Archive for the 'Travel' Category

WorldRider

Published
by
Michael Comfort
on August 7, 2008
in Long ago & far away and Travel
. 0 Comments

When I graduated from High School, and had no plans for college, a friend of mine, Paul Heibert, and I decided we were going to ride motorcycles from Oregon to Costa Rica where I was born. He was a few years older than me, and had a Moto Guzzi. I was ready to sell my car and get one too. Well, the trip didn’t happen. I don’t remember exactly why, but I decided to go to Europe instead. I’ve always wondered how it would have been.

When I was a kid in Bolivia a couple of guys rode Harleys from the states clear down to La Paz, Bolivia. I think they even stayed with us. My brothers and I thought they were very cool, with their long hair and beards, awesome bike, and really worn-out jeans.

So—I have a fascination with long motorcycle trips that goes WAY back.  Earlier this year,  while looking up stuff about Bolivia, I came across this blog. It’s really become a favorite of mine. Here’s was a guy that rode not only to Bolivia, but at the time he was on his way from Alaska to the tip of South America!  He has since gone up through Africa on his way around the world!

I got hooked on his posts—great descriptions of his adventures and interactions with people, and lots of stunningly beautiful pictures. He’s in Turkey right now (I think!), but his current posts (when he has time and an internet link I guess) are describing his trip up through Africa. Over 700 days on the road! Almost 55,000 miles, 1000 gallons of gas, and 27,000 pictures!

Check it out! It’s great for those uf us that probably won’t, but wish we could!

My new favorite beach

Published
by
Michael Comfort
on August 2, 2008
in Family and Travel
. 5 Comments

This past week we traveled down near Coos Bay, Oregon and stayed 3 nights at Sunset Bay State Park. It was all wonderful! Of course Oregon’s parks are always very nice, and the wildlife, scenery, and weather were spectacular.

If you haven’t seen the southern Oregon Coast, I highly recommend it. We decided to leave the Jeep and tent trailer at home (gas prices!), go by car and stay in a Yurt. It was a bit tight in the car with 6 of us, but we all enjoyed the trip anyway.

I’ve posted some panoramas here which are slightly distorted, but give a good idea of this neat little bay. I’m guessing it’s around 1/2 mile across, and has wonderful tide pool areas with lots of marine life.

There’s a lot to see in this area! The land these parks sit on was donated to the state of Oregon by Louis Simpson, a lumber and shipping baron. A couple miles south of Sunset Bay are the Shore Acres Botanical Gardens (7 acres of beautiful gardens), Cape Arago, and Simpson Reef, an outstanding wildlife viewing area.

Here is a slide show if you are interested in seeing more!

Comfort Family Reunion 2008

Published
by
Michael Comfort
on July 6, 2008
in Family and Travel
. 3 Comments

I’ve GOT to tell you about our Comfort Family Reunion!

We’ve been having large Comfort family reunions since the 70’s, every 4th of July weekend. For the past 20 or so years (can anyone give me the exact year?), we’ve been taking over one end of Hat Rock Campground near Umatilla, Oregon (home of the famous Army Chemical Weapons Depot).

The view from the bluff east of the campground.

Why way out there in the middle of nowhere? Well, it is an ideal meeting point since people come from all over Oregon, Washington and Idaho. People come from the Olympic Peninsula and Seattle area, Spokane and North Idaho, Boise and La Grande, Newberg, Dundee, Newport, and Rockaway Beach. It’s a comfortable oasis out in hot and dry north-eastern Oregon—about where the Columbia River turns up into Washington.

It is right next to Hat Rock State Park which is on the Columbia and was named by Lewis and Clark. (notice the hat in the upper-right corner of the photo above.) It has a great little store, shade trees, and best of all for the kids—a swimming pool!

We had 63 people at reunion this year, and as usual it was an awesome time to reconnect with each other. There was lots of food, games, visiting, walks to the pond and Columbia River, swimming, and even several haircuts!

One really fun event (of which I have no pictures) is the annual soccer game. Age range: 3-50, no shoes allowed (feet get stepped on), everyone invited (including kids from other sites). We ended up with 36 people playing, and surprisingly, the score was always 3-3! We play until we can’t see anymore, and there was even quite a group of spectators this year!

Here are some pictures of the fun weekend…

There’s always a lot of visiting and game playing.

7 out of 9 of my Dad’s siblings were there! (3 of his brothers are on the right edge of this shot.)

An important part of the weekend is the worship and sharing service that we have. We sing, share, pray, and there’s guaranteed to be a few tears, as stories are shared.

Whenever there are 50th or 25th wedding anniversaries, the couples that are there are honored with a special party, sharing, and a gift. These two couples, Arnold and Gwen, and Herb and Cora, were the recipients of wonderfully honoring words from family members. All four of Herb and Cora’s children were there, which was very special.

Special thanks go to Jim and Lyn for these past years they have had the responsibility of planning and organizing the reunion for us!

I cant wait ’til next year!

Good times with my “fat-tired” friends

Published
by
Michael Comfort
on May 21, 2008
in Biking, Friends and Travel
. 3 Comments

Last weekend was another great weekend away to Black Butte with the guys. 19 in all went, some fished, some hiked, a couple played golf, and 13 of us mountain biked on one ride or another.

On friday, David Andres and I biked over on Horse Ridge, about 20 miles east of Bend. It is desert climate over there, and it was HOT. mid 90s. I got a bit overheated and had to lay down under a Juniper tree for a while. after that I was OK.

On Saturday we went to the Phil’s Trails area. It’s the best complex of bike trails anywhere in my opinion. Our favorite, called the Whoops Trail, is named for its many large jumps and curves. Unfortunately, David had a pretty serious crash on the upper end of that trail. It took us quite a while to get him off the mountain, since he couldnt walk or ride. We didnt know what injuries he had, but he was hurting pretty bad. Thankfully there was an access road nearby, cell phone service, and a Jeep in the area that brought him down to the van. (David found out yesterday he has a torn hamstring.)

On Sunday we rode on the Sisters trail, and there were no mishaps, except for Taylor Swan turning his front wheel into a Taco!

Here are some more pictures of the trip…

Bringing Europe home

Published
by
Michael Comfort
on May 20, 2008
in Family and Travel
. 0 Comments

Alison arrived back home from her European trip last night—safe and sound and very tired. She brought Europe home with her, as she packed in many, memorable experiences into those 3 weeks! They are a part of her now.

It’s good to have her back home, and to hear about her great adventures! She brought each of us in our family a little gift, which was very thoughtful. Mine was a Euro and a small rock that she picked up on a mountain peak above Salzburg, Austria. (A piece of the Alps for me!) I lived in Austria for 6 months, and climbed many times in those beautiful mountains, so it really is a meaningful item!

Our globe trekker

Published
by
Michael Comfort
on May 8, 2008
in Family, Friends and Travel
. 2 Comments

Alison is in Italy as I type this, and she is having a ball… take a peek at excerpts of one of her emails:

Hello again! I’m in Venice now…. I tasted the best Italian pizza so far… gorgeous views of the countryside… a strenuous 45-minute hike up steep stone staircases… through vineyards and around cliffs… a beach on the Mediterranean… sherbet-colored buildings, and no cars… I really could live in Tuscany. It is just like the coffee-table books..

Alison and her best friend Abbie, at the airport.

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