Monday, September 14, 2020

Oregon Fires

News of the wildfires in Oregon and California have reached international broadcasts, and our blogger friends around the world, some we've never met are reaching out to ask if we're okay. 

Wow! Thank you so much for thinking about us, we love you all.

Brandy and I are doing well. We are several miles away from the fires, the strong winds have calmed, and even though there was little threat the fires would have crossed the Interstate highway and Willamette River, the resulting smoke is causing hazardous, unhealthy air quality sometimes off the scale at well over 500. We've been staying inside trying our best to avoid the smoke, both of us suffering headaches and minor coughs. I am home from work since last Wednesday until further notice when the Oregon State University closed the campus (hence a blog post). Funny enough, the air quality is worse at home, than it is at work... I'd be safer at work. 

We haven't seen the sun in a week.

This is out our front door at 9:00 am Tuesday, September 8th when it is normally bright and sunny.


 Here is my commute into work Tuesday morning at 7:30 am... Dark, dark.


From my work at 3:00 pm Tuesday afternoon.
 

Check out the slideshow from OPB:

 https://www.opb.org/gallery/2020/09/10/a-historic-wildfire-season-in-oregon/

And photos from Oregon Department of Transportation and KVAL News:

https://kval.com/news/local/odot-shares-images-of-wildfire-impacts-on-oregon-towns-highways#/

 

We have it easy compared to those that were evacuated from their homes, many of them now burned to the ground, some small towns lost. The people of Oregon have really come together to donate food, clothes, and supplies despite radio silence from #45. Although he has repeatedly blamed "poor forest management" for the cause of these fires, repeatedly to convince his congregation.

~ As an update, and what we've been doing lately ~

Brandy has been working from home since the end of March due to Covid, and appreciates the quiet that is lost in an open workspace office environment of 40 plus co-workers. 

I've been going into work everyday to an empty office, and hanging out in the shop cranking the tunes, turning wrenches, and maintaining bikes. Our facility is off campus so I'm alone most days, all day, I have the eerily empty office building all to myself. 

We feel fortunate to both have our health, and full-time employment during these crazy times. We haven't been riding much, Brandy sold her Kawasaki Versys 300X just before Covid, and with staying home there hasn't been much reason to buy another bike yet. She has been checking out Craigslist, and Cycletrader trying to decide what to buy next. We'll see what happens next Spring, but I don't think this virus is going anywhere anytime soon. I've been commuting to work on my Tiger 800 (Brandy has named her Lily, as in white tiger lily), and I've only been out for a weekend ride once or twice this summer.

Andy and I up Mt. Hebo on Sunday before the fires broke loose. 
 
 
Lily out of commission. New fork seals on order.

We lost 14 year old Squire Basil Kitteh last September to kidney failure (a year ago yesterday 9/13)...

 

 

And since my love for motorcycles is now my job, we've been turning to our other hobbies such as hiking, canoeing, and camping. Unfortunately, so has everyone else and the trails are crowded, campsites are full, and it's been too peopley out there. I bought a truck in June, and we finally went tent camping the last week of August.

Much steeper than it looks, part of the Oregon Back Country Discovery Route #6 we rode back in July 2016

Dispersed tent camping 
 
Is that Bullwinkle?

With the fire regulations we weren't able to have a camp fire, and what's camping without a campfire? Brandy will tell you, it involves a lot of mosquitoes and going to bed early. Needless to say, conversation during breakfast the next morning was about travel trailers, because there's camping... then there's camping with your wife, so like other motobloggers we may be transitioning into RV'ers. Everyone has been buying RVs and camp trailers so much so that sales have exploded this summer with Covid. But winter is coming, and we're just biding our time, hoping people don't want to pay for storage, and the market will soon be flush with lightly used trailers going cheap. Brandy predicts that families are not only tired of their kids being stuck at home since March, but camping all summer with said kids, they've learned their lesson and never want to go camping again. 

We met with Beemer Girl's hubby Chris, and Richard and Bridget Machida for dinner Friday night... of course we talked more about RVs and camping than we did motorcycles.

 https://blog.machida.us/2020/09/day-220-221-back-in-corvallis.html

So I'll peruse Craigslist and RVTrader this winter whilst doing the seemingly never ending honey-do list home renovation projects... 

(Listing Photo) Before... UGLY, but we could see the potential.


During...


After


(Listing photo) Before


After, pre-flooring


(Listing photo) Before


Flooring! Yay!



