My 2009 Walk

The plan: to walk across America.  Where I started: Heceta Beach, Florence, Oregon.  Where I stopped: 13 miles west of Santiam Pass, on highway 126.  I resumed that point on my bicycle a few months later and rode my bike on into Boise, Idaho.

My family came along in the support vehicle.  Unfortunately, we had to stop for a number of reasons.  My husband’s health is one reason; he has type II diabetes and only a few months after we came back, he suffered kidney failure and had to go on dialysis.  I am thankful this didn’t happen while we were on the road.  Other reasons include our finances and our desire to go back to school, homeschooling our daughter on the trip was more difficult to manage that we expected.  In addition, one month into our trip, my camera and most of my footage was stolen.  I was devastated.

However, I still had my Sony digital camera and my flip video.  These are some of the photos I managed to take.  So many wonderful memories!

Willow at Heceta Beach, OR

Heceta Beach Road, OR

Trillium

Shadows of Dante dog and me on the road.

Heceta Beach sunset, outside Florence, OR

I thought this was beautiful. Outside Florence on Hwy 126.

Boat in a sea of flowers. Between Florence and Mapleton, Hwy 126, OR.

Not this X. Whichever X you choose.

Youch!

Micah at Triangle Lake, OR

Look twice. See the butterflies? With their wings closed, they meld right into the volcanic rock.

I think they were migrating, because they were all OVER the place!

Sahalie Falls roars near Hwy 126, south of Hwy 20.

Sahalie Falls peeks through the trees. Off Hwy 126 before it meets Hwy. 20.

Willow at the steps leading down to Sahalie Falls, OR.

Willow is dosing me up with sunscreen before I begin my ride for the day.

Lava field in the Cascades.

Strangely beautiful, this is what’s left after a wildfire on Santiam Pass, OR, Hwy. 20

Willow’s first solo bike ride without training wheels. We will always remember Sisters, OR for this.

Crash! Willow learns to ride her bike without training wheels outside of Sisters, OR. She got the bike for $10 from a thrift store there.

Willow grins from ear to ear as she masters riding the bike with no training wheels.

One of many summits in Oregon!

Old jail and gallows (?), circa 1920′s. Near Millican, OR outside of Bend.

Old jail, circa 1920′s, outside of Bend, OR

My Snuffleupagus, Dante Dog. He couldn’t be happier!

Sunset on the road in eastern Oregon, Hwy. 20

Pretty colors show in landscape at dusk . During the day, it looks desert tan and ashy green.

My family cuddling. Aren’t they sweet?

Willow at Chickahominy Reservoir, OR off highway 20.

Sunset at Chickahominy Reservoir, OR.

Cool rock formation. I didn’t make it!

Reflected clouds at sunset, Chickahominy Reservoir, OR

Hwy. 20, eastern Oregon

Last pass in Oregon on Hwy 20. Looking down into OR and ID.

Cool tree at campground near Triangle Lake, off Hwy 36.

Cool chariot at art studio in Leaburg, OR.

Fern Ridge Lake, west of Eugene.

Willow though this was Cinderella’s carriage. Art studio in Leaburg, OR.

Pumpkin Rock outside of Springfield on Hwy 126. Last time I passed there, they had painted it to look like a ball.

Sunflowers on the side of the road in Juntura, OR.

Willow is grinning because it is starting to hail. Highway 126, going toward Mapleton, OR.

The hail really started coming down hard. This was one of the few times Willow wanted to walk with me. After a mile or few she would poop out and her daddy would come pick her up.

Willow at Triangle Lake, OR. I just love this picture. It is so serene.

Willow likes to draw her surroundings; in this case it was a firepit with a roaring fire and smoke.

Camping, campfires and marshmallows. Who could ask for more?

The water of McKenzie River was really cold, since it was spring snow melt. Willow sticks a toe in to test it.

The art studio proprietor said it was okay for Willow to climb inside Cinderella’s carriage. She got a HUGE kick out of that!

Willow has fun in a fountain in Eugene, OR.

Willow walked her farthest on this day with me. Almost four miles! I kept asking her if she was ready to stop and she kept saying no. That’s my girl!

Dante dog sporting my hat!

Willow at the park in Vale, OR.

Micah and Dante hanging at a park in Vale, OR.

Onion field near Ontario, OR. Going by all these sweet onions was making me hungry for onion rings! Onion fields for miles and miles around here.