After a wretched 2 or 3 months in Bonners Ferry getting my trike repaired (after running over it when my trike rack failed) and a new trike rack built (hopefully too high off the ground to bottom out and fail again), we are off and rolling at last. First stop, Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge. The goal was to arrive before the hunters did shortly after Labor Day, and that goal was achieved. That is the benefit of setting modest goals…one is able to congratulate oneself on scoring a constant series of microscopic victories.

Hart Mountain is in southern Oregon east of the Cascades, so it is high desert…I’ve yet to meet a desert I didn’t like. It also has a small collection of hot springs into which I enthusiastically plunged, ignoring the algae and bits of muck that settled on the bottom of the pools and came up in waves when disturbed by human feet. There was a lovely pool that appeared to be missing both the algae and the muck, but it was barely warm, so I gave that a pass. In fact, I chose the worst-looking pool (1/3 to 1/2 covered with algae flotillas) under the assumption that it would be used by fewer other people, and, indeed, I had it all to myself. That was a good thing, since it’s really only big enough for one person.

I also inaugurated the rebuilt trike, with good results. Drive train working properly for the first time in, oh, 18 months or so. Unfortunately, the propulsion system (legs) seems to have suffered from months and months of inactivity, so the rides were short.