A Fine Kettle Of Fish

It took us about two hours to drive from Proxy Falls to the home of our friends, Darcy and Beth, in the countryside south of Eugene.  The Old McKenzie Pass Highway, Number 242, wound its way down-slope to the intersection of the  newer, wider, faster McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass Highway 126.  Once we’d reached the broader road, we went through the hamlets of McKenzie Bridge, Blue River, Vida Flats, and Leaburg before skirting Springfield and exiting the highway into downtown Eugene.

Using the iPhone Map Quest 4 Mobile app and Darcy’s directions, we headed out of Eugene on Bailey Hill Road, leaving civilization far behind us.  Beef cattle grazed in the valley; conifers climbed up to the ridgelines.
The cooler than normal weather that we’d experienced during the first days of our trip dropped by the wayside.  It had probably been in the mid-80’s during our Proxy Falls hike in the mountains.  Down in Eugene a thermometer sign on a bank read 101 degrees.
 
But at 800’ above sea level and closer to the coast than town, our friends’ home was only pleasantly warm in the late afternoon as a gentle breeze blew across the shaded porch where we sat enjoying a cold beverage at the end of a hot day.

At our Metolius River digs we’d dined on take-out, a simple pasta meal, and a frozen pizza popped into the cabin’s oven for a half-hour.  Not the most dramatic of meals that either Cindy and I have ever cooked for ourselves or guests.  Beth, on the other hand, whipped us up a gourmet feast of baked local cod and home-grown chard stuffed with cottage cheese accompanied by an excellent Pinot Gris from King Estate Winery just down the road. Dessert was fruit cobbler served with Eiswein.  Nothing is better than having the hospitality of friends, except having the hospitality of friends who are good cooks!