Wherever You Are, There You Are: Meandering in Southern Oregon and Northern California - Part 1

All Quiet on the Western Front...
Bend, OR Sunrise

It was 5 in the morning and the sky was already glowing. I had spent a few days with my friend at her ranch in Oregon and I was set to make my way back home on a solo motorcycle adventure. I took my time sipping coffee, watching the cows graze, and tying up loose ends in my luggage before strapping everything to the bike. In the days prior to my departure I had been tracking the weather, traffic and construction events and hoping that my timing would be well enough for all of the circumstance to fall in my favor.  Upon last glance, the storm was set to move on by just in time for me to make a clean break, but as we all know Murphy has laws and fortune favors the brave, so off I went. As I made my way out of her driveway the skies slowly opened into a gentle cascade of rain that fell on me for 2 hours. For much of the way I was actually smiling in my helmet. The KTM and her tires were handling the rain with every bit of grace and stability that allowed me to coast along at 70.  My gear was keeping me dry and, even though I got a couple of chills, it felt nice not to be in the 110 degree temps that were in store for me at home. And lets face it: the Pacific Northwest isn't the same if you haven't been escorted out by one of her characteristic showers. My first stop was meant to be Crater Lake, but upon arrival it was covered in clouds and a drizzle so I opted to keep moving and only stop for pictures at the first respite from the drizzle and haze.

Rogue-Umpqua Divide National Forest

The Motorcycle Through The Trees:
Rogue-Umpqua Divide Forest

Last year, during a similar solo trip, I came to appreciate how much of our landscape is national forests.  As such, on this trip I made a game of making note of at least 6 different National Forests or National forest areas that I would meander through.  As much as this was originally envisioned to be a coastal trip, the mountains were calling... and I went. As much as it was a mapped out adventure, there were also detours down the rabbit hole of inquiries that arise in the mind and heart of one who comes to witness nature in some of its rawest forms in any given moment.