A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Ted at the summit of Tombstone Pass

Day 8 for Ted was, for the most part, an uphill climb and the highlight of his day was summiting Tombstone Pass at 4,235 feet at 1:45 in the afternoon. Then a treat, the rest of the day was downhill. I felt the desire to experience the beauty of the area in a more intense way, not just from behind the wheel of the car. With many trails in the area, I did several side hikes as Ted made his way up and over Tombstone Pass.





Words are inadequate to describe the beauty that we saw that day, both in our own ways. The intensity of the green, the clearness of the streams, the warmth and the coolness of the air that hit you almost simultaneously, the clean fresh smells, almost sensory overload. Instead I choose to let my pictures do the talking. As you scroll below, I hope you enjoy the beauty of the South Santiam and our Willamette National Forest.

Problem Solving 101

Ted and Ange ready to start Day 7

Day 7 of the walk brought us back to the Willamette Valley where Ange Sobiegraj once again joined Ted for another day of walking. We met Ange at the Point Restaurant where we had coffee and shared a piece of pie, perfect fuel for walkers and Sag Wagon drivers.

Ange and Ted were off. I headed to the South Santiam Cabins, which would be our reprieve for the next three days. I unpacked the car and got things set up. Ted and Agne arrived at the cabins for a break at around 11:00. Ted then remembered something in the car that he wanted to show Ange. I handed him the keys. We enjoyed a treat from the New Morning Bakery in Corvallis that Ange brought and then they were off.

About thirty minutes before it was time for me head out to pick up Ange, I realized Ted had the keys, our one and only set of keys. And why, you wonder, would they go on a trip of this magnitude with only one set of keys? About 10 days before our trip we noticed a set was missing. We looked everywhere, in jackets, it golf bags, all to no avail. We kept thinking they would turn up in some strange place, but it didn’t happen. So we left for our trip with only one set of keys in hand.

So we had to be very careful with the keys. As driver of the WAO Sag Wagon, I had a system, a certain pocket in a certain vest. But things happened quickly that morning and the keys were "walking” before I realized it.

Luckily we were in cell phone range. I called Ted, we decided Ange would head back to the cabins. I expected her there in about 40 minutes. I would take her to her car, then come back to pick up Ted before his interview with Sean Morgan of The New Era back at the cabin. Phew. It was going to be down to the wire now. When he saw that she was about to take off, the last thing Ted said to Ange as she turned to leave was “Ange you don’t have to run.”

Before I knew it I heard a car door slam and Ange was back at the cabin. How did she get back so quickly? Did she run all that way? No, she was resourceful. When Ange saw a lady in her yard near Cascadia, Ange asked if she could take her back to the cabin. Certainly, the woman said. It turned out that the lady was 90 and had had surgery the day before. But she was interested in Ted’s walk and glad to help. So Ange’s quick thinking and the kindness of a stranger saved the day.

One of the buzz words in education these days is that we want to teach our kids to be “problem solvers”. Well, we had several ways to solve this problem. Option #2 would have been to ask the owner of the cabins to take me to Ted and Angie. Option #3 would have been to wait until Sean arrived and then go to Ted and Ange. He could have interviewed Ted on the road and then I would take Ange to her car.

But in the end it was Option #1, Ange’s quick thinking combined with the kindness of a stranger that helped make our problem go away. So here’s to problem solving on the road on Day 7 of the Walk Across Oregon.

The beautiful South Santiam

Resting at 55 M.P.H.

After Day 6 we returned to Crooked River for two rest days. But for Ted there are never really any days of rest. Early Monday morning he raced to the golf course to play with his senior group, raced home from golf to have an interview with Lars Larson, northwest radio personality, raced to Portland to pick up his mom at the airport, then raced back to Crooked River the next day to go to Lions. And not to worry, all of the racing (resting) was done at 55 m.p.h.!

Oh Happy Day

Ted finishing Day 6 at Foster Reservoir

When Ted set out at 7:30 on the morning of Day 6, he indeed thought that it was a happy day. The sky was blue, the temperature mild, the birds were singing. But when he walked into Sweet Home, he momentarily thought his fate was about to change. A policeman pulled over in front of him, parked, and then got out of his car. Ted thought to himself, “Oh no, he’s going to tell me I can’t walk on the highway.” Instead the policeman said, “Hey, saw the newspaper article about you. Great job on your walk and I agree with your cause.”

Ted’s gait picked up instantly as he headed to the nearest Thriftway to find a paper. Jennifer Moody’s article was on the front page of the Local Section of the Albany Democrat- Herald, complete with a color picture of Ted and picture of the WAO rock as well. Ted was so excited that he read the article in its entirety right there in the middle of the Thriftway.

