As the calendar rolled into April we were in the town of Albany, OR. We had several days of rain and 2 1/2 days of sunshine during the week. A typical Oregon week. One day we took a drive to Grants Pass to look at some houses with our realtor, Kaila Reinhart. After several houses we stopped at the last one and said “This is it” and drove back to the office to write up an offer. That evening we started talking about the house and realized it wasn’t the dream home we had been looking for. Our offer asked that the seller respond by the following day at noon. We were sweating the outcome all night and into the morning. At 1pm the next day Kaila called and said the sellers had not responded to our offer so we were no longer obligated. We wiped the sweat from our brows over that one. We made the decision that in the future we would wait at least one day before deciding to make an offer.

You have to love folks who are anxious to help others. We had stopped at a gas station for fuel for the Jeep. Both our Jeeps are diesel powered. You also have to understand that until a few years ago a person could not pump their own gas in Oregon. It had to be pumped by a station attendant. It was the law if you can believe that. A few years ago they relaxed the law and now almost every station has a self serve and a full serve. As I’ve told station attendants, I’m from AZ and I have the proper training to pump my own gas.

On this particular day, I pulled into the self serve pump and grabbed the green diesel pump handle. A jeep came rolling in fast to the pumps next to me. The driver, a young man about 19-20 years old, jumped out and ran to me and said “Stop. You can’t use that pump, that’s diesel”. His passenger said “you can’t do that”. I looked at them and said “Green Jeep, green pump right?” and laughed. I told them this was a diesel jeep and they looked in amazement. We spent a few minutes talking about jeeps and then they drove on laughing.

On another day I drove out to Blodgett, OR to pre ride the upcoming mountain bike race course. As I was unloading the bike and preparing to ride another rider arrived and we started chatting. Jesse was going to be racing the 50+ age group in the upcoming Mudslinger XC race. He said he was just doing an easy ride but his easy wasn’t so easy for me. He was gracious and slowed and waited for me at the tougher spots. The course was muddy and slick in sections. The next day was the race. Meanwhile Teri was walking the area and taking in the sights of Albany.

The day of the race it had not rained overnight so the course had an opportunity to dry out a bit. There were 2 racers I was focused on in my age category who I knew. Ed and Derek. They had beat me in previous races. At the gun, we all headed out with a long steep climb to welcome us. If you’ve read some of the other race recaps, you see a pattern to Oregon racing. It’s either climbing or descending. The course was a 10 mile loop that we had to ride twice with each loop taking about an hour plus each. Ed was ahead of me and Derek passed me on a climb. As we entered the single track I caught and passed Derek. We finished the 1st loop and started back up the grind. About 15 minutes in I saw Ed heading back in the wrong direction. I later learned he had pulled out due to cramping. I didn’t know where Derek was but I was focused on him not catching me. He didn’t. I finished 7th of 8 riders and both Ed and Derek were DNF (Did Not Finish). I was beat. Meanwhile, Teri had been hanging out at the venue and had met and chatted with several wives, girlfriends, etc.

As I met up with Teri who had been hanging out and visiting at the venue we received a phone call from Kaila. She explained that the sellers had submitted a counter-offer for the house. The counter-offer was not unreasonable but we explained to Kaila that after further discussion it was not the right house and we declined the counter-offer. The process of searching for a home felt nerve-wracking and exhausting. We were concerned we wouldn’t find the house we really wanted and would have to settle for something less. Kaila assured us the right one was out there and not to despair or do anything rash.

The next day we took a train ride on the Santiam Excursions Railroad. It was raining, of course, but we enjoyed the ride and the wonderful views. It was also a meal ride and we were served delicious food.

As we left Albany and started for Prineville, OR, I stopped at PNW Auto Works and had them do an oil/filter service on the motorhome. They got the job done in about 2 hours which is extremely reasonable and they were very friendly. I had stopped in to chat with them previously and they gave me references as to where I could buy snow chains for all 3 vehicles. Snow chains are heavy and expensive! The drive north and west took us over Tombstone Pass. There was snow and rain as we traversed the narrow and winding road. There was very little shoulder so the pavement ended at the edge of the canyon. It was a bit unnerving.

Prineville is a small cowboy town. As we drove the area we saw ranches, livestock and agriculture. The vegetation consisted of Juniper trees, sagebrush and grass. A crowded downtown with small retail stores was the norm. The highway was also the main street as it crossed through the town. By now our vehicles were filthy due to rain and snow but we didn’t dare wash them as we expected more.

The Bowman Museum tour was an interesting activity. The building was originally a bank and the safe and teller windows are still in place. The stone for the walls came from the local quarry. The museum boasts the rich history of the livestock, ranching and lumber industries that built the town. There was also a memorial to a crew of local hotshots who were killed in the Storm King Fire in Colorado in 1994. There is a YouTube documentary that chronicles the events that unfolded. The memorial also had a display honoring the Granite Mountain Hotshots from Prescott, AZ who were killed fighting a wildfire and their story was told in the movie “Only The Brave”.