Guest/main bath, before...


After, just finished this up yesterday.

 

Ironically, I did manage to build a fire pit in the backyard on Labour Day, the last day we saw the sun before the fires and all the smoke.

 


Now onto remodeling the master bedroom and bath. Then me thinks the list is done...

 

 

Poem by Sadee Whip



14 comments:

  1. Nice summary complete with house renovation pictures! It was great to see you and Brandy again.

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    Replies
    1. Always good to see you both, thanks for making it to dinner.

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  2. Nice to hear that you're safe and sound and still riding.

    Ute looks nice - you should be able to get a couple of dirt bikes on the back...

    Keep riding :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Andrew, I'm wrenching and riding, just not writing as much.
      And yep, I bought a full size rig with hauling dirt bikes in mind, and towing a camp trailer.

      Delete
  3. Hi Brad & Brandy
    Nice to hear that you guys are ok, when many others are not doing so well.
    We had our big bushfires here less than 12 months ago, and like your photos daytime turned into an ash filled haze day and night which lasted for 3 months. We had ash raining down every day with similar air quality readings to yours.

    Your new house is looking great by the way, I take it Brandy was the inspiration for most of the decor?
    Looks like Brandy and I are in the same spot, both of us are looking for a new bike and like her with this covid crap am in no great hurry to decide.

    Stay safe guys
    Steve

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    Replies
    1. Hey Steve! A week of smoke has been surreal, I can't imagine 3 months.
      Yes, Brandy keeps me fed, and has no qualms voicing her disdain of an inefficient and nonfunctional kitchen, and green walls.
      We'll see what 2021 brings regarding bikes, I still have Lucy as a trade-in.
      Thanks and stay safe as well.

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  4. Thanks Brad & Brandy for the long overdue update. What were you thinking leaving us in the dark so long...? Was thinking of you guys lately with the fires and all. Glad, you're ok and you still got your work despite the C-19 situation. Your house looks so pretty, you have a wonderful talent for home improvement. Your truck looks very... American ;-) however, it screams pulling a travel trailer. Feel free to drink the RV Koolaid and join the the moto turned camping crowds. All the best to you guys, stay healthy. Cheers from Germany, SonjaM

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry Sonja, we don't write often enough. Brandy is constantly on a computer all day at work and doesn't have the flexibility she had at her last job. I'm not near a computer, where years ago I used to write blog posts on my hour long lunch break.
      Thanks for the compliment, evidently I've mistaken home improvement as a hobby.
      Yes the truck is quite 'murican, but I have a small, discreet maple leaf hitch cover to counterpoise all the red, white, and blue rally flags. And I wanted something big enough to haul bikes and camp trailer.
      We miss you and Roland, stay safe friends.

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  5. Man that first set of pics was apocalyptic! You do great work in remodeling!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Dom! I suspect you'll be seeing smoke coming your way soon, hope it doesn't block your views. And thanks, home is what you make it I guess.
      Be safe.

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    2. Hi Brad,
      Good to see your post, thought that you and Brandy had long departed the blog-o-sphere. We've also been following developments in the US and are saddened to see what's going on in nature, health-wise and politically. We were hoping to visit the US and South America but it looks like that's off the agenda for the foreseeable future. Every good wish to you and Brandy.

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  6. Also, sincere condolences on losing Basil. As cat lovers since Jennie and I were kids, we feel your loss. Despite the hurt, all we can do is be grateful for our time with them and how much they enriched our lives.

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  7. Great to hear you are both well, it was worrying to see those fires on the news in your part of the world. Your home looks nice, so does your truck. I hope Brandy gets another bike and gets back to blogging soon, I miss her posts. Regards.

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  8. Hi Brad, Just ran across your blog link on Richard's page, glad to see an update on you and Brandy, even if it is from September! I hope your fire situation is improved, while Colorado is exploding with fire right where we were all summer, it is just heartbreaking. And next we're headed to California for the winter, so I imagine we will be worrying a lot. In the meantime, I feel your comment "and it's been too peopley out there" with all my heart! And I hope that Brandy is correct about all the new RVers...the current pace of growth will make camping miserable in the future. We have to believe they will go back to whatever it was that they did before covid. Your home renos are just beautiful! If/when we have a home again, we may seek consulting from you guys! Anyway, we are in Nevada and saw Richard and Bridget so we were talking about the Big Skinny event, made us all smile! Hang in there and say hi to Brandy!

    ReplyDelete

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