure how long it will take me to drive there, so I set out early.

The morning is drizzly, but the sun is coming out in brilliant bright bursts. I fill my car’s tank with gas and buy a latte at a drive-through espresso stand. I point the car East, on a two-lane highway that will first wind through the buttes of the western foothills of the Cascade Mountains, then the central Cascades themselves. It is gorgeous territory. As my car follows the narrow highway, the houses quickly disappear and thick stands of fir trees take their place. The MacKenzie River, swift from rain the night before, flows to my right, next to the road. I glimpse it from between the evergreens.

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