We were in the area for a week. I took one day to drive north to Madras to pre ride the courses for an upcoming race. We also took a drive into Bend. Bend is cool! It is a busy city but has a nice vibe especially in the historical district. We walked the Bend River Walk and had a really nice lunch at a restaurant on the edge of the river. We knew we’d be back. That weekend was race weekend in Madras. There were 2 races on the weekend. The Saturday race was a short track race. The race was only 4.5 miles and it was fast and furious with several steep climbs and took about 20 minutes. I finished 4th of 5. On Sunday we raced the cross country (XC) race. This race was 22 miles and I finished in just a little over an hour. Erik is a racer who made the podium on Saturday (Place 1-3) and had a distinctive kit so I was able to identify and keep track of him. The course wound its way up and down the rolling hillsides with steep punchy climbs and fast downhills. On the 1st lap on one of the steeper climbs, my rear tire spun out on me and I had to stop and walk up the rest of the way. I got passed by several riders. Once back on the bike, I caught up to several of those who had passed me. As I finished the 2nd lap, I passed Erik. I felt good about that and rode hard to stay ahead of him. I was following a strong female rider and we blasted our way around the course. I finished in front of Erik in 8th place of 12 riders. I am finding Oregon racing to be much different than Arizona racing with all the punchy and steep climbs and then the fast downhills. There doesn’t seem to be anything flat in Oregon racing.

Our time in Prineville had come to an end and we headed to Grants Pass. As we drove the Diamond Lake Highway the snow was piled 4-6 ft on the edges of the road at the summit. The snow was so deep, the plows had not tried to plow the various trailhead entrances along the highway. They just piled the snow in the turnoffs. As I arrived in Grants Pass I had a strange sense of comfort. We had spent 2 weeks in the area last August and had learned a lot about the area. This was our time to start searching for a home. We were not in a hurry and didn’t feel rushed to find something immediately especially after our first offer. We knew what our budget was and we had spent a lot of time identifying our priorities. Even so, it still felt a bit stressful. By the numbers the weather was fantastic in the high 70’s but it still felt hot. We set down temporary roots at the Legacy RV Park in Merlin, just 5 minutes north of Grants Pass. We started our house search and exploring the area.

One day we took a drive up to Taylor Creek which is northwest of Grants Pass. The drive took us along the Hellgate Canyon. Hellgate Canyon itself has been used to film a variety of movies including some John Wayne movies and more recently The River Wild with Kevin Bacon and Meryl Streep. The views from the scenic viewpoint down into the canyon are astounding. The drive into the Taylor Creek trailhead was dirt and rough once we got off the main highway. So glad we had the Jeep. I took off on a bike ride while Teri hiked. The ride was primarily a forest road up and around the mountain with spectacular views of the surrounding hills. Then it was singletrack flowing down on the Jedi trail. I certainly felt like a Jedi pilot flowing down the twisting trail.

On another day I was riding the Cathedral Hills trails which is on the south side of Grants Pass. A runner and I passed each other on the trail several times and then we finally met in the parking lot. Chad is a bicycle rider but due to a recent crash didn’t have a bike so he was running. He also mentioned he was former USMC and so we had great stories to share comparing his time in the Marines to my time in law enforcement. In addition to Cathedral Hills I also rode the Mountain of the Rogue (MOTR), Sterling Mine Ditch and Jacksonville Forest trails.

I described the Sterling Mine Ditch trail previously but as a recap, this mountain was used for mining. The trail winds it way around the mountain on a berm. The berm was used by the foremen to monitor the progress of building the ditch and the mining. The ditch started at the top of the mountain and carried water through the ditch to water cannons which we used to blast the side of the mountain and carry the rock and ore down the mountain to be screened through the rest of the mining process. There is a tunnel that was built to save the diggers from digging around the mountain for a section. I can only imagine what the velocity of the water was flowing down the mountain.

It was during this time between April 20 and April 28 we found the one. The house checked all the boxes for us. After viewing the house, we sat on our decision overnight. We couldn’t find any reason at this point to not move forward. The next day we met with Kaila and put in an offer. The seller then counter-offered and we accepted. We were on our way. Neither one of us had purchased a home in several decades and we knew things had changed and become more complicated but Kaila was patient and held our hands the entire way.

The process of buying this home included inspections of the entire home, the septic system and the private well. We also had the process of applying for the loan for which we had been pre-approved. Throughout the process Kaila (realtor), Rob and team (financial advisors), Jonathan and Tamara (bank mortgage lenders) helped us and kept telling us to take a deep breath and all would work out fine. See next months blog for the story of the inspections.

As we neared the end of the month it was time to travel to the coast to prepare for the next 3 races. There were to be 2 gravel races and 1 mountain bike race and we were staying in Waldport on the Alsea Bay. The RV park was within sight of the Alsea Bay Bridge and was a beautiful view. Each morning we could see the bridge standing tall through the mist and fog. We were able to walk down to the beach from the park and were able to watch the water rise and fall with the tides.

After pre-riding the first gravel course, I developed a pain in my butt which made it difficult to sit on the bike saddle. A trip to the clinic confirmed that I had an infected saddle sore. No riding for a minimum of a week. That was the end of the race plans as there was no way I could race 50+ gravel miles back to back, Saturday and Sunday, without training and then a 20+ mile mountain bike race the following weekend. We decided to cut our losses and head to Bend after we had seen all we wanted to see and do in the Waldport area to prepare for the next race. For that story, tune in next month. (See how I convinced you to subscribe, lol). Just a word of transparency, there are no ads and this is not monetized. I write this solely to track our travels and for your enjoyment.

Next month we see the sights of the coast and then head inland while wading through the home buying process.

Stay Safe.