Natures Beauty at its Best

There’s something so breathtakingly beautiful about the sun bursting through black rain clouds and multi-hued blue skies while the mountains rise up to meet it. Today’s ride to Grant’s Pass and back by both interstate and backroads filled me with hope and optimism. Even amid relentless rain there is blue sky to be found if you drive far enough and look hard enough.

The weather this weekend was not promising but I was determined to ride as I wanted to enjoy the Oregon roads one more time before leaving for Alaska this Saturday. Grant Myers graciously researched the weather and helped me pick a start time and route to avoid some of the torrential rain we have been experiencing lately.

I decided to take interstate down to Grants Pass so that I could enjoy both my favorite bakery in Creswell and the In-N-Out Burger down south. My favorite part of this interstate starts right before Creswell and continues down to the California border. The road curves and undulates through several mountain passes providing stunning valley views and magnificent mountain vistas. As I passed over Stage Road Pass and Smith Hill Summit, I breathed in the fresh mountain air and marveled at the rich green foliage and striking black and blue skies.

I pulled over to take some pictures of the sun-streaked basin right after Wolf Creek Park and near a town appropriately named “Sunny Valley.” There were beautiful blue and yellow wildflowers growing near the road and layer upon layer of mountains in the horizon.

Coming back north I took backroads from Brownsville through Lebanon, Scio, Stayton, and Sublimity to West Linn. What a treat it was to see the rolling hills, grazing farm animals, and rich green, white, yellow, and brown fields. The hills and meadows were lush with color from the abundance of rain and the air was fresh and clear. I was glad to have such a restorative day on the road.