We enjoyed a great brunch at Lorene’s in Sweet Home. And it was there that I heard muted whispers, “That’s him, that’s the guy that’s walking across Oregon.” Ted’s 15 minutes of fame had begun. Later a bike rider whizzed by Ted as he made his way thought Sweet Home and said, “Saw your article. Way to go.” And finally a young couple stopped and gave Ted two bananas. They had seen him reading the article in the Thriftway. They wished Ted good luck and told him the “bananas will help.”

For a small town, Sweet Home is a long town, stretching out for over five miles. Today, most of the stretch was lined with iris, just bursting into bloom. Ted’s walk ended at the beautiful Foster Reservoir, just outside of Sweet Home. Thanks for the great welcome Sweet Home.

On this day we thought of our mothers and the depth of a mother’s love. We originally intended to be in Portland with Ted’s mother Barbara. Instead she decided to make the trip to D.C. to meet her brand new great granddaughter, Isobel. We were so pleased she made the trip. Four generations together on Mother’s Day. What could be better? Happy day. Happy Mother’s Day

It's a Take

Ted with Jesse and AnneMarie from the Mid-Valley Newspapers

Things got exciting mid-afternoon in Lebanon on Day 5 when Jesse Skoubo and AnneMarie Knepper, staff photographer and week-end reporter for the Mid-Valley Newspapers, arrived on the scene. It was Ted’s first photo shoot. I enjoyed watching a professional photographer in action. Jesse took pictures not only of Ted walking, but of his feet and the WAO rock as well. These pictures were to accompany Jennifer Moody’s interview from the previous day.

Photo Shoot in Lebanon

Walk a Mile in My Shoes

Ted with Ann on the road to Lebanon

Ann and Phyllis waiting to cross the I-5 access road

The next day, Day 5 of the walk, Ann and I joined Ted at the start. I walked a mile and then turned back to get the WAO Sag Wagon. Ann walked a few miles further with Ted. I wish we could have had a nicer place to start the walk that day. The overpass over I-5 is not my idea of pretty. But once we got over I-5 traffic on Hwy 34 subsided and before us lie the fertile fields of the Willamette Valley.

After Ann left, Ted was on his own headed toward Lebanon. Lebanon, a town of around 15,000, is home of the world’s Largest Strawberry Shortcake. The giant shortcake a part of the town’s yearly Strawberry Festival, which began in 1909. Unfortunately we came about a month too early and missed the festival. Lebanon has a nice downtown with many local businesses, which always make me happy.

Ted ended his day between Lebanon and Sweet Home. We had a great dinner at the Point Restaurant across from the beautiful Foster Reservoir. A great ending to a nice day.

Beautiful Foster Resivour, our dinner view

Mi Casa Su Casa

Phyllis and Ted with Steve at the Albany Country Club

Throughout our lives we meet special people. And if we are lucky enough, one day we have the privilege of calling them our friends. This process goes on all our lives, but there is something very special about the friends that we refer to as our “old friends.” Not meaning that they are old, literally, but that we have known them for a very long time. They’ve seen us at our best and our worst, our highest and lowest and accept and love us all the same. Such is the case of Steve and Ann Wulff, college and lifelong friends of Ted’s.

After we returned from our honeymoon Ted wanted to go to Albany so I could meet Steve and Ann. On that visit, still being in the honeymoon stage, Ann brought us breakfast in bed, homemade cinnamon rolls. This memory remains like a snapshot in my mind. At the time, Steve and Ann’s children were small. They’re grown now.

Colin, the youngest has been a long-time golfing buddy of Ted’s. I remember playing golf with Colin when he was about 10, a redheaded freckle-faced boy already hitting shots quite well at that early age. Another snapshot memory. I asked Ted at what point Colin started beating him. Ted thinks it was during his mid-high school years. Now Colin, a sophomore at the University of Puget Sound, plays on his college’s golf team and Ted has no chance. Still, when he’s home, a golf game with Colin is always top order of the day.

Throughout the years Ted has appeared on Steve and Ann’s doorstep, sometimes announced, sometimes not. Steve and Ann love to tell the story of finding Ted asleep, early one morning, on the rugs in their back house. Steve said it almost scared him to death until he realized it was “just Ted”. Ted had rang their doorbell late the night before to no answer, then found his way to their back house which had no bed, only rugs on the floor. And there Ted spent the night. So the phrase, “Mi Casa Su Casa” or “my home is your home too” is certainly apropos.

This time our arrival at the end of Day 4 was announced. But of course, with Ted there is always a surprise. So the day before we rolled into town, Ted called Steve and asked if a reporter from the Albany newspaper could interview him at their home. The answer was of course. “Mi Casa Su Casa”, my friend.

With Jennifer Moody of the Albany Democrat-Herald