The Start

When we were planning this trip, we weren’t really sure where we would end up staying most nights. Part of the “plan” was to have no real plan. As it turns out, this plan seems to be working pretty well, but it has led to us staying in some rather interesting locations. Needless to say, some have been better than others, and some we have simply had to say “it is what it is” and enjoy it for just that! We will try and share the highlights with you.


Things started out on a pretty normally. We left Bend early that first morning with hardly a glance back. Without getting into details, Bend has proven to have a bittersweet relationship with us twice now, and we were ready to bid it farewell again.

The first night on our grand adventure we stayed with an old friend of Kate’s who had 40 acres outside of Eugene. Coincidentally, it was only a few miles from where my first off-grid handmade cabin that I lived in when Kate and I first met was located. Barb was a gracious host and pampered us with dinner that evening and breakfast the next morning and we were both thinking “boy, this is going to be easy!”.

The big breakfast prepared us for the show we had planned at the King Estate Winery that day. This certified organic vineyard and winery that also boasts 30 acres of organic vegetables and fruits, sits in an absolutely beautiful setting nestled in the rolling hills outside of Eugene. The weather was perfect and we had a very good show (Flying Cloud on display at King Estate Winery)

From there we kind of backtracked up the McKenzie River to attend a memorial party for a close friend of mine who had recently passed away. We got to say goodbye to him, as well as a number of good friends who attended as well. We spent the night in a lovely campground on the McKenzie, one of the more beautiful rivers in the world.