In late July, Dick and Geno joined 11 other cyclists for a tour of the Steens Mountain region in southeast Oregon. The trip was billed as a mountain bike and birding tour of the Steens and adjacent Malheur Wildlife Refuge. This very unique tour was organized and led by Russ and Renee Rickert from Ashland, Oregon, whom Geno met in Borrego Springs last winter.

Others on the tour were Jan, Enid and Ruth Ann from the Seattle area, Randy from Ashland, Owen from Bend, Liz and Karen from the East Bay area, and Jim and Dan "The Man" from Grass Valley/Nevada City. Many of them have been on previous tours led by the Rickerts and gave them rave reviews for great routes and superb cuisine on the road.

Russ and Renee, having extensive catering backgrounds, prepared some of the finest meals we ever experienced on any trip. In addition, both are very strong cyclists with boundless energy. It was impressive to watch them begin preparing dinner after a long, hot day in the saddle while the rest of us took naps.

The Steens Mountain is a huge, uplifted fault-block formation that rises 9700' above the Alvord Desert. For most, the highlight of the tour was the 5000' climb to the top of the Steens. We enjoyed stunning views of immense, glacially carved gorges, the Kiger being the most spectacular, and bird's-eye views of the Alvord Desert from the East Rim. The scenery and terrain were much like the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain.

The group spent three days riding through the vast Malheur Wildlife Refuge, north of the Steens. Many creeks and rivers feed into the basin creating this immense wetland refuge. Even in mid-summer, the birdlife was abundant with literally thousands of white-faced ibises flying in formation back and forth across the refuge, noisy black-necked stilts squawking to warn us away from their nests, common nighthawks "buzz BEEErzhing" as they soared overhead, and many cute little ducklings swimming behind their mothers.

We also got some great looks at rough-legged hawks, short-eared and great horned owls, greater sage grouses, yellow warblers, avocets, caspian and black terns, black-billed magpies, yellow-headed blackbirds, and dozens of other species.

Many of the birds were fledging and learning to hunt and fly. We observed a young logger-headed shrike attacking a cotton-tail twenty times its size with no apparent success, and several fledging mountain bluebirds learning to fly and crashing like kamakazee planes into our tents. It was a hoot to see nature up close and personal like this.

But the best part of the tour was the camaraderie of the group. Everyone was pretty laid back, good natured and enjoyed a good laugh. As Russ said, " there were no whiners and whankers in this group." We started the tour as strangers but left as good friends.

Due to the extreme heat and rough roads, the original route was eventually modified, eliminating two long days in the Alvord Desert for a pleasant shorter ride in Diamond Valley. We are all alive today due to this very smart decision.

The memories of extreme heat, dusty gravel washboard roads, and clouds of biting mosquitoes at dawn and dusk are quickly fading. This tour was something special combining the best of good scenery, good company, and good eats. I would do this tour again in a heartbeat.