From the Land of Filthy Bathrooms to Paradise

August 14, 2018 to August 18, 2018

By Jen, with captions by Ron

The McKenzie River is awesome. If you haven't been here, what the hell are you waiting for?

The ride from Belknap to Paradise Campground and then on down to Delta Campground was a short and uneventful 12ish miles on highway 126. What I found curious about this stretch was the varying shoulder widths. From Belknap to Paradise the shoulder was quite narrow (18 inches maybe?), but at Paradise it widened to a generous and comfortable 4 feet. Do any of you readers know what the determining factors are for road shoulder widths? I thought it might be volume of traffic, but further west toward Eugene, the shoulder transitions back to narrow or non-existent.

Rafters going by our campsite. I shouted a hearty "Hootie Hoo!" as they went by to let them know all was well. They didn't return the standard "Chicka Chee!", so I figured they were wilderness neophytes.

Anyhow, after 2 nights at Belknap we spent 2 nights in Paradise, one of our favorite campgrounds. Because we arrived on a Tuesday morning, we were able to get a first come first serve riverside site; perfect for a cold foot soak, skipping rocks, watching rafters, and being lulled to sleep at the end of the day. The next morning we rode our unloaded bikes on the McKenzie River Trail, and later Gay and Denise drove in from Eugene and joined us for a hike, dinner, and a second night next to the river. They even made a trip to the store down the road and surprised us with an IPA for Ron and grapefruit kombucha for me. And in the morning they shared their yogurt and fresh blueberries. True trail angels!

We took a ride on the McKenzie River trail.

Like Sacagawea, Mrs. G scouts the way ahead

I'm risking my life on this gnarly route. Look at the determination on my face! (Ignore the foot planted on the ground)

The video below shows me (Ron) risking life and limb for adventure! Note- this and all of my videos are taken with my phone and are hand held. I need to get a GoPro.

The drop off here is about 35 feet. It would probably hurt.

I'll bet this tree made a helluva noise as it fell

They brought us back essential nourishments

It was sad to see Gay and Denise drive away. They're on their way to Olympic National Forest, and then will make their way down to the Grand Canyon for a 15-day rafting trip. How fortunate we were to share so many tour days with Gay ... Incredible that we met him on June 7th and were able to camp one last time with both him and Denise on August 15th! Hopefully our paths will cross again in the not-too-distant future.

Harbick's, 2 or 3 miles from Paradise. Talk about taking our time.

After we left Paradise, we spent a night at Harbicks Country Inn in Rainbow (it was time for a shower!) .. and then we rode a few more miles down the road to Delta Campground. The highlight of our two nights there was the nature trail through the Delta Old Growth Forest. It's a unique and special experience to walk amongst humongous towering trees that have been around for 600 years. Several times we stopped to stand in the peaceful silence and gaze up at the wise giants.

Our loud hoosier tea party neighbors at Delta. The flag says Don't Tread On Me, which was frustrating because I was in the mood to tread on fellow campers.

In response, we posted our own Grumby Flag. It means "Get over yourself you paranoid nutjob!"

I got there just in time to avert disaster.

As I gazed upon the wilderness, I asked myself, "what does it all mean?". Just kidding. But this is a cool shot, despite the subject.

Delta was the perfect place to spend our last 2 days before we head back to the "civilized" world of Eugene and Portland.

Today's ride: 33 miles (53 km)
Total: 2,200 miles (3,541 km)

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Greg SpinolaOh, man. Where do I begin. First, you guys are awesome. Sorry I've been away for so long. Who knew my opus would be so time-consuming? Anyway, I love the pictures and the commentary. "The drop off here is about 35 feet. It would probably hurt." That's a classic. Second, Gay and Denise look like very special people. You're truly blessed to have them as friends. And third, this post had everything--kambucha, IPAs, dont-tread-on-me yahoos, quiet contemplation, and a short video of a death-defying trek down a treacherous bike path. Hail to the Grumbies! I promise not to be a such an infrequent visitor in the future. Cheers.
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5 years ago

Ron SuchanekTo Greg SpinolaThanks for reading and commenting Mr. G! I know you and Mrs. Groovy y are busy and it means a lot that you took the time!
We still are planning to get to the east coast at some point but not sure when.
I look forward to reading and sharing your book!! Also, I'm woefully behind on the Groovy Ranch updates but will catch up. who knew retirement would be so busy????
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5 years ago