What Was I Thinking?...41º

In my mind I will always be young..."The Kids are coming, the kids are coming, races through my mind and along with the "Honey Do" list I'm always looking for something new that our family can do together, while they are visiting us in Wallowa County...This years possibilities were; family rafting on the Grande Ronde River, (a day long adventure including travel to get there, climbing in and out of a raft several times...Was I really that young?), The new Railriders (a two hour adventure, down hill one way and pushed back for the return trip...This sounded more doable.), Of course there is alway the Mt Howard Gondola, (easy in the spring because snow still blocks most of the trails and I always enjoy the gondola ride.)We could do a road trip to the Zumwalt Prairie or Hells Canyon Overlook but the kids have already traveled 5 hours to get here with another 5 hours to return home.

The decision was made and Friday 8:30am found us signing up for the Railriders...It was sunny and starting to warm up, another gorgeous day in Wallowa County...Helmets in place we maneuvered our bodies into small recumbent seats, Kim adjusted them for easy pedaling, we fastened our seat belts and were ready to roll...Kim gave more directions such as, how to use the brake and slow the car to a stop when crossing a road or coming upon a gate that needed to be opened, before continuing the journey...Intentional bumping of the car ahead of you would be frowned upon...Sit back relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery, don't be in a hurry.

My first attempt to pedal reminded me that I wasn't as young as my mind thought and my left knee was not happy being asked to make this motion...I gritted my teeth and told myself, "You can do this, it is too late to back out now and its all downhill to Enterprise." The scenery was stupendous, lush pasture lands, towering snow covered peaks, white tail deer racing through fields, tails flagging...An osprey nest high on a telephone pole...Sun in our faces, wind at our backs we saw a piece of Wallowa County, never viewed from the main highway...Our laughter echoed through the valley as we pedal the six miles...For the return trip, we pedaled some but were happy that Kim had a motor on his car and pushed us back to Joseph.

We spent the afternoon on the deck, soaking up the sun, downloading photos of the trip, to our computers so we can share them with the world...If you get a chance, take the Railrider trip, we had a great time...Hugs To All...OWAV:)