May 8 - Backroads West of Creswell
A runaway chicken, a wild turkey, and a small country town called Drain. Life is always an adventure on a bike. I headed South to Eugene today to drop my bike off to be serviced. I had passed the 50,000 mile mark and was super grateful that the wonderful service people at Willamette Valley Harley Davidson found a way to get me in this week. Of course, I decided to do a little exploring before I got there.
My first stop was in Salem where I wanted to introduce myself to the friendly staff at Timber Town Harley Davidson. I am beyond excited that they have invited me to be the keynote speaker at their upcoming June 4 Bike Night with the Litas motorcycle group. While at the dealership I chatted with Brian Burkey, who had graciously suggested me as a speaker to Timber Town Harley Director of Marketing, Jen Dodara. I got to connect with Jen as well as Melissa Fleming who both made me feel so welcome.
From Salem I headed straight south to Creswell so I could make it to the Creswell Bakery before the kitchen closed for the day. I ordered my usual bakery-cured bacon breakfast sandwich, this time served on a brioche bun. It and the pear tart I managed to snag were amazing. While savoring the sandwich and soaking in the sun, a renegade chicken who had escaped his coop across the street ran right by me. I think the funniest line of the day was when a young woman came up to us and said, “this may sound like a strange question but have any of you seen a runaway chicken?”
After the chicken was reunited with his family, I headed west to explore the backroads around Creswell. I turned left on Camas Swale Road and enjoyed many delightful turns and twists as I made my way to Territorial Highway. In the past I have always turned right at Territorial on my way to Florence. This time I turned left to explore backroads through several small towns including Lorane, Mill Camp, and Anlauf. At one point I came up to a wild turkey in the middle of the road who didn’t seem to be in any hurry to let me pass, which was absolutely fine with me as the scenery and the bird were both beautiful.
I turned west on highway 38, just to check out the delightful town of Drain then tried to take backroads back north to the dealership, only to find Curtin Road really does have a dead end, at least as far as pavement is concerned. After making my way back to the dealership and dropping off my bike, I got to ride home with my younger son who decided he is going to spend Mother’s Day with me. What a great day!
