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Monday, September 7, 2009

Bike trip at the butt crack of dawn!

At the butt crack of dawn,
well actually it was 7:30 AM we meet at Pilot Truck stop.
We are headed out to North Powder to visit a high school friend of Rick's.
Plus it gets us all on our bikes.

This is me, Patricia and Becky.
Patricia got so cold riding to Pendelton, that her and Mark
came back home.
IT WAS CHILLY!
Actually down right FREEZING!
Well not ice cube freezing, but it was COLD!
We stopped in Ukiah to stretch out legs, and warm up a bit.
 
  
  
What the heck I was doing here, I have no idea.
Looks like I just spit! LOL
But I made a new best friend. 
This little gal was the sweetest!
The most lovable!
and had some pups somewhere. 
I really wanted to take her home with us.
I told her if she could hop on the bike and ride, 
I would take her home, and she would keep me warm!
  
 So I went into the little store to inquire about her,
and the store owner said she had a home with a gentleman
that lived somewhere behind the store.
I asked him what the dogs name was.
He did not know.
NOW in a little town with a population of about 100 people
and with a little dog that hung out all the time, 
You would THINK that folks would just know the answer to these types
of questions! But I guess NOT!
We took another break in the mountains.
WE WERE COLD!
For the longest time, I could not figure out WHY my leather jacket
acted like I did not even have it on.
I swear it felt like it was made of MESH screen.
I got quite cold.
It dawned on me at about this time, 
I DID NOT HAVE MY LINER IN IT!
That liner makes a world of difference.
Even though I was wearing a t-shirt and a sweatshirt also.
 
  
After 194 miles and 5 1/2 hours we arrive!
  
On the corner of this street:
  
Lives a motel.
A motel my husbands folks owned and operated from
1968-1972.
  
I could not resist taking a photo of this bench under a nice tree in the yard of the motel.
  
Across the street from the Motel is this little store that
Rick's good friend, Ernie's, folks ran.
  
This is North Powders GROCERY STORE!
From the outside it does not look like it,
but the inside had a few groceries and I think you could even order pizza here.
  
The one and only cafe in North Powder.
Ernie lives just two blocks from here,
so it was good to walk.
We came here and ate lunch.
  
Tom and Becky sitting across from Rick and Ernie.
Ernie is on a first name basis with the waitress.
  
Flowers on the outside of the resturant.
You see that baggie hanging?
There are pennies in it.
Does anyone KNOW WHY!!?
  
Close up of the flowers. There were just so pretty.
  
  
When we left the restaurant, this is the view, of the main street going through North Powder.
  
This is my camera on 10X zoom in!
WOW!
  
  
This is the school that Rick and Ernie use to go to.
It is the high school.
  
Rick and Ernie. Oh what fun it was to talk about 'the days'.
  
 Men always seem to look at their feet when they talk.

Here Becky is waiting to get on the road.
 
One of the stops we made was at Meacham.
It is in the blue mountains, and they have cabins there you can rent.
These logs ARE real!
There is NOTHING between the logs like insulation! LOL
Kind of cute, but:
You can't take pets!
What the heck?
No pets?
It is not like they have carpet or anything.
I will not be renting one.
 
 The ride home went faster. 
It took 2 hours and was 100 miles.
The day was long!
It was good!
I had fun!
My A$$ is sore!
Gotta get a new seat if I continue to ride for long periods of time.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Two different kinds of rides........

