As I was on the phone with Cindy, Arch's wonderful wife, asking what the best way to wake Arch would be, L-E took care of it for me. In her usual morning routine, she's learned that the alarm usually means we will be getting up soon, and to speed that process along, she will position her little black nose right up to Skip's nose, and wait till he notices, (usually doesn't take too long, depending on what was on the menu for dinner the night before.). She goes to Skip first because she knows he's the early riser of the family! So since I was awake, and Skip had left for the morning, the only one left to wake up was Arch. As I was in the middle of asking Cindy what to do, L-E got her nose right up to Arch and waited. Within moments, Skip's father opened his eyes and laid a hand on L-E's head. Which made her very happy, and she quickly retrieved her bone and hopped in bed with him.
Once packed and ready to go, we received a message from Skip that we stop at the Vida Cafe for breakfast. I can now proudly say that I have had the best veggie omelette! The Vida Cafe is family owned and operated, and located along Hwy 126 near Leaburg. You can see Skip's signature in the guest book at the cash register!
Not too much later, we caught up with Skip. His goal for that day had been to climb the Mckenzie Pass, along Route 242. But unfortunately, the pass was closed for the day, and our alternate route took us along the 126 through the Santian Pass. The weather had called for slight showers, and it had delivered, so after a quick wardrobe changed, Skip continued up the pass. Me and Arch went ahead to meet him at the summit, at an Elevation of 4817 ft!
This day was going to prove to be one of our most challenging yet. The temperature was in the low 50's, there was a constant drizzle, fog, and a big climb! While waiting for Skip, we got on the phone and worked on getting lodging for the night. Unfortunately, in Sister's, where we had originally meant to stop, was all booked. So instead of Skip being able to end his day in Sisters, which was right at the bottom of his descent, I had to ask Skip to continue on for another 17 miles. 17 doesn't seem like much, but after close to 75 miles of uphill battle, it was going to take a lot of of him. Our final destination would bring us all to the Eagle Crest Resort, located just outside Redmond, along our current route, and 128 miles from Skip's start in the morning.
Skip suddenly materialized out of the fog at the top of the pass, just when Arch and I were thinking about going to check on his progress. He was wet, cold, and exhausted, but otherwise glad to hear he had made it. We let Skip know we had booked a room, and went to go meet him at the bottom of the pass. As soon as we started our descent into Sisters, the sun suddenly made an appearance, the clouds lifted, and the rain disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place. This was a good sign! When Skip reached the bottom, it was quite a relief! We were both very happy to see him conquer this first pass. After a coffee break, and some food, we went on to find and check into our hotel. Skip was tired but ready for the last leg of the day with the promise of a hot bath and a good meal. When we pulled into the Eagle Crest Resort, it was so much more than we could of hoped for. Unbeknownst to me when I booked our room, they had two golf courses, two sports complexes, and over ten miles of walking and biking trails! It was amazing!
When we all got settled in, and Skip was soaking in a hot bath, me and L-E decided to go for a well needed run. As we rounded a corner, and I'm still kicking myself for not having my camera, were two deer standing in a patch of long grass. When I first saw them, I was quite startled, I actually did not think hey were real. They stood so still they made me think that it was pretty neat that the resort would put out realistic statues around the property for some wildlife ambiance. I also stated to think it was really creepy that as L-E and I continued our jog around the corner, that these statues seemed to be watching our every move... And then I was startled for the second time in 2 minutes when one of the deer took a step forward to perhaps get a better look at ME! The one time I don't bring my camera I have a close encounter with two gorgeous deer. Even at the zoo, I've not been that close. After imprinting the vision in my head, we continued on, and not even a mile down the path we spotted another lone deer. This one took a good look at us, and then went on it's own way onto the golf course. L-E and I turned around and headed back to the hotel feeling like we had managed to have another great National Geographic moment! Now nestled into the grass, were the first two deer settling in for a good nights rest. Wow! I was amazed.
So now we begin on our 4th day on our journey, with laundry done, and some more great memories, we truck on...
