Sisters on to the Ochoco

"the intimate relationships in our lives are the deepest mirrors into our own sub-conscious."

Day 7

Jason gave us a book for the road; The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm. Being a Psych major Jason noticed the journey we were embarking on in our love relationship too, I assume!


Left Jason's after some banana pancakes. got a flat in his driveway. fixed it. Met Em at the photo studio in town to have our old west pictures taken. She lived up to her name by a-PEASING me on this one! I nearly had to beg her, and finally said, "my birthday is coming..." sounds pathetic now that I am writing this, hope my men's team happens to skip over that part. Anyway, we dressed her up as a floosy and me as a cowboy and got some killer shots, wish I would have thought of that for my highschool senior picture.



We finally were on the road by noon or so and had 50 or some odd miles ahead of us, better get moving she says over chai and iced coffee...We were off. Through the fields and over some little hills, stopped off at an antique bazaar in the town of Redmond. Chewed the ole grissle with the old ladies working, bought some antique post cards and a few st. christopher (patron saint of travellers) charms to wear. One of the ole ladies was from Wheeler oregon (near tillamook, and my family's stomping grounds). My grandpa used to tell stories of the 1919 wheeler football team that made local history by going an entire season without being scored on, with only 12 players!...they absolutely punished their opponents. Always toward the end of the story he would add that the "boys" on the wheeler team were actually loggers in their mid-twenties trying to get their diplomas. As the lady in the store remembered that team, I added that little part about them all being grown men thinking it to be factual knowledge, she changed her face and tone and corrected me by saying "those boys may have been logger sons but were boys, hard working boys in fact..." I have a way of sticking my foot in my mouth I guess...glad we had St. Christopher looking out anyway!


Made the drop into Prineville at around 6 pm through the plains and down along the river below. Up above us past the canyon walls, On the plateaus, I can still see the bands of tribes moving. We travel with the sunset, on our little ponies, following our shadows on the paved trails, different times call for different breeds of transport, but I really feel the wild west alive here.

We made our camp out past town about 7 miles at the Ochoco Resovoir. It was dark when we set up the tent and were in bed by 10, read a chapter of our book together and fell asleep.

Road Poem:
I pack peace in my panniers
put family values in plasic ziplocs
and wrap past prayers in my packs
The church, songs, and tobacco ties, my own ego and thoughts
I buckle the straps
and journey on with this,
a way of life