Today I rode Sadie in the round pen. 
She was so very patient with me!
I have a hard time getting in the saddle cause I am so short.
Sadie is a lot shorter than Sissy,
but still...
So I wound up having her straddle a railroad tie. 
That extra 9 inches made all the difference in the world.
Anyway before that, 
I slid the saddle in my first attempt.
Upright the saddle and adjust.....
Slid the saddle again!
UGH!
Undo the cinches, re adjust saddle, again!
Sadie all the while would check me, and nose my butt as if to say, 
"NEED HELP THERE?"
Then at one point I noticed she had her hind foot cocked.
I pointed to my hubby that this was a sign of total relaxation!
UGH!
For pete sake!
She was telling me to wake up her when I got mounted! LOL
Anyway, I finally got it figured out, and rode her around. It was great!
I did not get pictures, as hubby does not think of the camera like I do!
But I do have pictures of our motocycle ride today!
We headed out....
The clouds were brewing.
It was getting darker...
Then it was getting wet!
We turned around, and headed back.
We did not have rain gear on.
Did not really think we would get rained on, as it was 
CLEAR SKIES to the Right and Rain to the left.
It was a good thing we did turn around though.
We still had a lot of fun.
Tomorrow we are going on a LONG bike ride.
We are riding to NORTH POWDER so
hubby can visit a friend.
It will be about a 280 mile round trip!
WISH ME LUCK!
My limit is usually 30 miles........ round trip! HAHA...
This is me an Becky. The Columbia River is behind us. 
We on the Washington side of McNary Dam.
We wanted shots of the back of our coats.
These are Harley Davidson Wings.
WE are the: "ROAD ANGELS"
The guys are: "FREEDOM CRUISERS"
Me with my hubby's bike.
Becky and Tom with their bike.
Me and Hubby with his bike.
See how close they built the ground to my backside?
Now you understand why I have difficulty getting on my horse? LOL
Tom and Becky behind us.
This was a litteral, 'POINT and SHOOT'! LOL
Nice billowy clouds.
They were very meanacing earlier
and you could just see a wall of water headed toward us.
This is Umatilla from the Washington side of the river.
Tom and Becky. We are now in Umatilla.
Main Street of Umatilla, OREGON
The end of Main. Headed out of town
across the Umatilla River.
Down Hwy 730 towards home.
Pulling in our driveway.
Our house is behind the camp trailer.
Rick and I going down the road.
Now sure what they are looking at......but the sky was sure neat.
Had a lot of fun. 
We went to dinner afterwards.
We got the car and all of us rode together to the Tri-Cities
29 miles to the north of us.
We went to the Outback!
I am still in awe of how good the food was!
Simply Delicious!

Friday, September 4, 2009

RAFFLE! ~ RAFFLE! ~ RAFFLE!

See what 
UMATILLA SAGE RIDERS 
 raffling off!
Here is the information.
See how pretty it is!
 
The Brow band is stunning!
The bit has intricate designs!
If anyone wants tickets, just let me know,
We will make sure that you get them,
and if you are out of town, and WIN,
that won't be a problem either!
You can donate it to me!
(JUST KIDDING!)
I will mail it to ya.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Wow! What a ride!

What a night! It was great!
I was nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof!
But I survived.
First it was loading my horse all by myself!
Hubby was kind enough to drive me and my horse to the arena.
And even hung out the whole time I rode too!
Sadie was nervous at first.
But then settled down pretty good, 
till all the other members showed up, 
then it was just to much activity for her, and I thought
I better call it quits for the evening.
But I did get in about half an hour of riding time.
IT WAS GREAT!
(Hubby took the pictures, and it was starting to get dark.)
Yes I wore my helmet!
The ONLY one wearing a helmet I might ad! LOL
This is Rachelle on Lily.
Gretchen on Diamond, and Rylee on Sykra.
Oh yeah, Rylee (Rachelle's daughter) wore her helmet too! LOL
Rylee loves to go fast. Gretchen and Diamond got a good workout!
Everyone did so well.
and we all had a good time.
I have been wanting to do this all summer long, but it just seemed that
I never got around to it. 
But tonight we did, and it was great!
I even unloaded my horse by myself when we got home!
Don't Laugh! 
Baby Steps!
I learn something new everyday,
and gain more confidence in what I do. 
So maybe now, next time, I can drive myself and my horse to the arena.
And get to ride a little longer too.
Sadie was more interested in talking to all the new horses! LOL
She wanted to socialize so bad! LOL
But it was fun.
It was great!
It was AWESOME!
Sissy on the other hand, threw a big ole TIZZY fit when we left!
She also did the same thing when we got back. 
SHE IS SO BUDDY SOUR!!!!
and that is only spending two days in the pasture with Sadie.
But When I take Sissy out, she is calm as a lark! 
It is OK if SHE goes out! Just don't leave her behind! LOL
Maybe next time, I will take her too.
I have to remember:
BABY STEPS!
BABY STEPS!